Seasonal Awning? Air or Pole? Talk to me...

[MissLong]

Really torn on what awning to get, We are on a seasonal pitch... I have 3 in the selection at the moment,
1) Kampa Ace Air pro 400
2) Dormea President 250 I think
3) Isabella not sure which one......

It will be set up from start to finish of season (fingers and toes crossed, I was watching some people on site setting their's up and it seemed the difference between Air and Pole was a argument lol!
The air was deffo set up quicker,
So who has what or who has had both, pro's and cons please peeps

 

[alan29]

We have a poled full awning. It takes us 20 minutes to put up and about another 30 to PROPERLY peg down.
Never had a row putting it up.
I have never seen an air awning on a seasonal pitch - there must be a reason.

 

[otherclive]

On a winter seasonal pitch I would recommend a poled awning. Your three types are as different as chalk and cheese in terms of quality and price.

 

[Thingy]

After my experience this year, I wouldnt have another air awning if it were free. I dont think Dorema are as good as they used to be and they werent brilliant before. The Isabella wins hands down, but on a seasonal pitch I would avoid the lighter weight touring awnings such as Capri and Ambassador.

Commodore, Prisma and Penta from Isabella are more seasonal pitch orientated. Perhaps steel poles too for permanent pitching.

 

[Parksy]

Stay away from air awnings, you won't get a season out of them without problems.
Any good pole awning will fit bill, look on E-Bay for a decent used Isabella to get you started, you can't go wrong with an Izzy but a new one could be a very expensive purchase for an awning that's doing a job that it was never designed for

 

[Craigyoung]

Agree with the above , never seen an air awning on a seasonal pitch , we had an Isabella full size poled awning , great product and hard wearing .

 

[otherclive]

If using Isabella which are very good don’t forget to use the internal storm guy arrangements or make some up yourselves and we also used the external tie down points which are around the periphery just below the windows. Isabella website shows how both tie down arrangements work. Ours was a Magnum not full size but large enough when family stayed and didn’t need changing when the van was changed.

 

[Raywood]

I would be cautious about using an awning on a seasonal pitch unless you can get there reasonably quickly if you get a sudden storm warning and you have a sheltered pitch.
From what I have seen of the two types a good make with poles rather than air is the best bet I would still tend to take it down after each use except where you know your next visit will be near enough for you to be sure of the weather between visits.
Most good awnings will stand a modest storm but will often need adjustment after that, but they will certainly need checking so you do need to be there. If there is a severe storm then the awning should come down before it anyway.

 

[Thingy]

On the subject of poles, you have three options if you discount the air awning, which we cant advise enough to do
that. I would totally discount aluminium poles, they may be lightweight but they can buckle very quickly in a bad storm. There is much to be said about steel and carbon frames. Steel possibly is a modicum more robust but its heavy, which means a tradeoff if you want to tour with the awning. The fibre/carbon are very close in strength and much much lighter. The one thing a carbon frame has that steel doesnt is flexibility.

Given all that, I totally concur with Raywoods thoughts and between visits i would certainly be inclined to take the awning down.

The air awnings can suffer very badly from condensation, and there are numerous incidents of leaking poles and just as many of exploding poles which was my experience. Even with a slight leak the awning would begin to sag very quickly and once the wind gets up its stops being an awning and becomes a sail.

 

[MissLong]

Thank you again everyone, I obviously had a good walk with the dog (nosey around everybody's set up and a couple had air awnings but they didn't look like they was holding up to well, Dormea Awnings are very popular, but the couple of Isabella ones looked very nice.

The suggestion to get a second hand one, do you think this is wise?
So even with Steel poles and all the storm straps you wouldn't leave it up for the season?

 

[Craigyoung]

Definitely worth looking at second-hand ones as when we sold Isabella full awning it was in perfect condition so the person that bought that got a good bargain and a nice awning , we have since bought a second-hand one of Gumtree for our new caravan in perfect condition so yes have a look and save yourself a few hundred quid



I think we got all of this for less than £3oo .

 

[otherclive]

You will see some awnings on Caravan and Motorhome Club classifieds.

