Inflatable Awnings?

janandmick

Free Member
Posts
31
Likes
3
Wondering which are the best? We have a Fiat Ducato Maxi Globecar. It's a 6 berth, but there's not much room to move about inside when the weather is bad. So we're thinking about getting an awning. We have a Fiamma F65s fitted and that's alright for shade from the sun ....... but wind and rain? The safari rooms for the awning look good, but you can't leave them there and drive away, you have to pack them up each time. So we were thinking about getting an inflatable awning, just not sure which one, so any recommendations for which are best and where to get one would be a BIG help, there are just so many out there.

Thanks in advance

Mick & Jan
 
We have a Vango Kela3 drive away inflatable awning. It is small but can manage 4 people round a table comfortably. It has been standing on a cliff top in Cornwall for 7 weeks now and coped with 45 mph gales last with 50 mph+ gusts. It was last awning standing recently. We were away in the MoHo last night and left the awning standing on its own and It is still standing as I type having had 40 + mph gales today. Personally I would not buy a Campa inflatable awning, neither coped with the winds.
 
We have the Outdoor Revolution Movelite T2 Movelite T2 Lightweight Couples Drive-Away Air-Awning | Outdoor Revolution got last years model so slightly different cost under £400. Found it works well, it is free standing so you can drive away but personally if we put the awning up we don't intend driving off. Daughter has a Vango air beam tent only used it twice & had to return it for repairs, leaking in one place & seam coming apart. Found the awning easy enough to put up, only done it about 4 times & getting the hang of the best way. Took pictures each time to find the best location in relation to the motorhome. We peg the 4 corners first in the right position/distance from the van, then inflate the 2 main tubes, then there is a center beam that is held in place with velcro which keeps the whole thing upright. One of the times we had torrential rain & strong winds & it worked well. Good varity of pegs came with it ranging fro m the small diameter pins to some really heavy duty ones & some plastic ones. Putting it away is simple & the bag it came with is really strong which it easily fits.
Lot of good videos on the Outdoor Revolution website showing how to put it up & fold it away.
 
Definitely Vango for me. We have the Sapera 2. It is absolutely fantastic - easy to put up and gives loads of space. Had traditional Safari rooms for a few years but the inflatable type is a massive improvement in all ways. Much easier to put up, withstands wind and rain really well and is quiet at night. The safari room hanging from the roll-out canopy used to creak under the lightest wind and would keep us awake at night. I don't even bother with the roll-out any more as I have attached a length of awning rail to the van directly below the canopy which makes sliding the Kadar rail even easier. It also allows us to have the awning further back on the van, leaving both the kitchen ans living room windows uncovered, so much lighter inside the van. This is a bonus of the Sapera model - the narrow end being against the van leaves more windows uncovered.
 
Thanks everyone for your help. Gone for the Vango Kruz. Have had a bit of trouble as we bought the Vango Kela III from Towsure in Sheffield and when we got it home they had given us the wrong make and size - We wanted a TALL one and when we opened the box it was the Kela XL (bigger) STANDARD size version (too small), so wrong awning, wrong size. Anyhow they didn't have one the right size/model, so told them to come and pick it up and credit us the money back. Since then found the KRUZ from someone selling privately, and they're selling it because they had been given the wrong size, and the company they bought it off wouldn't give them credit as they had opened the box? So thanks once again and if anyone else is looking for one, Towsure Sheffield are selling some 2016 Vango models off at reduced prices ......... just make sure it's the right size/model before you take it away.
 
Vango for me.

We are in the process of sending our Camen Air back to, Outdoor revolution. We opened it up and tried it on the van and were pleased until I noticed that the window on the right hand side was ripped. They suggested that we either fix a patch, or they would take it back and they would send a new one. This was my wife's xmas present to me and because we would not be using it to the spring outside the 30 day return cover for distance selling we opted to have our money back, which was not one of their options so beware,we insisted and copied Amazon in on the correspondence. To be fair the customer relations adviser was very good.
We have ordered a Vango AIRHUB TALL. Vango Airhub Hexaway Driveaway Awning - Low 2018
Because we are getting on I think that this design will suit us better as we now tend to stay on sites more in the Summer and wanted something that would be more functional.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
5andy said:
We have a Vango Kela3 drive away inflatable awning. It is small but can manage 4 people round a table comfortably. It has been standing on a cliff top in Cornwall for 7 weeks now and coped with 45 mph gales last with 50 mph+ gusts. It was last awning standing recently. We were away in the MoHo last night and left the awning standing on its own and It is still standing as I type having had 40 + mph gales today. Personally I would not buy a Campa inflatable awning, neither coped with the winds.
Click to expand...

that must improve the view no end,:confused:
 
Vango seems to get good recommendations, having been looking a while myself think it’s time to invest.
 
We have one not sure of make model . Good in summer and bad weather but impossible to keep warm in winter so limits usage then. Also found that in Summer we were outside so used it to store stuff that would normally be kept in garage. Very handy as extra bedroom if guests visit us especially in summer but maybe a small tent just as good ?
 
Awnings are big and heavy and take up storage space when not in use, so 3 boos to that.

BUT, they're very useful if spending more than a couple of days in situ. We've got a Vango Airbeam which is functionally excellent - easy to put up and very resistant to high winds because it gives in the wind rather than trying to stay bolt upright (c.f. trees versus blades of grass). Our solution to carting it everywhere has been to leave it in storage with a friendly local in Croatia (which is our only destination where we spend a week or more), and collect when we're down there.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Users who viewed this discussion (Total:0)

Back
Top