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Which awning


Jonboymentalhealth

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There are a number of fundamentally different types, so it would help if you gave a bit more info about what you want it to do for you.

 

We had an Omnistor wind-out awning fitted when we ordered the MH but we don't use it a lot. It gets used as a sun shade when it's sunny, mostly abroad. You can also buy "Safari Rooms" which are sturdier, but not that sturdy, and are supposed to provide more of an extra room, like a caravan awning does. They are frequently advertised second hand, which speaks volumes; far too much of a faff.

 

You can also buy a more rubust version, which is supposed to cope with wind, but I fear that will be a faff to put up too - why have a motrhome and stay put on a site for lnog enough to justify the effort of putting a thing like that up. I've only ever seen one or two in use.

 

I've seen French motorhomes with much simpler, lightweight sun shade awnings, the top edge of which slips into a groove, caravan style. They have a single, simple pole at the front. They would be much cheaper and easier to replace.

 

We bought a lightweight nylon porch awning when they came out and it's top edge slides into a groove in the Omnistor but a simple mounting groove could be fitted to the MH roof edge if you didn't have the Omnistor. These still need pegging down but not too much and they do provide a bit of shelter from the wind and rain. Nylon awnings make good porch shelters in wet UK weather.

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We have an awning which we use with lightweight Lilypad leisure sides. Fab in a nice summer day but generally not used in normal british weather for fear of awning damage in winds.

 

My best buy is a pop up gazebo with sides. I£100 from amazon. A bit of weight and not easy to store but it pops up and sides fitted in minutes. And very sturdy and warm.

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Wind out awnings are the usual, quick and easy to set up. Fiamma and Omnistor are the main makes, I have a Prostor better quality I think, but spares less available.

Your main decision is how big? I found 4 metres plenty big enough.

Full length ones are heavy, Safari rooms useless unless you are staying a long time and need extra space.

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We have a Fiamma 4 metre job and have been very happy with it.

 

Having said that it does not like the wind, when we bought the MH the canopy was torn as it had been caught by the wind.

 

Luckily I managed to pick one up cheap from Agent Fiamma as that had a damaged unit they had stripped.

 

Therefore we bought a tie-down kit, for longer stays and put it away when very windy.

 

We did consider a blow up caravan type job for winter stays, but the thought of packing up a wet tent killed it for me. One of the reasons for getting the motorhome.

 

There was a competition on here to win an awning that did not need the legs, but I can't remember what make it was.

 

Hope this helps

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We have a 4.5 m Fiamma zip and a safari room. We bought the safari room with one eye on the future. It's a well made robust piece of kit and when used appropriately, definitely fit for purpose.

 

You certainly wouldn't put it up for a weekend - more like a week..

 

I can easily imagine some folk buying them and not being able to erect them, we 'pull together ' when on site so it's relatively easy.

 

Heavy, yes, but bags of payload ends that issue too. We picked ours up locally for £260, it's like new and at the thick end of a grand to buy new we're well suited.

 

Martyn

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If you want a fully enclosed awning I would highly recommend the inflatable type, of which there are several manufacturers and models. I have an Outdoor Revolution Movelite driveaway type which, with practice, can be inflated, connected to the vehicle and pegged down in about 15 minutes and probably half that time to take down. I also have an Omnister wind out awning which is ideal for connecting it using a driveaway strip but, if you don't have one or don't want to invest in one, you can pass guy lines over the roof and still attach it in a reasonably successful manner.

 

I recommend a bit of online research and you'll find some excellent videos on You Tube.

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