Elaine Posted February 28, 2007 Share Posted February 28, 2007 Hi all We are new to motorhoming and have just purchased a hymer 642 CL at the NEC. we are looking to get a safari room fitted if this is what you call it, before taking delivery of the vehicle. What is the best type of safari room to go for. Sorry for the stupid question but we dont want to buy something which wont be any good. Thankyou Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest peter Posted February 28, 2007 Share Posted February 28, 2007 Just remember that you have to store the thing and it takes up a lot of space and payload. This has put us off buying one anyway. If you get one you will have less hassle if it's the same make as your awning, i.e Fiamma. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest JudgeMental Posted February 28, 2007 Share Posted February 28, 2007 presumably you have ordered van with an awning? find out make and size and height from floor and order from either company you purchased van from or suppliers of the awning. make sure you have enough payload for your needs as awning's can be heavy and bulky it is most probably either a Fiamma or Omnistor, so you can Goggle this info once you have it for suppliers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
howie Posted February 28, 2007 Share Posted February 28, 2007 Hi Elaine. We have a safari room, but given the choice again would opt for a free standing awning as this can be left in place if you wish to you take your van offsite. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
empress Posted February 28, 2007 Share Posted February 28, 2007 Think very hard before buying a safari room. One came with our secondhand van but we found it such a brute to put up as well as being very heavy and not easy to store. We now, sometimes, take just one side with us. Empress Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnP Posted February 28, 2007 Share Posted February 28, 2007 I am on the short side 5' 6" and have not bothered with a safari room. I came to the conclusion that I would need a pair of steps to reach the eaves at the van when clipping or zipping in the side panels. It is something that you should consider. Also look at how the side panels are fixed to the roof at the eaves. Some versions are clipped to poles and these tend to pop off in breezy conditions. Hope this helps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mel B Posted February 28, 2007 Share Posted February 28, 2007 Seeing as you are new to motorhoming, why not wait and see if you really need one before splashing out a load of money on one. If you do find you need one you can usually pick them up second hand (hardly used normally!) much cheaper. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sax Posted February 28, 2007 Share Posted February 28, 2007 Hello, When I collected my current s/h motorhome I found a large, heavy, unopened box propped up in the Shower/loo room. On checking with the dealer the previous owner had bought it to suit the fitted Omnistor (2.5 m)awning. Anyway, I was stuck with it. It now resides in my garden shed, still unopened and is a continuous nuisance. Have advertised it on various sites and have only asked for a couple of bottles of scotch and a new owner can collect. In one year I have had only one showing of interest. If i cannot get rid of it before early summer it goes to the local tip still unopened. Only any good I would have thought for long stayers (ie Spain etc). That is not what I bought the van for. Regards, Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clive Posted February 28, 2007 Share Posted February 28, 2007 On the other hand we prdered our Safari room when we ordered the van (1997) and its gets used very regularly. Its made by Harrison Awnings and fits nicely under our Fiama roll out thingey. Previous to this we had a caravan and awning which required an awning rail, milk crate and arguements with the wife who is vertically challenged. But with the MH and safari room her who is vertically challenged puts the kettle on why I alone and with ease construct as much or as little of the tardis as is required. Its good at keeping the wind out of the gas barby and for a get together with mates in the evenings. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest peter Posted February 28, 2007 Share Posted February 28, 2007 If you want to keep the wind out. Get a windbreak, at least you can roll them up and stow easilly, and they won't cost you an arm and a leg like Safari rooms do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mel E Posted March 1, 2007 Share Posted March 1, 2007 Safari rooms are probably one of the least used motorhome accessories (along with folding bicycles!). The problems with them are: 1. As already pointed out, they are bulky and heavy to carry around. 2. They do not work as well as caravan safari rooms. This is because all caravans are fitted with a J-Rail into which the awning canvas runs, making a perfect seal between caravan and room. Motorhomes do not have J-rails and the contact between the sides of the safari rooms and the motorhome sides is tenous at best. 3. The sides of the safari room are normally held onto the awning by a combination of a rail pushed up against the motorhome side and plastic clips. 