Club 80-90 Forums

Howdy all,
Any recommendations for awnings? (driveaway type)
I have (will be collecting) and Autosleeper Hightop in the (very) near future (can't wait now...)
Cheers!
Adey

AdeyB wrote:Howdy all,
Any recommendations for awnings? (driveaway type)
I have (will be collecting) and Autosleeper Hightop in the (very) near future (can't wait now...)
Cheers!
Adey

Yes I'd like to know that too - I've just today bought an Autosleeper hightop! You didn't buy that one in Paighton in Devon by any chance did you?

I can only speak about the one I have for my own camper. I shopped around and managed to get a brand new one of ebay for £89. Bargain!

http://www.outdoorworld.co.uk/outdoor-r ... tor-awning

The awning I have is from Bus Depot, it's the EZ Awning (large). I purchased the smaller of the two before the large came out and it worked well for my needs. Not permanent attached to the van and it stows easily. Here's a video of it's setup along with the Go Westy Wasser blocker.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZhchCnjA ... ture=g-upl" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I have just got rid of my outdoor revolution navigator as it takes too long to put up (just my opinion). I now have a Khyam driveaway sleeper, it's a dome version and takes 10 minutes max to assemble and saves a lot of time with kids and dogs on tow. Got a built in groundsheet and has a high waterproofing value. Picked mine up on fleabag.

Thanks for the input.
Which are the awnings with the quick-connecting poles.
I too don't want to spend the first hour on arrival wrestling an awning up with the kids going mental in the van!
Adey

I have the outdoor revolution navigator kombi, its huge. Needs 2 people to put up. Great for longer stays & provides plenty of space which is handy with 2 kids.
Would I buy it again? Probably not. Issues with the seams in heavy rain & the sheer time it takes to put up.

The khyam awnings have the quick erect poles.

Brilliant, cheers for the info.
I WILL post a picture of the camper when I get round to the photobucket thingy...
Waiting on a refurb 2e3 carb to make my bus lovely and speedy...
Adey

I Have a Kyham motordome sleeper, its great for the four of us we use the bedroom bit to store all the kids seats, clothes etc. Means we can sleep eight as well.
Takes a bit longer to put up than the straight Motordome but the extra space is good.
Also it survived a huge storm in France last year that destroyed several tents.
Though you have to be careful with the connecting bit (we managed to make a hole in it with the sliding door )

If you're looking for the awning for living space I'd recommend the Quechua Base Seconds pop up tent. They take minutes to pop up and are really spacious, they also have little "peaks" you can fit over the van doorway.

http://tente.quechua.com/en/tent/r-9,a- ... ds-xl.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Silky

Silky wrote:If you're looking for the awning for living space I'd recommend the Quechua Base Seconds pop up tent. They take minutes to pop up and are really spacious, they also have little "peaks" you can fit over the van doorway.

http://tente.quechua.com/en/tent/r-9,a- ... ds-xl.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Silky

Would you happen to have a photo of a van & this tent? I'd be keen to see them side by side...

I haven't but I've spotted a great one on Dela's FB profile, hers has been well used this year. I'll pm her to see if she minds it being posted up.

Silky

Hey there

For all you new owners id just chill out for a minute. go camping, or even better to some club meets and look at the different styles available. Also assess what type of camping you do.

We went out and bought a big awning not long after we got the van, then discovered we never used it as we couldnt be bothered to put it up.

because we like to move on every couple of days we now just have an adapted tent canopy to give sun and shower protection whilst we save up for a roll out one.

We have 2 kids and a dog and dont miss the space. If you buy aything, buy a trailer - T25s with kids and dogs are to small - our little trailer has literally transformed things for us far more than an awning. you dont spend hours unpacking/packing the van and stuff like child seats go in there when were pulled up.The added bonus is you can leave it gaurding your pitch!

Tom

Silky wrote:I haven't but I've spotted a great one on Dela's FB profile, hers has been well used this year. I'll pm her to see if she minds it being posted up.

Silky

That would be cool if you could, it looks like a good piece of kit.

I have a two man pop up tent that I dump all the crap in. Takes seconds.
I also have a jk Munich awning. Quite small but bomb proof. It actually gets used more as a tent when our teenagers come with us.

I stopped connecting the awning to the van years ago for two reasons: it's unsociable and dark, and I could never get it setup right. Now I just park it at the side of the van so I can open the sliding door and see the world.
I appreciate some people want that privacy but it is worth choosing an awning that you can make brighter if you want to - ie lift up sides.

Another thing that is very important is strength. We have all seen awnings damaged by storms in the middle of summer. Poles snap, things rip and if you have kids sleeping in it, your holiday can be ruined or at least you will have very stressful nights when the wind picks up.

So to sum up, if I was to buy again I would get a kyham motor dome or similar. Possibly an Outwell as they are very high quality too.
If on a budget, I would get the frame tent construction type with steel poles. I would go nowhere near a tunnel awning - cheap and weak.

I have to say, the advice above about going camping first and working out your needs is spot on, but if you can't wait then I hope this helps.

Ringo