mlarkinwhh.co.uk Posted June 15, 2017 Share Posted June 15, 2017 does anyone know which drive away awnings are the best Vango or Kampa and where is the best place to view Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cattwg Posted June 15, 2017 Share Posted June 15, 2017 I don’t have any experience of inflatable awnings so cannot give an opinion as to the best. I would suggest a good place to view them would be one of the shows. Cattwg :-D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sooty10 Posted June 15, 2017 Share Posted June 15, 2017 Don't have one ourselves but our daughter has just bought one for her motorhome and it looks and feels very good and sturdy. They bought it from Glossop caravans and it is an Outdoor revolution, Oxygen air. it seems quick to put it up as it comes with a special air pump. Hope you find what you are looking for. Keith. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PJay Posted June 15, 2017 Share Posted June 15, 2017 sooty10 - 2017-06-15 5:20 PM Don't have one ourselves but our daughter has just bought one for her motorhome and it looks and feels very good and sturdy. They bought it from Glossop caravans and it is an Outdoor revolution, Oxygen air. it seems quick to put it up as it comes with a special air pump. Hope you find what you are looking for. Keith. Are they safe to leave? I would be worried that the wind may pick up, and get under it? Do they actually attache to the van? otherwise the rain would get between it and van?? We have decluttered our van, so would not want one any way , and we have an attached awning. Guess thay are ideal for a PVc van though? PJay Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matrix Meanderer Posted June 16, 2017 Share Posted June 16, 2017 A timely question :-D We've just invested in a Vango Kella III Tall version after much research and driving around to view displays in the East of England. A key issue to resolve before you narrow down your choice is - Do you have a fiamma wind out awning? If so then both the Vango and the Kampa air beam models may attach to it. However the next question is - how high is this awning box off the ground? The reason for this question is that the lowest height Kampa needs 250 cm height from the ground to attach. Whereas Vango offer three heights of attachment "Low" 180 - 210 cm, "Standard" 2015- 235 cm and "Tall" 230- 295 cm. The interface with the MH is less precise with the Vango but the habitable area is much better IMO. The Kampa have got a fancy Limpet sucker system for attaching the awning to the vehicle side (assuming you have a shiny surface). You also need at least five inches clearance between the Fiamma box front slot that you are going to use to slid in the awning Kador strip and the top of your habitation door - unless of course if you have a PVC sliding door. This is so that the door opens without hitting the roof. We don't intend using the driveaway facility but it might be useful if we need an emergency visit for LPG refill of our Gaslow during a long stay. The habitable areas vary a lot but we preferred the Vango as they invented the air beam and have the superior system. Kampa have lay flat thresholds so that us oldies may not trip over them. Vango have been in the tent business since 1966 and have a good customer service track record. When I phoned Kampa to ask which awning best fitted my 238 cm high Fiamma awning box I was told to buy the Caravan model "it will fit OK" (?) This was flatly disputed by the first dealer I talked to! As for viewing - essential IMO. It depends where you live. Vango have a very good interactive map which tells you which models are on display where. We went to Camping and General at Canvey Island which has a very good indoor display plus salespeople who actually know what they are talking about (especially for motorhomes not caravans). Have a look online at Attwoolls near Gloucester https://www.attwoolls.co.uk/ They have very good videos on You Tube and there are also video reviews to watch for both Kampa and Vango. We bought our Vango Kella III mainly for use in Spain in the winter and elsewhere in the spring and autumn. We use our Fiamma wind out awning plus blocker sides for the summer. Hope that helps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PJay Posted June 16, 2017 Share Posted June 16, 2017 Matrix (Ian) A very comprehensive post ! And plenty of research, which ma help others! BUT as you are not going to use as a drive away, I would have thought a safari room would be better and cheaper!.? We have a safari room for our fiamma awing, which is the zip version, which we bought specifically for the use of the S Room It fixes within minutes, (not counting the pegs), But that would be the same as your version. We have used it twice in 10 years!! And sons have used it as an extra sleeping room with a tent pitched in it. 2 times. Personally Think these additions , relate back to caravaners, and defeat the object of having an independent motorhome. If staying put for months then personally , a caravan would be my choice !You then have the benefit of the car Any way Horses for Courses I suppose PJay Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonyishuk Posted June 16, 2017 Share Posted June 16, 2017 If you are Sussex way, Camping World have a range of awnings on display. We ended up with a Outdoor Revolution Movelite T3 . I had a look at others but I did not like having an end which had no window. A couple of problems that I should have thought through; It is a large awing so have had problems on some of the smaller pitches with guys starting to go into others space. It has a fixed groundsheet so we are restricted to hard standings for longer stays. If I had gone for second choice the ground sheet was removable to let grass breath. Otherwise, no problems to date. Do check prices, our original quote was for the awning, when I said there were offers on the Internet for the same price included electric air pump, stone under sheet and carpets, the price was matched. Maybe a third thing, the awning is all one lump, heavy and bulky to store, so may not fit some garage lockers. We carry ours in the Motorhome amidships, after sitting on the bag to shape it, to pass through the habitation door! You have been warned. Rgds Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matrix Meanderer Posted June 17, 2017 Share Posted June 17, 2017 PJay - 2017-06-16 11:18 AM Matrix (Ian) A very comprehensive post ! And plenty of research, which ma help others! BUT as you are not going to use as a drive away, I would have thought a safari room would be better and cheaper!.? We have a safari room for our fiamma awing, which is the zip version, which we bought specifically for the use of the S Room It fixes within minutes, (not counting the pegs), But that would be the same as your version. We have used it twice in 10 years!! And sons have used it as an extra sleeping room with a tent pitched in it. 2 times. Personally Think these additions , relate back to caravaners, and defeat the object of having an independent motorhome. If staying put for months then personally , a caravan would be my choice !You then have the benefit of the car Any way Horses for Courses I suppose PJay Thanks for your thoughts PJay. What I should have mentioned was that we have had two Fiamma Privacy rooms over the last three years. However, we have found that they simply don't stand up to the winter weather. So that's why we went for the robust albeit driveaway unit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snowie Posted August 9, 2017 Share Posted August 9, 2017 Hi Tony; that's a whoppa! 