4. Both 2 and 3 above mean that, if a breeze gets up, the whole thing is prone to leaking lots of cold air! 5. Caravanners tend to spend more time at one site - it takes them ages longer to pitch than it does us - we simply drive onto the pitch and park. A safari room is a complete waste of space unless you are going to stay at the same site for several days. Hope that gives reasons rather than just opinions!!! Mel E ==== Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Kirby Posted March 1, 2007 Share Posted March 1, 2007 Funny this, isn't it? We bought a single side wall with our roll out awning. So called safari rooms have two more walls to complete the enclosure. We have used our single wall, I think twice, in two years, over which time we spent around 100 nights in our 'van. I guess wall usage to have been somewhere around 5%, with the remaining 95% split about 90% no wall to 10% no awning - usually due to extreme weather. During all that time, travelling mainly Spain, Portugal, France, Germany and Italy, we carried the said wall, just in case.However, apart from when overnighting, we do tend to move every 3-5 days, so nailing the 'van to the ground just seems perverse and I can't be fagged to do it! However, the roll out is invariably used, unless too windy.Safari rooms do take a while to erect so, if you're going to stay put for the week it's probably worth the effort, otherwise if you exploit the peripatetic potential of a motorhome, I doubt it will be much used in practice! However, if you're staying put for long enough to make the safari room worthwhile, you'll probably need a car, or something, to get around the area, visit the shops, do the sights, etc.So, if you're going to tow a car, why not accept the need to tow something and get a bigger car and a caravan, which seems on the whole much more suited to that style of travel? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clive Posted March 1, 2007 Share Posted March 1, 2007 The Safari room has been invaluable at shows and has the added benefit of making the structure far more tollerant to high wind than the Fiama top alone. I still like them as it provides a place for visitors and friends to get together which does not encroach on ones own personal space. There are many reasons why people prefer a MH to car and caravan. Camping style being just one of them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chas Posted March 2, 2007 Share Posted March 2, 2007 I think a stand alone awning is the best solution, granted they do not seal perfectly to the side of the van, but hey- we can stand a little draught surely, we have a roll out as well for hot sunny weather(remember that ! ) The awning can be driven away from and also acts as a pitch reservation, as well as dumping lots of gear in. I feel any awning only needs to be erected if you intend on staying a least 4-5 days, else its not worth all the effort, we found with ours, careful packing allows them not to take up much room, but allows us to increase living area by something in the region of 12ft x 6.8". chas B-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elaine Posted March 2, 2007 Author Share Posted March 2, 2007 Thanks everyone for the very usefull advice. We have decided to leave it just now after reading all the comments. As we dont intend to spend alot of time on one site after reading advice we dont think a safari room would be of much use to us. We will enjoy our motorhome and then decide what extras will benefit us. Once again thanks very much, your advice has been much appreciated for and against a safari room. Elaine and Kevin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carioca Posted March 2, 2007 Share Posted March 2, 2007 hi elaine you have probably made the right decicion. try MH & see whether or not you need one , it depends on the size of your party. we have 2 children & often stay on site for a week sometimes more so for us a sarari room is a real bonus as it doubles our living space and is somewhere for the adults to sit at nightwhen kids have gone to bed (keeps the chill off on spring & autum nights) (lol) ;-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peterw Posted June 9, 2007 Share Posted June 9, 2007 mike if you still have the safari room I am interested- What sort of scotch peter pcomp@aclose81.freeserve.co.uk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sax Posted June 10, 2007 Share Posted June 10, 2007 Hello Peter, Just spotted your request. Another poster has expressed interest and when my mobility problems allow me to dig it out of the shed (still unopened) I am duty bound to give him/her first refusal. I shall have to 'pull my finger out' and make it accessible. Should first caller not take it I shall contact you by email or PM. I will certainly let you know one way or the other soonest. Best Regards, Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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