Which Awning??

[JanBn]

Hi, husband and I are new to caravaning, have lots of questions to ask over the next few weeks....sorry , one of my main ones has been answered regarding leveling, for which I am grateful, just wondered if someone can give me some advice on the next big issue I have and that is which awning would you recommend and why? Due to husband's disability I will be doing all the graft B) so wanted an awning that would be easier for me to put up on my own but at the same time giving us a space large enough for four people should we take 'future' grandchildren :lol: we are waiting to take delivery of a Compass single axle four berth. I was convinced the Kampa Ace Air Pro 400 was the one, then read about the air tubes bursting and not lasting longer that 18 months and considering the price, you can imagine I was put off as I'm not looking to re-purchase in the future. I then considered the Vango Kalari Air 420, but the multi inflation points and separate roof tubes, seemed on the video to fiddly for one person. I have been watching videos on the Outdoor Revolution Esprit 420 Air Pro, which seems to cover the issue of the single point inflation and they give a 'lifetime' warranty on the tubes because of the special over inflation valve they have invented to stop tubes bursting. Can anyone tell me if they have any of these products and what their views and recommendations are? Or if there is any other awning you would recommend I have missed? Many thanks

 

[Marbles007]

Just on the verge of buying a caravan myself i have been looking at the quest carina 350 air awning.otherwise i might go for the cheaper option of the quest dorado 350.

 

[Dodger524]

No matter what goods you are buying you will find someone that doesn't like it. I tend to look at Amazon reviews simply because generally there are more reviewers there.
I have a Kampa 330 awning which I brought secondhand on ebay. It is heavy (but that's not just Kampa) for two of us to put up at about 18Kg. The difficult bit is drawing it through the awning rail, once that's done then the rest is easy. It's well made and I doubt that the tubes would burst unless they were seriously over inflated. I doubt that I will bother putting it up unless staying on a site for more than 3 days or more.
I shall now take my time looking at what lightweight alternatives are available (if any) and them make up my mind whether to keep it.

 

[JanBn]

No matter what goods you are buying you will find someone that doesn't like it. I tend to look at Amazon reviews simply because generally there are more reviewers there.
I have a Kampa 330 awning which I brought secondhand on ebay. It is heavy (but that's not just Kampa) for two of us to put up at about 18Kg. The difficult bit is drawing it through the awning rail, once that's done then the rest is easy. It's well made and I doubt that the tubes would burst unless they were seriously over inflated. I doubt that I will bother putting it up unless staying on a site for more than 3 days or more.
I shall now take my time looking at what lightweight alternatives are available (if any) and them make up my mind whether to keep it.

Eeeeek!! you find 18kg heavy for two people to put up hmy: I have no chance with the two I've been looking at which are 24kg and 38kg....may have to go back to the drawing board :lol:

 

[JanBn]

Just on the verge of buying a caravan myself i have been looking at the quest carina 350 air awning.otherwise i might go for the cheaper option of the quest dorado 350.

Thank you, I will look those ones up.....I know it all comes down to personal choice in the end, I was just hoping for some varied opinions

 

[Martin24]

I am a full time wheelchair user these days so of no use for more than supervision purposes.

We have an Isabella Magnum which Mrs B pops up and down on her own. The most I do is hold the odd pole for her. This is the easiest awning we have ever had for construction and the bonus is it looks good too.

We personally would not go down the air route as most of feedback we've heard is they can be a bit heavy to pull through.

Whatever awning you plump for keep your awning rail well lubricated to make the pulling in and out process much easier. Either use a silicone spray or some standard furniture polish. Good luck.

 

[JanBn]

I am a full time wheelchair user these days so of no use for more than supervision purposes.

We have an Isabella Magnum which Mrs B pops up and down on her own. The most I do is hold the odd pole for her. This is the easiest awning we have ever had for construction and the bonus is it looks good too.

We personally would not go down the air route as most of feedback we've heard is they can be a bit heavy to pull through.

Whatever awning you plump for keep your awning rail well lubricated to make the pulling in and out process much easier. Either use a silicone spray or some standard furniture polish. Good luck.

Thank you, I will take a look at that one online now....I have read comments too that they can be heavy :huh: good tip about the lubrication I will be getting some spray to keep in the car.
I think quite a bit of research is required before I make this expensive investment thank you again for your advice.

 

[Dustydog]

Jan
I have both a Kampa Rally Air and Isabella Magnum with carbon x poles.
Like Martin I can honestly say the Izzy wins hands down every time. Feeding the Izzy through the awning rail is a one person job. The poles are light yet very strong. There are no external guy lines to trip over. All three doors are removed making it easy to handle . The Kampa takes two of us to feed it through the awning rail and it is heavy as the whole awning has to be dragged. That said it does have a series of tubes interconnected yet individually isolated by valves so pumping up is a one point port. I have had three tube failures all dealt with by Kampa with new parts sent to site next day delivery. Excellent service but sadly no longer for us. Long live the Izzy

 

[saint-spoon]

From experience I speak, when we got our caravan a year last September I jumped straight in and bought a two thirds length Dorema magnum air awning that seemed to tick all of the boxes for me. In hindsight I would not have bought this awning. don't get me wrong, it is a great awning, well made and we do use it for longer stays but due to the design having four air frames and eight mini inflatable beans that valcro into spread the main beams it isn't that quick to erect.
So I bought a Suncamp 360 porch awning for weekends from amazon. up in ten minutes, single air beam that even my 6 year old can inflate in 5 minutes (when she catches me putting it up and insists in helping). Great awning in my opinion and I wish that I had bought that one first to give me time to have a look and see what other people have got and had a chat before investing in something bigger for longer holidays.

