Club 80-90 Forums

Hi
Looking for advice from people in the know when it comes to awnings.
Our wee girl is 18 months now, is into everything and gets pretty bored after her forth circuit of the small van floor (her latest trick is going up to the dash and switching the headlights on… ).
So our principle requirement is a drive away awning with a sewn in ground sheet to allow her some play space. Would also be nice if it had sufficient headroom for a 6’4 chap.
Any suggestions?
Have seen the royal traveller which looks about right, but would have preferred a geodesic design for stability, or am I being to picky now.
There must be some out there that we love, and ones that we hate.

Probably best advice is get to a show and view some awnings. At least browse the internet and look at sites like JK who do a wide range of awnings for VW Campers. Some of the largere outdoor companies do a selection for the "smaller motorhome".

Will not bore people again with the nightmare we had with a Khyam Motordome (please see other threads) but from our experience geodesic doesn't always mean stable, and the royal traveller appears to be a stable piece of kit.

We have recently bought a Sunncamp Aspect which is small but there are larger ones in the range. We will be trialling it this w/e, which according to Met Office will be wet & windy so we'll probably be back home same night! If it's a disaster, will post! Can't remember if it had sewn in groundsheet, we put it up in the garden a few weeks ago and my brain was frazzled with the kids running round it

IMHO when it comes to awnings, some people love a certain model while others totally hate the same model . Bear in mind where you are likely to camp, will it be windy or in an area likely to be wet? Generally a more stable awning will be heavier, with sturdier poles and take longer to erect. A quick lightweight awning may come down as quickly as it went up! If it's wet, a design that doesn't allow water to collect and add weight (say on the tunnel between awning and van) would be an idea.

Allow plenty of space, especially with a little un-we keep our pushchair, back carrier and porta potti in there, plus toys, table, extra storage, primus, and 4 chairs-bearing in mind you may have to pay more for a pitch if it's too big (some sites make you pay for 2 pitches)

Finally, design, some have extra bedrooms sewn in which might be useful for the obvious, storage, or as a loo tent!

Hope some of this helps-sorry if any of it sounds patronising or if I am stating the bloomin obvious!

Hi

I have just bought a outwell drivaway awning from camping world it has a ground sheet that zips on and off and we also have a little girl that does all the above we did 12 days in france and love it it takes a bit to set up but its worth it
have a look

hope you find what your looking for
John

Hi, i bought a Khyam driveaway awning ( thats the name of it), which i believe has'nt been out long. Looked into loads and listened to advice on here.
This has a sewn in ground sheet and is massive, with an inner two bedrooms that both fit a double airbed in, but still enough space with room to spare ,for a table and some chairs. from straight out the bag first time it took about 45 minutes to put up fully,but i thing it can be done in about 20 minutes next time. I'm 6'4" and had loads of head room, used it for six days,some very wet and windy and did'nt have a problem.
Hope this helps,

http://www.campershop.co.uk" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; really useful website with lots of pics.

I've bought several awnings from them over the years, always have the best prices and delivery the next day

we have a Kyham Motordome Classic with a seperate groundsheet. Horses for courses, but if it rains yoy don't have to pack away a wet and muddy ground sheet in the same bag as the awning...

Campershop are usually at Vanfest btw.....they used to trade under the name of individual interiors. And.....they stock pop top canvases and spares

My van came with a drive away awing. Its a frame tent type, so good for you lofty types. The only snag is - there's no inner tent. It's nice to have the option to sleep in the tent instead of the van. That also gives the option for extra berths.

So - I have just purchased an inner tent (with sewn in ground sheet) from Camping & General. It's a double, and cost £25, so a reasonable price. It hasn't arrived yet, so can't comment on quality etc. yet.

I think this gives a better option for your awning so that you don't have to walk through into the van walking on the ground sheet if you don't want to. The inner tent can be detatched and removed as and when you want.

An inner tent gives better protection from heat and cold and helps avoid leaks from inadvertantly touching wet canvas walls.

Thanks for all the feedback.
I've held of buying anything and will have a good look around the options at vanfest.

Well we've still not bought anything, and now really should focus the attention on getting an awning before the summer outing.

Been offered a JK spacemaker but i think its going to be too big.

Any more advice?