How to measure awning without caravan!

[Susan_5062191]

Hi there. Can any body help?

c6 years ago we bought an old 2 berth ABI Award Daystar as my OH had never done caravanning before and wanted to see if we liked it. It was 20 years old when we bought it (I think it was a 1984) and came with an awning which has never been out of the bag.

I know how to measure for an awning against the caravan with the string etc, but how can I measure the awning without the caravan? I would like to sell it as we now have a brand spanking new larger van !!

Will there be something on the awning somewhere to tell me the make/size etc like a tag or something? The thought of getting it out of the bag fills me with dread, which is why it's never been used, and there's only 2 of us, but I will need to if I am going to measure it. Thinking about getting one of these easy to put up porch awnings instead of a full size.

Thanks in advance for any assistance.

 

[WilliamLX]

I share your views on awnings. We bought a Dorema for our last caravan and used it exactly once as it took 3 of us 3 hours to put it up! The instructions that came with it were useless. I would check your awning before trying to sell it, as it may be as old as the caravan and not in good enough shape to sell. Some web research on your old caravans model may tell you what awning size it needs (that was how I found out what size to get for our old 1993 Compass van). Worst buy ever. I think awnings must be for masochists.

 

[John_miller]

If you take the awning out of the bag, there's a strong chance that there will be a label somewhere with the size - unfortunately this may just say something like "Size 11" (you may find the size listed on the manufacturer's website if they still exist), but if you're lucky, it'll have a figure (eg 850) which would be the length in centimetres. If there's no label, then just spread the awning out on the ground and measure the awning side which fits into the awning rail. Obviously, don't include the mudwall - that's the bit below the pegging rubbers which would normally lie on the ground.

 

[MikeA]

Hello Susan,

The Isabella website -

http://service.isabella.net:591/isabella/uk/ameasurement/isabella-howdois.html
- lists the 1984 ABI Award Daystar as requiring an 875 awning. But I don't think that is going to let you off the hook from getting the awning out anyway. First, you don't seem sure that the caravan is actually a 1984 model. Second, if you have never used it, you can't be sure that it actually fitted the caravan very well anyway. Third, surely to sell it you are going to have to be able to tell prospective buyers what sort of condition it is in, not to mention what make it is.

So I suggest you will have to grit your teeth and take it out and give it a good going over to see -

- If there is an indication of the make,

- what colour it is,

- is there a size label,

- is there any damage, or mildew

If you note carefully how it is folded as you get it out, it shouldn't be too difficult to get it back into the bag again afterwards. Try and find a patio or driveway or very dry grass area that is large enough to lay the whole awning out on to make the tast easier.

As John says, if there is no label then you can measure it. But this is not quite as easy as it sounds as some awnings have quite a large mudwall that is part of the overall "A-measurement". The awning will have some kind of a pegging system - rubbers or plastic "ladders" - I suggest you find the nearest ones of these to the ends of the piping that is fed into the awning channel at each end and take a measurement between those running along the route of the piping. Unfortunately, even then you may be a few centimetres out, but it is the best I can think of.

Good luck.

Mike A

 

[Lutz]

If you have doubts about being able to fold the awning together again in the same way as it was before and you have a digital camera, you can take a series of photos as you unfold it. After measuring the awning you can look at the pictures in reverse order. That should guarantee that you get it right.

 

[Susan_5062191]

Thanks ever so much for all your responses.

Sue

 

[audiorob]

Sometimes you will find the size stencilled on the inside of the roof area, or something likea fire-safety label that also states the size. Occasionally the storage bag will be labelled, after all the original vendor had to know the size without unpacking it!