How difficult to erect awning?

[Pat_374304630]

This is an excellent thread.

A couple of years ago when at Billing Aquadrome we went for a walk.Me the wife kids & grandkids.We noticed a couple struggling to put up their awning.I thought to myself, would they think I was a know it all interfering old git,if I went over to them and gave advice.

Caution to the wind,I went over to them,got them to dismantle what they had done and went through step by step how to put the awning up.I watched ( supervised really ) as they did it and it went up quickly.Last piece of advice to was ,when taking it down do the steps in reverse.

It made me feel a lot better.

 

[David_374245056]

When i first started putting up awnings i was given a silicone based spray to put through the awning channel. never been without it since then

 

[swift2008]

Hi,

As new caravanners we have only put up our awning 3 times. First time was at Broadway CC site where a neighbour very kindly saw our obvious inexperienced attempts and came to the rescue with a Spray Awning Lubricant and the knowledge. The awning was up in no time at all. We rewarded this kind soul with a bottle of Pinot Grigio.

We then Numbered the pole sections so that they were easily identifiable i.e roof, front and apex.

The tricky bit i think is knowing how the pads for fitting the poles fix onto the awning. This is worth investigating before hand or asking an experienced caravanner for advice.

Our second and third attempts have been very simple taking about 1 hr.

Dont forget to lubricate the awning rail !!

Hope you have fun.

 

[Duggie_374362603]

Ian

you will need to open youre awning up before you go away i spent about 2hrs getting all the tiedown straps fitted into there spaces ( about 50 parts )plus you will need to attach your pads that go against the caravan sides that also takes time the awning i have got is an NR check all the bits are there they should give you a list of parts

you should also get coloured sticky tape with it

good luck

Duggie

 

[mealsonwheels]

It's too late to suggest this to you Ian, as you've bought your awning, but Bradcot do 'easy alloy' awning poles for their awnings, which really make erecting easier. They have just 3 sets of poles, with each set joined, so no loose poles laying around to join together. Bradcot awnings are more expensive than most, but are well worth it, not only for the quality of the awning, but the ease with which it's erected.

We used a 2005 Bradcot Classic on our two-berth Charisma and liked it so much we bought the same awning again for a bigger caravan. We are selling the smaller one (870cm).

 

[Silversusie]

Once we had worked out which poles went where, we labelled them all and drew up a corresponding chart, which we still need to use, even after 9 years!

The advice to use a silicone spray on the awning rail is spot on (we use a can of furniture polish), as is "take your time". If we arrive on site after about 3pmish, we devote the next morning to putting up the awning, as putting it up when you're tired is definitely a recipe for disaster. If there is even the slightest hint of a breeze, peg it down temporarily as you go along. We've seen an awning (and poles) flip over the top of a caravan when the wind caught it.

Tie down straps - definitely, for peace of mind. The first time we used them, we made sure that the webbing laid flat across the roof of the awning but found that it flapped up and down in the wind, making a "slapping" noise on the roof, very annoying! So now we twist it a couple of times in between the front, centre and back poles and this seemed to cure it.

However, we wouldn't be without it as it gives us and our dog so much extra space.

Susan

 

[Chaps]

Me and our oldest son have been nagging Rob about getting a full sized awning soon but, having read this thread (very entertaining and informative by the way!) I think we'll stick to our Sunncamp 260 for now!

We had a nightmare pegging out on a hardstanding at Sheepcote Valley CC site in Brighton a couple of weeks ago and had even more trouble getting the b*&&$>s out again! They seemed to have concreted themselves in and we had to chip away at the surrounding area to get them out. Seriously considering screwpegs but the ground was so hard at Sheepcote that I think the drill would have burned out.

 

[Roy_374355334]

I can`t understand why you have a problem with your awnings,firstly a quick spray of furniture polish around the awning rail,thread awning into the rail check both sides a equal depending on lay of ground,go inside poles in peg down all done in 15 minutes max whatever the weather,and I can never understand why people take out the fronts and sides when they take there awnings down,doesn`t make sense to me.

Regards

Roy

 

[Richard_374360763]

I must have been lucky, along with Rob! This is my first 'van,an old '76 ABI Target, & I got my awning for nothing off Freecycle before I collected the 'van! Big old canvas thing with no removable panels, must be as old as the 'van. Bit of Mr. Sheen, one of those plastic coated steel hook things to pull the awning round with, 20 minutes later (have to do it single-handed) Bobs your uncle- caravan, awning - done!