4.8M. What was the second choice? I'm looking at the Movelite Cayman Cacos Uno Air at the moment; we like the sideways on arrangement which I think could work on smallish pitches. Take your point about having to pitch on hardstandings. Would prefer a grass option, to have some choice, and not all sites have hardstandings. I suppose some continental sites might be less concerned about grass, quite a few we've been to have very little green, mostly brown earth. regards alan b Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tall_Mike Posted August 10, 2017 Share Posted August 10, 2017 We have the Kampa airbeam tall Driveaway awning. It is a beast of a thing, and pretty large - XL I think. We looked at the Fiamma privacy rooms, - very expensive or they were, and still have to come down to drive away. I am now thinking instead of an awning - a moderate sized family tent would be easier to erect, easier to pack, much lighter, still "driveway" - can put stuff in it, - the only point being it wouldn't join directly to the motorhome. The good points are that it is a Driveway awning, it's stable, pretty weatherproof, roomy, and comfortable. I simply hook the elastic straps of the "tunnel" to the ends of our Fiamma and it seems to hold up, - haven't bothered with the linking strip. - We do need to take care as it can catch the habitation door. Great for leaving stuff in, and for the extra room. No need to mess with tent poles, simply pump up some air beams, relatively simple to erect when you know how but it takes a while. The bad points are - It's pretty tricky to erect until you get the hang of it, lots of swearing initially - It is extremely heavy, weighs in at 26 kg I believe and bulky with it, takes up a lot of room. Getting it back in it's bag is a nightmare, one of has to roll on it on the ground to get the air out and squash it to size, when it's wet even worse, drying the thing is awful, we have a very small garden and the easiest way is to partially erect it, but it takes up the entire garden. We usually put it on a bed - or in the isle of the M/H for travelling, want it between the wheel base not in the garage which is overhanging the wheels. For one night stops it really is overkill and takes far too long, for 2 or 3 night stops, especially where you might drive off somewhere in the van or maybe in suspect weather it's useful. For these reasons we don't use it often but it's a good bit of kit to have, quite a few buy these, use them twice and sell them, - possibly look for a second hand almost new model/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonyishuk Posted August 10, 2017 Share Posted August 10, 2017 Ref Snowie. Second choice would have been a Kampa as described by Tall Mike, echo completely about fighting to put it up. Pro was that it had a removable ground sheet, con was that one end had no window, The Movelite could be errect in two directions, connected or alongside. One suggestion from a campsite warden was to tie the front and middle air beam together top and bottom. This would shorten the awning by just under a metre. Have not tried it, but can see no reason why it would not work if you had too. On the Movelite We came to the conclusion to pump the air beams up to pressure starting with rear, and doors open so that air could get into the tent. With the beams at the correct pressure , eventually the awning took shape, then close all the doors, readjust the base and corner pegs , and the guys. I am still trying to work on a system that joins the tunnel to the mhome. We have no wind out awning to fix to. Which ever way the straps run over the mhome snags the sat dome or vents. I have a light weight pole to thread though the tunnel flap and use end straps to hold it. I have my doubts in windy weather that the pole might catch the mhome. In windy weather, the tunnel acts like a filled ballon, so for a quiet night we would disconnect the tunnel and roll it up to a storage position. Rgds PS Just to add that our pump sucks as well as pumps, useful for deflating the beams before rolling up the tent. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snowie Posted August 10, 2017 Share Posted August 10, 2017 We've just been to Brownhills to look at the O-R Movelite Cayman Cacos UNO Air, and really disappointed. It's larger than we were expecting, so looks challenging to erect. We don't really need a drive away awning, but they look easier to erect. Really like that it pitches parallel with the van, rather than at right angles, but the inner tent wouldn't appeal, so half of the area in darkness. Air beams don't seem very stable. Also, main door has a low step over threshold, but other doors have high thresholds; why? Just plain awkward. I think I'm going to have to stick with the O-R Techlite Pro XL and get used to all the straps and poles. The search for an easy to erect, light and airy awning, 3m X 2.4m goes on, Regards Alan b Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slinns Posted August 17, 2018 Share Posted August 17, 2018 Hi Alan, Did you ever find a suitable awning? We have just bought the Cayman Cacos Uno and will attempt to errect it this weekend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snowie Posted August 17, 2018 Share Posted August 17, 2018 Hi Laura, I’m afraid we are still without a replacement for the Outdoor Revolution , and not at all hopeful! It seems big is best is the approach manufacturers take, so our modest size requirement is not catered for. Not put ours up for a couple of years now! We keep moving on! Hope you get on ok, Regards, Snowie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michaelmorris Posted August 18, 2018 Share Posted August 18, 2018 We have the Vango Idris tall. Easy to put up once you realise that using the optional custom footprint makes it miles easier to get the position spot on after the first time you pitch it. It is really stable and unlike the Lela, has a removable groundsheet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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