Thanks for the heads-up @Davenjo - ordered! I've spent too much on this van to hear the awning ripping off at 2am - and it'll save nocturnal expeditions in my undercrackers!!
Awnings, too much faff?
- Thread starter Stay Frosty
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Thanks @Stay Frosty - it's cost me an arm and a leg, but it makes me smile every time I step out of the door - and when Cali owners look inside...Glad to see I'm not the only conflicted camper then!
I did put in the post that there's only the two of us coffin dodgers camping if we had had our two sons with us as kids then it would no doubt be a different kettle of fish.
I guess we're still tin tent virgins as we always get a flat pitch and hookup so far but the saving made by not working our way through a dozen rip stop alternatives to a mobile home covers the cost of the electric.
Factor in dropping the pop top, opening the curtains and turning the seats back forwards and we can be out on the road again before the morning dump has cleared the shower block!
ThreeBridgeT6 I think you've done enough to your van that the pipe rack tube on the roof is the last thing you look at, looks mean!
More about the conversion here.... if you're having trouble sleeping!!
The Van!
The biggest thing to consider.... What ever your setups...is the weather...if you position your vehicle to face the wind your awnings and tents are better protected.....
as example the runway next to Brook meadow camp site runs east - west and aircraft land and take off into wind...so in the main your van would face side on to the west ......however coastal locations are very changeable ...so check the forecasts ....don’t let the weather ruin your holidays ...work with nature
as example the runway next to Brook meadow camp site runs east - west and aircraft land and take off into wind...so in the main your van would face side on to the west ......however coastal locations are very changeable ...so check the forecasts ....don’t let the weather ruin your holidays ...work with nature
Second the tie-down, adds another couple minutes but secure for most weathers.Having only had our van a few weeks, we're on the steep learning curve of what we think we need vs what we really need. We have a Thule 'whacking great fugly square tube' on the side and love it. IMHO this is what makes it look like a camper van instead of the pipe tubes on the roof of a plumber's van (I know, 'cos I'm a plumber and a spark
We've discussed getting a drive away 'awning' (it's a tent by another name really, isn't it?), but I too feel that this introduces a degree of permanence to what is ultimately a home designed to be moved around. We have a Quechua 'pop-up' tent that goes up in a couple of minutes (and provides great hilarity to the rest of the campsite as you try to twist it back into its bag!
There's an aussie YouTube vid that Mrs CAB found which makes folding those pop-up tents much easier!
Was nice going for the more minimal set-up this weekend just gone. We were away local for just one night so went light.
After using the Vango Magra during our main summer holiday (good awning), the Quecha Base Seconds was up in........seconds!
We took it mainly for bagging our spot European sun-bed towel bagging style(we were there just after 11am), lunch then on Exmoor for the day.
After using the Vango Magra during our main summer holiday (good awning), the Quecha Base Seconds was up in........seconds!
We took it mainly for bagging our spot European sun-bed towel bagging style
(we were there just after 11am), lunch then on Exmoor for the day.
Is that a pop up tent?Was nice going for the more minimal set-up this weekend just gone. We were away local for just one night so went light.
After using the Vango Magra during our main summer holiday (good awning), the Quecha Base Seconds was up in........seconds!
We took it mainly for bagging our spot European sun-bed towel bagging style
View attachment 86264View attachment 86263
That’s the only use I could see for my drive away awning when I had one, reserving your space on sites without fixed pitches. Otherwise, like the title, I found it too much faff and sold it, I’d rather be self contained and ready to move on anytime. Some of the setups I see on sites are so huge and semi permanent looking that I look at them and think I’d rather be in a hotel than that. But each to their own, as someone further up said, the beauty of a campervan is its flexibility to do whatever you prefer.Was nice going for the more minimal set-up this weekend just gone. We were away local for just one night so went light.
After using the Vango Magra during our main summer holiday (good awning), the Quecha Base Seconds was up in........seconds!
We took it mainly for bagging our spot European sun-bed towel bagging style
View attachment 86264View attachment 86263
@cgtmiles it's a Quecha Base Seconds - basically a cross between an awning and a tent. Been used on many campsites in the UK and abroad and in the garden as a sunshade for the wee one when she was a toddler in her paddling pool. Has stood up to some pretty heavy wind and rain too!
And packs down nice and small - highly rate it, a keeper for sure! Not sure if you can still buy it though.
Quite a few vids online - just found this one
@andys - yeah main reason we took it as I say was to bagsy our space. But it was also a handy windbreak and somewhere to chuck the camping chairs and cadac to save space in the van when we were onsite this weekend.
And packs down nice and small - highly rate it, a keeper for sure! Not sure if you can still buy it though.
Quite a few vids online - just found this one
@andys - yeah main reason we took it as I say was to bagsy our space. But it was also a handy windbreak and somewhere to chuck the camping chairs and cadac to save space in the van when we were onsite this weekend.
