Awning Mystery

[michele_5041070]

Can anyone enlighten me? Is a porch awning worth the hassle for one night stays? Which are the most stable and easiest to put up. Does price = quality?

Can I ask the same for the full versions, but for longer summer stays?

We have two children aged 2 and 5 with wellies to boot!

Thank you.

 

[woodsieboy]

Hi MP, over the years we have tried most things with regard to awnings, we started with one piece cotton awning that came with our first caravan, have had Bradcot, Apache, Harrison and all were good value for money. We currently use Isabella Minor porch which is easy to put up gives small space for the dog, coats, boots etc, we use this mainly for weekends For longer stays we have been using Isabela full awning which is easy to put up and take down and gives you equivalent space to the caravan, ideal if you want somewhere to eat or keep kids amused if wet. We have just gone to a smaller van, and the full awning is too big for new van so we looked at using a larger porch but the larger porch would have ended in the middle of a window. We have now gone for a different answer, we bought a Ventura full awning smaller than needed for our caravan, with a pole and pad that fits against the caravan, so we now have a full depth awning that is as easy and convenient to put up as a porch, with 4 removable panels that comes about3/4 the way along the length of the caravan I think the Ventura is good value for money and seems to be a budget Isabella,

 

[JON_5040770]

Hi MP

I have two children also aged 4 & 8 we have a 24ft van and use a suncamp porch awning for one night or weekends it is more compact than a normal awning to carry around and a lot easier to put up as it has pole like most dome tents have nowadays it gives just enough room for cotes boots ext and only takes about 15-20 minuets to put up.

As for full awning our last van came with an Isabella they have to be the best,

We now have a bradcote simply because we could not afford the

 

[Zbungle]

I think that once you have had an awning, it will take a lot of persuading to make you do without it. As Keith says, you double the caravan space and it's a good place for the kids to play when the weather is not 100%. Ours gets used for storing tables and chairs, bikes, shoes, coats and all the other 'stuff' that accumulates on a long holiday. For weekends and short stay holidays I am a big advocate of the SunnCamp Scenic porch awning. If it rains on the morning we are leaving a site we just roll it up wet and then it is so light we can peg it onto the washing line when we get home. The more you pay, the better the quality so you have to decide if you want

 

[Noproblems_5041246]

We bought a porch awning and used it a few times but do not bother with it, even when on a site for a few days. The additional space is not all that great and there is the fun and games in erecting and dismantling it. Often think it would be as easy, if not easier to erect a full awning and that would give a great deal more space. The only time the poch awning has been of use ecently as on a muddy site - we used the breahtable groundsheet outside the door

 

[Steve_5041618]

Hi MP;

To answer your specific question. I have a porch awning which I do use for one night/short stays. Reason being, it's much easier to get wellies/coats on when it's raining in the awning than struggle trying to open the van door and keep the rain out. Also, we have dogs and for the same reason, it's much easier to towel off wet dogs in the awning and keep the van dry. As for value, I have a Ventura Cadet porch awning. This in effect is an Isabella awning, using their IXL poles/canvas but made under licence in Poland. Thereby making it cheaper than the equivalent Isabella Minor. It takes me about 30mins to errect, if I get a move on. I also have a full awning for longer/summer stays. This time I have a Eurovent Sencere awning as above, this is a Trio awning made under licence in France. Again better value than the equivalent Trio. Hope this helps?

 

[dave_5040150]

hi mp,just got back from sandy balls camp site & used our scenic porch awning for a period of 4 nights.very impressed with it(weather was abismal)it's the same one advertised in towsure for

 

[RayS]

If you need some shelter for one night stopovers etc. without all the hassle, look at the Fiamma caravanstore awning which stays attached to the 'van. Side nad front curtains are vailable, but just to keep the rain off the door for one night it is brilliant and taks about 5 minutes (less with practice) to put up. Warning - when looking at the sizes, buy the one one size bigger thna you first think, and consider an awning tie-down strap too.