 

[otherclive]

Definitely worth looking at second-hand ones as when we sold Isabella full awning it was in perfect condition so the person that bought that got a good bargain and a nice awning , we have since bought a second-hand one of Gumtree for our new caravan in perfect condition so yes have a look and save yourself a few hundred quid



I think we got all of this for less than £3oo .

Nice draft skirt too

 

[Thingy]

Remember, people dont just sell awnings because they are old or damaged. Very often, when people change their caravan, their old awning wont fit, so there are some stunning bargains to be had.

To answer your question, even with steel poles and storm straps/bands, I wouldnt leave the awning up permanently. Remember if it comes loose, it wont just be canvas flapping around, the poles and pegs can do an awful lot of damage.

 

[Craigyoung]

So for the whole lot , we got a kampa rally pro 33o poled awning , 20 extra rock pegs 1 inner annex tent to go inside the awning for the kids, brand new awning carpet , extra storm poles extra storm straps and some of it still had the original prices on from Ropers Caravan world !!
So get looking .

 

[Anseo]

Definitely worth looking at second-hand ones as when we sold Isabella full awning it was in perfect condition so the person that bought that got a good bargain and a nice awning , we have since bought a second-hand one of Gumtree for our new caravan in perfect condition so yes have a look and save yourself a few hundred quid



I think we got all of this for less than £3oo .

Looks like a great purchase Craig, well done. B)

 

[Thingy]

BTW for the OP.
Take a look at this thread to see how good air awnings arent.

https://www.practicalcaravan.com/forum/equipment-accessories/56576-kampa-awning-problem

 

[Mel]

We have a seasonal pitch but can only leave the awning up in the summer. The site is lovely but up a hill and it can get windy. We use a steel poled awning. The people next to us leave up an air awning and those of us on neighbouring pitches take it in turns to pump it up if he isn't there, cos it's got a leak :cheer:
The thing about the poled awning is that you can use internal ( on the frame) tie down. Isabella offer ones as an accessory, but we just got Rachet straps from Aldi (4 for a tenner as opposed to Isabella's twenty odd quid each)
Our seasonal awning is a Walker awning. Made in the Netherlands. Cheaper than Isabella and comparable quality imho.
Mel

 

[Dustydog]

Isabella with carbon x poles and as Clive says internal storm straps.The original storm pegs are 18” long using heavy duty webbing.
All the seasonals I have seen this year are Isabella or Bradcot. My Kampa Rallye Air awning is still in the loft awaiting saleconce I get round to replacing a punctured tube for the fourth time. It will be a very brave person indeed who leaves an air awning unattended for days on end.
Also if you look closely at the Isabella there are no trip hazard guy lines at all. The use a patented elasticated fastener between the peg and canvas.

 

[otherclive]

Here’s a link to Isabella seasonal awnings. You will see on some photos small white inverted triangles above the level of the lower blue/grey section if the awnings. These are additional tie downs which can be used on their own or in conjunction with internal storm tie downs. On the website there is a section on storm precautions too.

https://www.isabella.net/uk/isabella-club/permanent-pitchers/awning-and-equipment-guide

 

[MissLong]

Ooo nice bit of advice and link's thank you very much, interesting about leaving it up also as I would have just used it like an extension of the van permanently now thinking otherwise, I like the idea of the summer esp if we get another corker like this year....... all these decisions lol

 

[Anseo]

I had a very brief look at Dustydog's Isabella porch awning quite recently, I was impressed.

I particularly liked the 'no external tie-downs' aspect.

As a consequence of viewing DD's awning I am on the look out for a used Isabella porch awning, I really don't need another awning (have 2 already) but if the right offer comes up I will buy one, I shall bide my time and keep on the look out for that special bargain (tight Scottish git with sewn up pockets and no sporran)

 

[Dustydog]

Found this on a Bailey Members Club page. Same problems as mine. I suspect the material used for the bladder is flawed. It is like a thick polythene bag. Kids balloons last longer

 

[Craigyoung]

Attached pictures DD ?
......or are they to follow

 

[Dustydog]

Attached pictures DD ?
......or are they to follow

Sorted.