Fiamma privacy room

[ips]

Probably been done before so sorry in advance.

 

Thinking of getting the above. (3metre) Any thoughts ie are they easy to erect, are they worth the money, should I save money and get the blockers or save more money and get a porch awning etc etc etc

[Porky]

Depends on

 

How long you intened to stay in one place

What time of year (temperature for sitting outside)

Can you afford the reduction in your payload

Do you have the determination to use it when the sun is shining and a nice gentle breeze is blowing

How secure is it in high winds!!!!! Taking it down at 2 in the morning is not my idea of fun.

 

We thought about it as first timers but decided to try without for a year. Good decision as we just rely on our integral awning and 1.5m high windbreak. But for a few days we don't bother as we are too busy out and about.

[Mad Cow]

Hi,

 

We bought a 5m Safari Residence thing when we bought our Motorhome and have found it okay if you intend staying in place for more than 2 days otherwise it is a bit of a fag to put up and take down. It is good when you have others with you though - especially grandchildren as it gives them their own space and it is also good if the weather is bad so you don't come straight in to your motorhome out of the rain. It really depends what you intend using it for. There is something I have seen at shows which is sheer nets that hang from your awning and are wind proof but they would give only the same privacy as a net curtain.

 

Mad Cow

[David Dwight]

We bought some blockers earlier in the year. They are very fine mesh, one for the side the other for the front, fold up into a small poly bag about 9" X 4" very light in weight. They stop the wind sun and rain, we use them regularly. They came from Lillypad Leisure. Cost of the blockers plus very good Awning tie down straps about the same price as one Fiamma Blocker.

 

David.

[flicka]

We decided against a Safari Room on the basis of their weight & seeing the faff to put them up.

Near neibour took 3 hours for first fitting and then another 2 to dismantle (he was marking each section to save not having the problems 2nd time around. He is in excess of 6ft, so at 5ft 3 I could see me having greater difficulties.

We also went for the Blockers and are pleased with them as sun and breeze screens. Have not used then in high wind, but theyare easy to roll up, without having to take down completely.

 

http://www.mysunshade.co.uk/

[Mel B]

Hi Ian

 

We have considered this on and off but have always come to the conclusion that we simply wouldn't use them! Speaking to others about them, we found that they can be faffy to put up - you need to put up rails to 'hang' them on so it's not just a quick hang it up job in 5 minutes, you have to peg/tie them down, and store the flipping things too .. .and they are heavy and bulky!

 

As for a porch awning (ie caravan type awning) - we spoke to a couple who had a curved porch type awning - 2 panels at the front, doors at either end, which fitted into the channel on the front of their awning. They had decided not to keep it because they bought it to use on holiday in Spain but found it was like sitting in a greenhouse as it gave very little protection from the sun due to the material being lightweight. As we were hoping to do the same and looking at getting an awning of the same type, it was a good job we spoke to them first!

 

Instead we got a Movelite Square free-standing awning locally for £50 - new in its bag - the owner bought it without really checking what he needed and found it didn't suit his needs. *-) We haven't used it in 'anger' yet as it was extremely windy and wet at the Northern show (where we wanted to 'play' with it), so it never came out of the garage ... plus we coulnd't get to it easily due to all our 'bargains'. But we did put it up on the CL we used the previous week to see how well it fitted and it was just the right height to slot into our awning rail and still allow us to open the door without a problem, so we know it'll do what we want, plus we can easily unattach it to go out and re-attach it if needs be as we have the 'figure of 8' plastic and joining tape which makes it very easy indeed. Plus we can leave it up and put our bits and pieces in it if needs be whilst we're out. You can't do this with a safari/privacy room. There are lots of freestanding awnings for sale, there are even some on the 'Buy and Sell' section of this site at the moment which are very reasonably priced, or, of course, on Ebay etc.

 

We did examine the wind net curtain stuff but thought it pricey for what it is and found that, when sitting with some friends who had it at the Peterborough show, it still let in some breeze and again, if you want to go out, you have to take it all down and put it away, not as difficult as a safari/privacy room, but still faffy.

[Mel B]

Ian - as you have the same van as us I thought it might be useful for you to see how the freestanding awning we have fits.

[ips]

Thanks mel, we did look at some cheapo awnings at riversway a few days ago. just cant decide what to do.

[RogP]

I've been keeping an eye on some of the Awning posts regards if a Safari Room would benefit us.

 

I came to the conclusion in principle it would but in practice it wouldn't. For all the good reasons mentioned here , not least the useability in any kind of wind , I still cant phathom out if they can or cant be used.

 

in the end I went for a Movelite Xl and have used it twice this year.

 

First time it was put up (and taken down) in high winds and heavy rain. 2nd time in 30deg heat.

 

Its not as water proof as I'd like out of the box but I can live with it (I'll look at reproofing the 'pinch points' were it leaks).

It is light weight , 12kgs I think , and on my own putting it up is OK not ideal , especially when windy, and it has taken me probably about an hour to fully get it up and pegged out , but that was on a hard standing that actually resulted in my mallet breaking.

 

What I have found though is that the figure 8 strips allow the tunnel to move along the awning channel some considerable distance when windy which may be OK but I'm investigating some method of keeping this in place , not least because one nearly came fully off. It may be down to pegging out and the weather straps (supplied with the awning) may need to be placed better by me.

 

 

Overall I actually like this awning , its got good space inside , does protect from the elements even the exteme heat as you can part lower the side panels to allow air through.

 

Taking it down and packing away took me last time about 15 minutes , again in extreme heat which severly slowed me down (dont do rushing anyway). The first time was about 30 minutes but it was cold (actually snowing) and I was trying to decide how to pack it away wet as well.

 

For the money (I think £160 including the drivaway kit) I'll stick with it for now. Our next trip in August is a 3 centre holiday so I'll get more practice using it then.

[terryW]

We decided against the privacy room and went for a Movelite Square free-standing awning attached the the wound out Fiamma. We use this as a kitchen and store area. After two seasons in Spain (2 x 4) weeks the top section has suffered from the sun and the constant breeze. Replacements are not available.

 

This year we left the awning behind for a 2 month visit to Italy and invested in a front and one side Fiamma sun blocker. We were very pleased but there is still a lot of heat if the sun is 'full on' and also very little air passes through the mesh.

 

They stood up very well to a sudden storm that took many other rigs away

 

As far as privacy is concerned they worked well allowing us to watch all the goings on and not be on view.

 

Overall both work for us.

[p0930]

I have the blockers from Lillypad and have used them for the last two years. We had them up from Thursday till Monday at the Northern show through all the wind with no problems. In fact quite a few people came over to inspect and then went and bought them. Do not compare them with a privacy room as they are a different product but be assured they do what Lillypad claim.

[ips]

Lots to think about now !

[Mel B]

One work of caution Ian - be careful what you buy, there are quite a few cheaper awnings out there, both freestanding and caravan porch/small type ones, and the quality differs enormously ...

[machinehead]

After 25 years and 6 vans we have decided that all types of awnings are of little or no benefit to us.

 

We prefer the freedom from hassle, don't care about privacy or sun and, if it's windy, we wrap up or go inside. I don't miss an awning in the slightest.

 

Although, looking around campsites, we would seem to be in a slight minority.