Roller awnings

[greeninit]

Hello to you all. I have a 2003, Swift Challenger 530SE. I am looking to buy a roller awning, has anybody
had a similar buy for the same caravan. I am recovering from a back injury and do not want too much hassle
when we set up or take down.Thanks.

 

[NigelHutson]

Hello greeninit,

By roller awning, do you mean roll out canopies such as the Fiamma Caravanstore?

Nigel

 

[greeninit]

Hi Nigel, yes I do mean a Fiamma caravanstore. I think the maximum for us is the 190cm,
due to the short length of a straight rail. But easy is good.

 

[NigelHutson]

I have had one for the past decade or so, and it's still going strong. It is so simple to use, although to avoid any risk of damage to the caravan it will need two of you when putting it up or taking it down. However, they are predominantly a sun shade and are not designed to be used in strong winds or heavy rain (as they can collect huge amounts of water even if you do put a good slope on).

We bought ours after taking a full awning to the south of France and only using the roof, plus the frame of course, and have never looked back.

The other thing to bear in mind (with your back trouble) is that they roll up and have to be rolled right up to almost roof level before being zipped into their cover (which remains on the side of the caravan), so you will probably have to stretch somewhat.

 

[Martin24]

I'm a wheelchair user so my wife has to do most of the work setting up etc. We have stuck with our Isabella Magnum porch as it's easier to put up single handed than rolling up where you really need two people.

 

[RayS]

I've had a 3m. Fiamma for some years and find it excellent. But it is heavy to roll up. I'm about 6ft tall and can manage it standing on the top step of our double step entry stool, But I would suggest a 'phantom' practice before you go any further.

See if your wife can comfortably reach the awning rail with both hands while standing on a suitable support. She will need to be confident about being up there as you need both hands to hold the rolled up blind in position while fastening the velcro strap round it. Then you have to move the stool/support to each end in turn and repeat the strapping in and start the zips. Then you can finish closing the zips from the ground using a length of broom handle with a cup hook screwed into the end.

It seems to me that the sort of pull-out used on motor vans may be more suitable. These are operated from the ground using a winding handle, and appear to be pretty easy to use - i've no personal experience.
The snag is they don't fit into the awning rail and will need to be either bolted through the sidewall of the caravan or to the roof using right angle brackets. The latter is quite commonly seen on continental caravans. They are much heavier than the Caravanstore type and require some consideration of your available payload. If you use the roof bracket system you can position them along the length such that the weight is distributed evenly front to back or more towards one end or the other depending on how the nose weight is. This method may also increase the overall height of the caravan - possible an issue with ferries or if you use indoor storage.

 

[chrisbee1]

I've had a 3m. Fiamma for some years and find it excellent. But it is heavy to roll up. I'm about 6ft tall and can manage it standing on the top step of our double step entry stool, But I would suggest a 'phantom' practice before you go any further.

See if your wife can comfortably reach the awning rail with both hands while standing on a suitable support. She will need to be confident about being up there as you need both hands to hold the rolled up blind in position while fastening the velcro strap round it. Then you have to move the stool/support to each end in turn and repeat the strapping in and start the zips. Then you can finish closing the zips from the ground using a length of broom handle with a cup hook screwed into the end.

It seems to me that the sort of pull-out used on motor vans may be more suitable. These are operated from the ground using a winding handle, and appear to be pretty easy to use - i've no personal experience.
The snag is they don't fit into the awning rail and will need to be either bolted through the sidewall of the caravan or to the roof using right angle brackets. The latter is quite commonly seen on continental caravans. They are much heavier than the Caravanstore type and require some consideration of your available payload. If you use the roof bracket system you can position them along the length such that the weight is distributed evenly front to back or more towards one end or the other depending on how the nose weight is. This method may also increase the overall height of the caravan - possible an issue with ferries or if you use indoor storage.

I was chatting to a motorhome owner in France in the summer who had one of these wind out awnings on his brand new vehicle. He complained that if he parked under trees and leaves or other debris fell on the canopy, he couldn't reach it to remove it. Furthermore, when he then rolled the awning up the debris stopped it rolling up as tightly as necessary so it wouldn't fit info the cassette. Perhaps more experienced owners have devised a way of removing the rubbish or don't pitch under trees but it was certainly causing him big problems.

 

[Kenzo]

We have Caravanstore Zip 4.1m. Brilliant piece of kit. We also bought the front and sides. We love it and looked recently to maybe change to an air awning ... but nothing better out there IMHO.
Kenzo.

 

[KeefySher]

I've had a 3m. Fiamma for some years and find it excellent. But it is heavy to roll up. I'm about 6ft tall and can manage it standing on the top step of our double step entry stool, But I would suggest a 'phantom' practice before you go any further.

See if your wife can comfortably reach the awning rail with both hands while standing on a suitable support. She will need to be confident about being up there as you need both hands to hold the rolled up blind in position while fastening the velcro strap round it. Then you have to move the stool/support to each end in turn and repeat the strapping in and start the zips. Then you can finish closing the zips from the ground using a length of broom handle with a cup hook screwed into the end.

It seems to me that the sort of pull-out used on motor vans may be more suitable. These are operated from the ground using a winding handle, and appear to be pretty easy to use - i've no personal experience.
The snag is they don't fit into the awning rail and will need to be either bolted through the sidewall of the caravan or to the roof using right angle brackets. The latter is quite commonly seen on continental caravans. They are much heavier than the Caravanstore type and require some consideration of your available payload. If you use the roof bracket system you can position them along the length such that the weight is distributed evenly front to back or more towards one end or the other depending on how the nose weight is. This method may also increase the overall height of the caravan - possible an issue with ferries or if you use indoor storage.