@Stay Frosty we are definitely ‘keep it simple’ enthusiasts. We rejected a fixed pull-out canopy because it raises the height of the van. We tried a slot in canopy but after seemingly continually cutting bits off it, and using it about three times we have given up.
We like the continental Aire style, with nothing outside the van. It’s certainly best for us two.
We like the continental Aire style, with nothing outside the van. It’s certainly best for us two.
This was us Sunday morning at Scarborough and yes my hook up lead really is 25m long...
Then pretending to be a tiny hatchback in the carpark above Robin Hoods Bay on Monday!
Then pretending to be a tiny hatchback in the carpark above Robin Hoods Bay on Monday!
Hey Pete - Complete Noob question here but how are you attaching the vango drive away awning? We've bought a Combi van with day bed in (will get the pop roof done next year) but I also don't want the cassette awning on the side of the van. I've seen and read various ways of fixing - magnets, Reimo rail etc but wondered if there is good vs bad option.
Well, don't know about too much faff, but having spent the weekend at a VERY VERY windy site, we struggled to pitch our little Vango Palm, it battled gamely throughout the night and survived, but we decided to take it down in the morning and just use our old canvas toilet tent for storage outside. Have to say, very impressed with how the Palm withstood it but to be fair it has only been used a few times this year so still quite "new". Guy opposite had his 3 year old caravan awning rip right in half, and he was in a sheltered bit. Must add that the little canvas Blacks didn't bat an eyelid, so to speak, at the winds, it stood their like a little soldier's sentry box, straight and true!
We also considered just a Debus "half-awning" but that proved impossible to set up.
The site was Fields End Water, Cambridgeshire, the CL area. Great site, good attention to Covid regs, lovely clean facilities, cafe open. Very enjoyable even if it did gust 60mph or so.
We also considered just a Debus "half-awning" but that proved impossible to set up.
The site was Fields End Water, Cambridgeshire, the CL area. Great site, good attention to Covid regs, lovely clean facilities, cafe open. Very enjoyable even if it did gust 60mph or so.
We have a C rail mounted in the slot in the roof, and our Vango drive-away awning connects to that using the Vango figure of eight kit.
Pete
Interesting conversation.
I have just a Kiravans rail sail that I have used a couple of times but have been thinking about a cassette awning for some time. Partly for some side door rain protection by partly winding it out when we’re not actually camping, but using the van. But mostly to combine with a “room” accessory to provide sheltered, weatherproof protection for cooking etc. Because the main issue I have with a plain awning, is that one is still rather exposed to the wind (& I don’t have a kitchen in my van).
But I am also concerned that using one will limit the ability to leave the site if using it, so have looked at drive-away awnings also. The Shelterpods one appeals to me, but I can’t make my mind up!
I have just a Kiravans rail sail that I have used a couple of times but have been thinking about a cassette awning for some time. Partly for some side door rain protection by partly winding it out when we’re not actually camping, but using the van. But mostly to combine with a “room” accessory to provide sheltered, weatherproof protection for cooking etc. Because the main issue I have with a plain awning, is that one is still rather exposed to the wind (& I don’t have a kitchen in my van).
But I am also concerned that using one will limit the ability to leave the site if using it, so have looked at drive-away awnings also. The Shelterpods one appeals to me, but I can’t make my mind up!
My friend has a shelterpod and they seem to be a perfect mid way between canopy and driveaway. I just wish the inner tent had 2 compartments then the kids could sleep in it too.
The cassette awning rooms look great but if you want to go anywhere you have to take it down and put everything in the van. The debus canopy can be used as a tarp which is handy both for saving your pitch and for storage but shelter pods have this covered too
Same here - no kitchen or sink in van, but the need for a sheltered, weatherproof area for cooking and sitting is needed, especially in the colder months where our event shelter (and my wife) won't handle it.
It is a challenging question - we have a small Vango Palm Drive-away awning (but never do drive away as we are usually only on site for one or two nights) BUT it does afford protection from the weather (even withstood this last weekend's gale force winds) and offers some privacy for washing/loo etc if necessary (Covid restricted utility blocks). We cook outside or in the open slider doorway. However, even the little Palm seems a bit of overkill for one night, so we try to use a Debus canopy (polycotton one as it is quieter and nicer than nylon) in ways similar to your rail sail. We sometimes set it up in half mode which gives us shelter on the long side leaving just the two ends open.
We also have a very old, but sturdy canvas toilet tent that we can use for storage/loo/etc, but we don't always pitch it.
An alternative set up which provides a canopy with detachable side & front walls is the Khyam Sun Canopy. It uses a Kador connection and three poles and offers good protection but I am not sure how resistant it would be in VERY strong winds. Well, probably very few set ups are designed to withstand 60mph+ gusts! (Also, quite inexpensive at the moment as it is in their sale)
Let us know what you decide upon!
We did actually take the Palm down after the first night even though it was holding up well.....pleased that we did as the guy opposite had his caravan awning rip in two and he was more sheltered than us. We tried pitching just a half-mode Debus but gave up and just piled all the stuff into the old canvas toilet tent (sentry box).
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