inflatable awning

[Herdwick Willy]

Looking for an inflatable drive away awning for Auto sleeper Symbol. Any advice gratefully taken. HW.

[Styve100]

Hi having gone from a caravan, I had a Kampa rally air pro, its the best awning I have had and so quick to put up, it is heavier, but remember it includes the poles in effect.

I have now bought a Kampa air pro fiesta, driveaway and you can literally drive away from it, its similar to the rally but has a bowed front, there is also a canopy with this, you can either attach it via an awning rail or lines over the camper.

The pro is the quality of the material as Kampa do I think 3 thickness of material, it just means the temperature stays more stable inside and they have a higher head of water resistance.

We found ours never leaked, Kampa are i think good products, but you can get some condensation on the roof which some people think is leakeage, we had the roof linings too which also helps with heat, all in all a very cosy awning and we did use it as a lounge. I hoping the Fiesta will be the same, but no reason why not, it has the panels you can zip in to enclose it when your vehicle is not there, no reason they couldnt be used all the time and you can access the vehicle without going in the awning.

They are expensive, but worth the money if you are looking for a long term investment in an awning that can be transffered.

[Cattwg]

We were looking to buy an inflatable awning last year. It would be used mainly in Spain for our usual autumn sojourn which would last several weeks.

A fellow camper advised us that such an awning would not last more than a season or two under the hot Spanish sun. We queried this with a stockist and he agreed that the material was not designed to be exposed to hot sunshine for extended periods of time. He also agreed that the life of the awning would be only two or three years.

Our current canvas/steel pole awning is in its 11th year, and still in good condition. We were only looking to change as we wanted the ease of erecting offered by the inflatables.

I have no actual experience of inflatable awnings and offer this for information. I’m sure inflatable awning owners will add to the debate.

Cattwg :-D

[Herdwick Willy]

Thank you I will give both comments the concentration they deserve. Many thanks RD

[Styve100]

One thing I would add about inflatable awnings I have found is, you have to be aware of temperature differences, ie if you inflate it during the day and its a cold night it may collapse, as i found once, also if it increases in temperature after you inflated it, it could blow a pipe off a tap. This sounds like hassle but as long as you are aware, its not an issue, the tubes are large in volume so the temp does make a difference.

Regards degrading material, not sure about that one as, the material of an inflatable awning is not different to any other? ie you can get traditional poled version of any kampa awning.

I had a sunncamp awning, porch awning which was used in france a few times and generally, throughout the year. It did eventually after 5 years literally start falling apart, but not sure if this was the fly repellent I used to spray in it? But the material just started tearing.

Thats when we got the kampa.

The pro material the Kampa is made of, I would say would stand up to many seasons use, it is very tough. But its like anything else, it depends how you look after it and care for it during use.