I was chatting to a motorhome owner in France in the summer who had one of these wind out awnings on his brand new vehicle. He complained that if he parked under trees and leaves or other debris fell on the canopy, he couldn't reach it to remove it. Furthermore, when he then rolled the awning up the debris stopped it rolling up as tightly as necessary so it wouldn't fit info the cassette. Perhaps more experienced owners have devised a way of removing the rubbish or don't pitch under trees but it was certainly causing him big problems.

Is this serious? On either a full cassette roll out or the Caravanstore, just drop the canopy outer edge to the ground and let the dextrous matter fall of, or brush it off before winding up the canopy. Rocket science is about beating gravity, clearing dextrous matter off a canopy awning isn't. :evil: :evil:

 

[Plodd]

I've had a 3m. Fiamma for some years and find it excellent. But it is heavy to roll up. I'm about 6ft tall and can manage it standing on the top step of our double step entry stool, But I would suggest a 'phantom' practice before you go any further.

See if your wife can comfortably reach the awning rail with both hands while standing on a suitable support. She will need to be confident about being up there as you need both hands to hold the rolled up blind in position while fastening the velcro strap round it. Then you have to move the stool/support to each end in turn and repeat the strapping in and start the zips. Then you can finish closing the zips from the ground using a length of broom handle with a cup hook screwed into the end.

It seems to me that the sort of pull-out used on motor vans may be more suitable. These are operated from the ground using a winding handle, and appear to be pretty easy to use - i've no personal experience.
The snag is they don't fit into the awning rail and will need to be either bolted through the sidewall of the caravan or to the roof using right angle brackets. The latter is quite commonly seen on continental caravans. They are much heavier than the Caravanstore type and require some consideration of your available payload. If you use the roof bracket system you can position them along the length such that the weight is distributed evenly front to back or more towards one end or the other depending on how the nose weight is. This method may also increase the overall height of the caravan - possible an issue with ferries or if you use indoor storage.

I was chatting to a motorhome owner in France in the summer who had one of these wind out awnings on his brand new vehicle. He complained that if he parked under trees and leaves or other debris fell on the canopy, he couldn't reach it to remove it. Furthermore, when he then rolled the awning up the debris stopped it rolling up as tightly as necessary so it wouldn't fit info the cassette. Perhaps more experienced owners have devised a way of removing the rubbish or don't pitch under trees but it was certainly causing him big problems.

Is this serious? On either a full cassette roll out or the Caravanstore, just drop the canopy outer edge to the ground and let the dextrous matter fall of, or brush it off before winding up the canopy. Rocket science is about beating gravity, clearing dextrous matter off a canopy awning isn't. :evil: :evil:

On motorhome wind outs there are two very substantial bars which support the weight and are designed to stop it doing what you suggest.

 

[KeefySher]

I've had a 3m. Fiamma for some years and find it excellent. But it is heavy to roll up. I'm about 6ft tall and can manage it standing on the top step of our double step entry stool, But I would suggest a 'phantom' practice before you go any further.

See if your wife can comfortably reach the awning rail with both hands while standing on a suitable support. She will need to be confident about being up there as you need both hands to hold the rolled up blind in position while fastening the velcro strap round it. Then you have to move the stool/support to each end in turn and repeat the strapping in and start the zips. Then you can finish closing the zips from the ground using a length of broom handle with a cup hook screwed into the end.

It seems to me that the sort of pull-out used on motor vans may be more suitable. These are operated from the ground using a winding handle, and appear to be pretty easy to use - i've no personal experience.
The snag is they don't fit into the awning rail and will need to be either bolted through the sidewall of the caravan or to the roof using right angle brackets. The latter is quite commonly seen on continental caravans. They are much heavier than the Caravanstore type and require some consideration of your available payload. If you use the roof bracket system you can position them along the length such that the weight is distributed evenly front to back or more towards one end or the other depending on how the nose weight is. This method may also increase the overall height of the caravan - possible an issue with ferries or if you use indoor storage.

I was chatting to a motorhome owner in France in the summer who had one of these wind out awnings on his brand new vehicle. He complained that if he parked under trees and leaves or other debris fell on the canopy, he couldn't reach it to remove it. Furthermore, when he then rolled the awning up the debris stopped it rolling up as tightly as necessary so it wouldn't fit info the cassette. Perhaps more experienced owners have devised a way of removing the rubbish or don't pitch under trees but it was certainly causing him big problems.

Is this serious? On either a full cassette roll out or the Caravanstore, just drop the canopy outer edge to the ground and let the dextrous matter fall of, or brush it off before winding up the canopy. Rocket science is about beating gravity, clearing dextrous matter off a canopy awning isn't. :evil: :evil:

On motorhome wind outs there are two very substantial bars which support the weight and are designed to stop it doing what you suggest.

The cassette type such as Fiamma and Thule have articulated bars to support the canopy in the 'roof' structure and fold down two piece 'legs' that support the canopy the ground. There are also support bars that locate on the body of an RV. All facilitate angular positioning of the canopy downwards to do as I suggest. Try it.

 

[chrisbee1]

Perhaps the guy I chatted with wasn't deploying the sun shade correctly. There were certainly no legs being used. It looked just like the sort of awning you see on shop fronts in many high streets. He also mentioned that he was offered the option of an electric motor to wind it in and out when he ordered his motorhome.

 

[Bob_5041432]

Sorry - I know this topic has been running for some time. For what it is worth, we fitted an Thule Omnistor 6200 this year and, although not cheap, along with the motor mover, it is undoubtable the best accessory that we have ever bought. I do not see us ever using a normal awning again. It is very easy to wind in and out. With the legs pegged down and the Thule tie-down kit deployed, it survived a heavy Venice storm without a hitch.