Beebee007 Posted April 8, 2013 Share Posted April 8, 2013 Hi I am a bit new to Motorhomes and looking for advice. I have a Autocrusie starblazer fitted with a Fiamma wind out awning. I now want to get a awning or the Fiamma safari room and would appreciate any comments form owners who can recommend the best to buy. I am looking for a awning that I can put up on my own as my wife can no longer help as she did when We had a caravan +I am now 63 I don't want anything to heavy. Thank. Beebee. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matrix Meanderer Posted April 8, 2013 Share Posted April 8, 2013 Hi Beebee. Welcome to the forum. Like many motorhomes we too have a Fiamma wind out shade. I call it a shade because that is really what it is good for. Unlike a caravan awning which is secured to the caravan side channel and the floor, the motorhome version is much more fragile and prone to damage by the wind when it is out but unsecured. We only use ours as a shade or shelter when the wind is low. You will find plenty of safari rooms for sale in the magazines and web sites because, IMO, they are a pain in the proverbial. Not only are they bulky to store but tedious and taxing to put up. So unless you intend staying in one place for at least three nights most people don't put them up. Our solution for extra privacy or shelter is the single sheet Fiamma Blocker Pro and we also have a Sun View Side for wind protection on its own. This is a lighter and less bulky solution which can be used in several variations. However, we rarely stay more than four nights anywhere and this quick up and down solution works well for us. Hope this gives you an idea of other arrangements rather than a safari room. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flicka Posted April 8, 2013 Share Posted April 8, 2013 Hi Beebee & welcome to the forum. I have to agree with previous comments. The Safari Rooms are bulky, heavy & most appear to take as much erecting as a Caravan Awning (i.e. hours) Many for sale have comments to say "only used once" or "very little use" which IMHO says it all. Depending on your requirements Lilypads Windblockers may be suitable, they are easy to erect, very lightweight, (weight is only around 5or 6kg a set) & keep the wind out, whilst letting light in. Just need to measure the length of your Fiamma wind-out to determine what's required' Ours now into their 5th season & still as good as new. http://www.windblockers.net/windblockers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PJay Posted April 9, 2013 Share Posted April 9, 2013 We have a Fiammi Safari room, and as has been said, rather baulky to carry around. So unless you stay put for a while not worth the cost. If you still want one, ours fits onto Fiammi Zip awning, so easy to fit, just attach the side zips, put up two side bars for support. It does help to be tall, or as we do use the bed ladder to reach.. It does not take long to put up, but extra weight to carry around Hope this helps PJay Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rayjsj Posted April 9, 2013 Share Posted April 9, 2013 As most of the others have already said, most motor homers use their 'Wind Out awnings' as purely a Sun shade or rain awning (what we use ours for, to dry the dogs off before letting them into the van.) , they HAVE to be firmly pegged down, even if only wound out for an hour or two (or less !) as they have a nasty habit of 'catching the wind' and getting blown over the van. That said, IF you need the extra living space then a 'safari room' is the answer, but, they then become more like a 'Traditional caravan awning' , I would go for a second hand Fiamma one, so that it fits your model of 'wind out', you can usually pick them up reasonably cheap from folk who have 'made a mistake' when buying one. If you only need extra storage space onsite, then a 'Drive away' awning or a 'stand alone' one might be cheaper and easier to erect. I must admit, for me, NOT having to put up an awning, was a major reason to swap from a caravan to a motorhome. good hunting Ray Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
747 Posted April 9, 2013 Share Posted April 9, 2013 We have tried various things like driveaway awnings etc and regard them as a waste of time. At the moment, the van is away for hab check and a bit of repair. We have asked the firm to remove the 6 metre GH awning completely as we never use it. It acts like a Spinnaker on a Yacht in fairly light winds and is a pain. If the wind gets up quickly, it is dangerous to mess with without plenty of help. We have bought a garden Gazebo instead and use that. It is lightweight and can be erected in a few minutes by one person. You can have 4 sides or no sides and any combination in between and we find it much better. At around £70 to £80 a pop we can change it if we get sick of the colour scheme. :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest JudgeMental Posted April 9, 2013 Share Posted April 9, 2013 a lot of hassle especially if you want to drive out for the day, not as if you are a family who need the extra living space...Just enjoy your sunshade and when it turns chilly sit comfortably in the van...leave all that awning nonsense for caravaning folk :-D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mel B Posted April 9, 2013 Share Posted April 9, 2013 I agree totally with the comments about a safari room. As for other types, we have had a few drive-away ones (by Outdoor Revolution etc) and they were great but would be difficult for you to put one up on your own, also, as you are asking about a safari room I assume that you won't ever intend to drive off and leave it on site anyway. So, instead of a safari room why not consider a lightweight 'caravan' style awning - this is what we have now decided to do - we've had various types of awnings ... way toooooo many to mention here, but have now got a nice large porch awning which we used at Newark show in the snow and very high winds, which it withstood brilliantly (see below). As we only really use an awning if we are staying in one spot for a few days this did us nicely and was easy to put up and take down. Attaching a 'caravan' type awning wouldn't be difficult as you already have the Fiamma awning fitted so could utilise this to attach the awning to your MH which makes it quite easy. On a caravan the piping on the rear of the awning would normally be slid into a rail fixed on the caravan itself, however a motorhome doesn't have this so instead you'd use the slot on the front of the Fiamma awning. How you attach the caravan awning would depend on which one you go for as some have the right size of piping along the rear for a Fiamma awning slot (4mm) as well as a 'standard' awning rail (6mm) so you just use the one which is the right size, but most only have the 6mm 'standard' size piping so you'd need to then use a 'drive away' awning kit to attach it which consists of a long piece of 'tape' with 4mm beading on one edge and 6mm on the other, along with some 'figure of 8' strips of plastic. This is how to attach the caravan awning to a Fiamma awning: 1. Unroll the Fiamma awning so that you can reach the front edge without struggling - if necessary put the legs down (but this is normally not necessary). 