Awning size

[DanielJohnson]

Hi
I have recently purchased a sterling Eccles 640 sport (2015).
It came with a traditional full awning but for ease I am considering a vango varkala air awning. From checking it out they don’t follow the whole caravan awning channel only the horizontal top flat section. Any idea how long that section is? As this length dictates which awning you can have. The caravan is in storage and I can not get to it for another week or so and wanted to order an awning.
Thanks in advance
Daniel

 

[Icaru5]

Hello Daniel, and welcome to the forum !

Regarding measuring up for your new air awning, it’s not just about the length of the horizontal part of the awning rail.

Awning rail height is also a factor, but having a swift group van like yourself and also having 2 Vango Air awnings, I can safely say that this won’t be an issue, but what is an important thing to consider and one that is easily overlooked is the position of the windows. You really don’t want the awning to end where you have a window.

Although your van is in storage, why not arm yourself with a tape measure and visit a local caravan dealer who have other vans with an identical layout to yours on display (it doesn’t have to be an Eccles Sport 640, as there will undoubtedly be other Swift vans marketed under the Sprite, Challenger and Conqueror names with the same dimensions, as you will be able to see with a quick search on Swift’s website) and measure up. Make a note of the dimensions of the air awning you are considering, and make sure that the awning would fit without conflicting with any windows. It’s also a good idea to have a look at, and take measurements directly from display awnings that are the same as the ones you are considering as they also occupy a little extra awning rail space on each side which has some additional webbing in the form of a gusset to keep the whole thing taut. These end sections don’t necessarily have to be confined to the horizontal section of the rail, as ours isn’t at the rear, and this doesn’t present a problem.

There are some forum members who through experience would advise against purchasing an air awning but to the best of my knowledge, the vast majority of these are relating to Kampa awnings, and not Vango. I only have experience of the latter, and touch wood, have never had any issues with either of mine,

EDIIT: After a cursory glance online, I can see that the Sprite Quattro DD, Swift Challenger 640 and Swift Conqueror 640 are the same basic van as yours Daniel and so you shouldn’t have too much trouble in finding one locally to measure up.

I Hope this helps, but if you do need any more info, or advice, don’t hesitate to ask, as you’re certainly in the right place !

Ic.

 

[Raywood]

This length is not published but you might find one at a dealers if you are lucky. Not sure anyone on here has one though, so a trip to the storage area will probably be needed.

 

[Icaru5]

** Duplicate post. Mods - Please remove, thanks.

 

[Mel]

Sorry Daniel, unless someone on here has the same van on their driveway, there is no substitute for arming yourself with a tape measure and measuring it yourself. Not only do you need the amount of flat awning rail, it would be useful to work out if a non full awning is going to cross a window or external locker door. Not a deal breaker if they do, but you may want to know in advance.
I think I am repeating what Icaru5 said here; I would also suggest looking at the length of rail you need to fit the side walls of the awning as well as the actual length of the Kador ( the beaded bit that goes on the rail). For example on an Elddis 302 ( tiny van) we had 245cm of straight rail. TheVango Rapide 250 that we bought has a distance apart of the side walls of the awning of 240cm, at the back, where it meets the van, so it would fit. The Kador was 255 cm but this wasn’t a problem as it just curved down the rail. If you see what I mean. BTW we have had Vango and Kampa air awnings and had good experiences of both.
Good luck
Mel

 

[alan29]

You might not want the awning rubbing against the windows and marking them. So better to find tyhe best measurement that avoids that happening.

 

[otherclive]

You might not want the awning rubbing against the windows and marking them. So better to find tyhe best measurement that avoids that happening.

Depending on caravan model especially if you have a door in front of the axle it’s quite difficult to avoid a front side window. There’s sometimes insufficient space between the front edge of the door frame and rear edge of window. So for mine I give the window a good wash on arrival. I then wipe down the vertical foam pad that will go across the window. I also use small awning rail stoppers which restricts the awnings side to side movements.

I’ve had no scratching on the window.

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