So I would suggest that you go for a cheaper porch if you need something to store bikes and stuff in (don't buy one if you can live without for a few trips), and have a chat with folk who have awnings that you like the look of before you invest in something bigger.

Both awnings have not only survived, but stood up remarkably well to some pretty ferocious weather as well.

 

[Dodger524]

I did use an awning brush to move the accumulated junk from the awning rail but I hadn't thought of adding a polish, will try that.
One thing we did do is to clip a dog lead to the awning so that one person could pull the awning along the rail once it was into the horezontal part whilst the othet continued to feed.

 

[KeefySher]

We have a Bradcot Aspire Air 390, excellent bit of kit.

I can set it up single handed. The only time feeding the bead into the awning channel was awkward when I first attempted to feed in from the lower point in the awning rail as opposed to the upper feed point and was met with a glob of mastic in the channel left behind from when the caravan was thrown together at the assemblers.

I use the caravan step to make reaching the top of the awning rail easier.

Spreading the awning out before attempting to fit is beneficial.

This last time when packing it away it fitted back in the bag with loads of space to spare, ready for next deployment.

Single inflation point, multiple deflation points to expel the air.

Super bit of kit that has survived storms that brought down 3 issabella full awnings on the same site.

Can't recommend highly enough

 

[Dustydog]

Keith.
Jan has a disabled husband and like Martin's wife she has to do all the donkey work.
The most physical aspect of erecting any awning imo is carrying from car to caravan and the threading it through the rail.
On that point alone a non air awning is far easier and lighter to drag through.
We still have our Kampa and yes the inflation etc is easy but not the threading.
However I still think a lady by herself needs everything to be light and easy.
The debate on air versus conventional tubes will continue for years. It will be interesting to see how the new designs including my Kampa fair over the years .

 

[NTXF]

Recently binned an outdoor revolution air awning due to condensation issues and gone back to isabella magnum. So easy to put up as we erect with the front and side panels removed making it so much easier to get in the awning rail in fact my wife likes to this on her own as ime useless apparently!!

 

[JanBn]

Jan
I have both a Kampa Rally Air and Isabella Magnum with carbon x poles.
Like Martin I can honestly say the Izzy wins hands down every time. Feeding the Izzy through the awning rail is a one person job. The poles are light yet very strong. There are no external guy lines to trip over. All three doors are removed making it easy to handle . The Kampa takes two of us to feed it through the awning rail and it is heavy as the whole awning has to be dragged. That said it does have a series of tubes interconnected yet individually isolated by valves so pumping up is a one point port. I have had three tube failures all dealt with by Kampa with new parts sent to site next day delivery. Excellent service but sadly no longer for us. Long live the Izzy

Thank you for your reply, this is very interesting having an opinion from someone who has both types. You have described my exact worry with Kampa and that is the tube failure that seems to be quite common. I saw the Outdoor Revolution Esprite, which is supposed to have a lifetime warranty on the air tubes as they have an 'over inflation' safety valve to prevent bursting. The only downside is they are one complete tube (not isolated like the Kampa) so if they do have a puncture the whole lot goes down ...I think I will have to go back to the drawing board and rethink the whole thing :lol:

 

[JanBn]

From experience I speak, when we got our caravan a year last September I jumped straight in and bought a two thirds length Dorema magnum air awning that seemed to tick all of the boxes for me. In hindsight I would not have bought this awning. don't get me wrong, it is a great awning, well made and we do use it for longer stays but due to the design having four air frames and eight mini inflatable beans that valcro into spread the main beams it isn't that quick to erect.
So I bought a Suncamp 360 porch awning for weekends from amazon. up in ten minutes, single air beam that even my 6 year old can inflate in 5 minutes (when she catches me putting it up and insists in helping). Great awning in my opinion and I wish that I had bought that one first to give me time to have a look and see what other people have got and had a chat before investing in something bigger for longer holidays.

Hi, thank you, I am beginning to think this is the way forward too. Not to buy straightaway and see what others have this season and maybe go to the caravan show end of the year and see what new innovations have been added.

So I would suggest that you go for a cheaper porch if you need something to store bikes and stuff in (don't buy one if you can live without for a few trips), and have a chat with folk who have awnings that you like the look of before you invest in something bigger.

Both awnings have not only survived, but stood up remarkably well to some pretty ferocious weather as well.