2. Attaching the caravan awning to your Fiamma awning: If you needed to use a 'drive-away' kit this is how to attach it: - Thread the tape into the slot on the front of the Fiamma awning using the 4mm piping edge. - Then thread the 'figure of 8' strip onto the tape. - Now thread the 6mm piping on the rear of the 'caravan' awning onto the 'figure of 8' strip. If you have a caravan awning with 4mm piping on it already, you attach it as follows: - Thread the 4mm piping into the slot on the front of the Fiamma awning. 3. Gently wind the Fiamma awning back into it's closed position on the van (don't forget to put the legs away first if you've used them!). 4. Slot the poles in (open all the doors/panels on the awning as this will make it easier to do). 5. Peg the 2 rear corner tension rubbers slightly under the van to keep it stable and tight up to it. 6. Zip the doors up and spread the awning out so that it sits square. 7. Working from the motorhome gradually peg one side of the awning out (check to make sure it's still square as you do so) then peg the other side, leaving the 2 front corners loose for now. 8. Now peg down the front section finishing with the 2 front corners as they will tension it all nicely. 9. Open and close each of the doors to check you can get in/out out and adjust if necessary. 10. Secure the guy ropes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sean.clarke Posted April 9, 2013 Share Posted April 9, 2013 Have a look at the new Vango AirAway awnings, uses the same inflatable "AirBeam" inflatable poles that some of the swanky new Vango tents use. The awnings are drive away and use the S strip to connect to the motorhome awning. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mel B Posted April 16, 2013 Share Posted April 16, 2013 Just to mention that yesterday I was shopping with my Mum and one of the stores we went in did loads of camping stuff, whilst I didn't see the motorhome Air-Beam awning, I did see several of the tent models and they did look very good indeed. However, one thing I did notice was that on some they had straps on the inside to keep the shape/rigidity, the straps were attached halfway up the inside of one of the 'wall' beams to the centre point of it on the roof so if you weren't careful you could easily 'hang' yourself! 8-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sean.clarke Posted April 17, 2013 Share Posted April 17, 2013 Details here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Wyq2j4gTQI&feature=youtube_gdata_player Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GJP Posted April 17, 2013 Share Posted April 17, 2013 Hi Mel B, The awning in the photos is just what I am looking for, do you think you might be able to mention the name, ect, of that awning. Don't want to cause any problems as I am new to this forum, Although we have been M/Homing for 9 years, Thanks and Regards GJP. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ips Posted April 17, 2013 Share Posted April 17, 2013 JudgeMental - 2013-04-09 5:02 PM a lot of hassle especially if you want to drive out for the day, not as if you are a family who need the extra living space...Just enjoy your sunshade and when it turns chilly sit comfortably in the van...leave all that awning nonsense for caravaning folk :-D Absolutely agree with the judge, there a waste of time unless of course you know for sure you are going tom be in one place for a week then they may be of benefit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ips Posted April 17, 2013 Share Posted April 17, 2013 If you really must have on have a look here. we got the cheapo one last year but have only used it once so far. http://shop.highbridgecaravans.co.uk/motor-annexes-lightweight/c245 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sparks1061 Posted April 18, 2013 Share Posted April 18, 2013 Mel B - 2013-04-16 11:41 PM However, one thing I did notice was that on some they had straps on the inside to keep the shape/rigidity, the straps were attached halfway up the inside of one of the 'wall' beams to the centre point of it on the roof so if you weren't careful you could easily 'hang' yourself! 8-) I actually have one of the new inflatable awnings, haven´t used it in anger yet, But according to the instructions the internal straps are only needed in high winds to increase the rigidity of the awning. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sydney1 Posted April 18, 2013 Share Posted April 18, 2013 Another option I'm considering due to the speed (relative against safari room) of setting up http://www.parrotsol.co.uk/ We also use one of these with the VW camper and very quick and easy to set up as the poles stay within the awning when taken down http://www.khyam.co.uk/detail.asp?p=759 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mel B Posted April 19, 2013 Share Posted April 19, 2013 Hi Sydney, ref the Parrotsol - I suggest you make sure you see their screens in the flesh before buying one, to me they look like something you'd put on your greenhouse windows to stop the sun scorching your seedlings ... not something I'd use on my van. :-S Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mel B Posted April 20, 2013 Share Posted April 20, 2013 Mel B - 2013-04-19 10:19 PM Hi Sydney, ref the Parrotsol - I suggest you make sure you see their screens in the flesh before buying one, to me they look like something you'd put on your greenhouse windows to stop the sun scorching your seedlings ... not something I'd use on my van. :-S Further to the above, today whilst pottering round the wooden exhibition 'sheds' I noticed what looked very much like the same material that the above screens are made of being used on the outside of one of the sheds to protect it from the weather I assume ... perhaps that's where they got the idea! :-S Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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