 

[JanBn]

I did use an awning brush to move the accumulated junk from the awning rail but I hadn't thought of adding a polish, will try that.
One thing we did do is to clip a dog lead to the awning so that one person could pull the awning along the rail once it was into the horezontal part whilst the othet continued to feed.

The dog lead is a good idea, it's something my husband could actually do as he has one good arm! :lol:

 

[JanBn]

Recently binned an outdoor revolution air awning due to condensation issues and gone back to isabella magnum. So easy to put up as we erect with the front and side panels removed making it so much easier to get in the awning rail in fact my wife likes to this on her own as ime useless apparently!!

:lol: This sounds like I need to check this one out, thank you

 

[JanBn]

Keith.
Jan has a disabled husband and like Martin's wife she has to do all the donkey work.
The most physical aspect of erecting any awning imo is carrying from car to caravan and the threading it through the rail.
On that point alone a non air awning is far easier and lighter to drag through.
We still have our Kampa and yes the inflation etc is easy but not the threading.
However I still think a lady by herself needs everything to be light and easy.
The debate on air versus conventional tubes will continue for years. It will be interesting to see how the new designs including my Kampa fair over the years .

It definitely seems to be the threading of the air awnings onto the van in the first place is the main issue. I am thinking of waiting and seeing what is being developed for next season, as I am hoping that Kampa is taking onboard the many issues raised by their customers regarding the tubes bursting and maybe the weight issues :S
thank you for your help

 

[WoodlandsCamper]

regarding the tubes bursting

I don't think the tubes 'burst' due to over-inflation, it is down to leaks. Have you ever been camping and used airbeds? They go soft after 2 or 3 nights use and need topping up.

 

[JanBn]

regarding the tubes bursting

I don't think the tubes 'burst' due to over-inflation, it is down to leaks. Have you ever been camping and used airbeds? They go soft after 2 or 3 nights use and need topping up.

Ahhh yes when I was a child, hated that :lol:

 

[Dustydog]

regarding the tubes bursting

I don't think the tubes 'burst' due to over-inflation, it is down to leaks. Have you ever been camping and used airbeds? They go soft after 2 or 3 nights use and need topping up.

Ahhh yes when I was a child, hated that :lol:

All three of my failures were sudden and unforeseen. The first one actually involved the middle tube liner failing. The inner ones are made of heavy duty polythene, not at all strong looking and heat seamed. We use the Kampa electric pump which has a preset maximum so it can't be overinflated.
I suspect there are more of these awnings stored in peoples lofts and garages because of their unreliability.
For me, and I think you too, dragging the entire awning through the rail is far harder than our Isabella Magnum.
If you live anywhere near Wiltshire you are welcome to try my Kampa for size.
If you do buy an air awning make sure all the tubes can be isolated individually just in case of deflation.

 

[Sianryan]

I'm new to caravaning and a single female (5'6" and about 9 1/2 stone so not big) and my caravan came with a Kampa 390. Havent tried that up solo but took down solo after some kind assistance from the next pitch! However, i also bought a Kampa 250 for shorter trips and put that up quite easily on my own. Just need to be organised and lay everything out where you need it and then go for it! Wasn't too challenging at all, might try the 390 solo next time!!

 

[Hutch]

I am a shorty 5FT 6" Chap and cannot reaĺy get up to the awning rail but if you feed it all in slowly then all goes well. dont try and pull the fully awning through just little bits at a time. And by the time SWMBLAO, gets back from walking the dogs, And getting me a beer the "Divorce in a bag" is up.

 

[JanBn]

regarding the tubes bursting

I don't think the tubes 'burst' due to over-inflation, it is down to leaks. Have you ever been camping and used airbeds? They go soft after 2 or 3 nights use and need topping up.

Ahhh yes when I was a child, hated that :lol:

All three of my failures were sudden and unforeseen. The first one actually involved the middle tube liner failing. The inner ones are made of heavy duty polythene, not at all strong looking and heat seamed. We use the Kampa electric pump which has a preset maximum so it can't be overinflated.
I suspect there are more of these awnings stored in peoples lofts and garages because of their unreliability.
For me, and I think you too, dragging the entire awning through the rail is far harder than our Isabella Magnum.
If you live anywhere near Wiltshire you are welcome to try my Kampa for size.
If you do buy an air awning make sure all the tubes can be isolated individually just in case of deflation.

Thank you, that is very kind of you to offer, we live in Wales but we are still to collect our caravan, it's due the end of the month. Your advice is very helpful, we too are beginning to think that we would end up not using the air awning as it will be 'too much effort' for short trips and as other people have mentioned after a season or two there are leaks. It's an expensive item to invest in and want to make the right choice as it will be the one and only time we will be buying one

 

[JanBn]

I am a shorty 5FT 6" Chap and cannot reaĺy get up to the awning rail but if you feed it all in slowly then all goes well. dont try and pull the fully awning through just little bits at a time. And by the time SWMBLAO, gets back from walking the dogs, And getting me a beer the "Divorce in a bag" is up.

:lol: thanks, all tips and advice is gratefully received