Debus question!!

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Mrshabbs

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T6 Pro
Hi folks, apologies if this has already been answered on another thread however I couldn’t find the answer.
We have purchased a Debus poled canopy and are using with our Reimo multi rail, so far we really like it, it packs small, it’s easy to put up up and it can be pitched in different ways. For £100 it was a good purchase..
We will soon be embarking our first extended trip when we will be away for 3 weeks in the van, not sure how that will go, wish us luck!! We are planning to setup camp for 2/3 days at a time in one location however we would still like to have use of the van each day to travel around.
To save having to partly dismantle camp and take down the Debus canopy, is there a way to keep the canopy in-situ and at the same time remove from the van, i.e. turn the debus into a drive away? I am thinking along the lines of a 2nd kador strip that sits in the multi rail and attaches to the existing kador on the canopy. And I assume if there is a solution it does come with the hassle of having to re-align the van and canopy exactly on return to camp.
I may be overthinking this, what do other people do on this situation?

Thanks in advance
Mr Shabbs (not Mrs Habbs)!!
 
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The problem with driveway kit recommended by @JumpShip is that they are usually sold in kits comprising separate shorter strips which go together and, in my experience, water inevitably gets through the gaps when it rains. Our solution to that when using a full driveway awning (which is very infrequently) was to source a long (3M)) strip and cut it down. The problem then becomes how you stow it when travelling (I solved it but not all rear layouts lend themselves to it so easily.. We don't often need to use the van once we're parked up but when we do, this is my solution.
  1. All guy lines are attached using small (30 or 40mm stainless steel carabiners). Note, they don't even need clip directly to the Debus (or Railsail which we also have) where the poles are deployed - the 'spikey' end to the pole goes through the awning eyelets and the carabiner just goes on top and gets tightened. I always use Clam Lleats/Line Loks which IMHO are the best type of guy line runners money can buy,
  2. Put a short peg into the pitch directly below the centre each of the passenger side wheels and join them with a length of luminous or easily visible guy line.
  3. Disconnect the Debus and bundle it up (if it's wet just stuff it in a bin bag) whilst laying the poles flat on the pitch with the bottoms staying exactly where they were and leave all guy lines pegged in.
  4. Don't forget to put the pop top down, disconnect the EHU and secure any loose stuff in the back - I know you would need top be a moron to do so and even I haven't done it myself but I've witnessed the first two (and it's why I always loop a short length of orange cable over the steering wheel!).
  5. On return look out of the window and reposition the van in the same place as you left it - a few cm either way doesn't really matter and reverse the procedure above.
Simples - after a trial run, the whole thing takes only a couple of minutes on either side and is pretty foolproof (ie. even a fool like me can do it).

Personally, we always us a pop up storage tent for all the crap when we're on site so we just chuck the awning in there. I've said it in other posts before on here, I would recommend one of those to anybody. We feel it's an essential accessory for any trip..
 
PS. I have also found that the end of the Kador rubber strip can sometimes be pulled out of the back end of the Reimo Rail when you tighten the guy lines. My solution was to 'thicken' the end of the strip slightly with a couple of pieces off gaffer tape which is just enough to stop it from coming out but still lets it slide freely into the rail. IIRC the circumference of the rubber is about 30mm but you'll need to check that (I did mine a couple of years ago and it's still there and working).
 
Ayjay said:
The problem with driveway kit recommended by @JumpShip is that they are usually sold in kits comprising separate shorter strips which go together and, in my experience, water inevitably gets through the gaps when it rains. Our solution to that when using a full driveway awning (which is very infrequently) was to source a long (3M)) strip and cut it down. The problem then becomes how you stow it when travelling (I solved it but not all rear layouts lend themselves to it so easily.. We don't often need to use the van once we're parked up but when we do, this is my solution.
  1. All guy lines are attached using small (30 or 40mm stainless steel carabiners). Note, they don't even need clip directly to the Debus (or Railsail which we also have) where the poles are deployed - the 'spikey' end to the pole goes through the awning eyelets and the carabiner just goes on top and gets tightened. I always use Clam Lleats/Line Loks which IMHO are the best type of guy line runners money can buy,
  2. Put a short peg into the pitch directly below the centre each of the passenger side wheels and join them with a length of luminous or easily visible guy line.
  3. Disconnect the Debus and bundle it up (if it's wet just stuff it in a bin bag) whilst laying the poles flat on the pitch with the bottoms staying exactly where they were and leave all guy lines pegged in.
  4. Don't forget to put the pop top down, disconnect the EHU and secure any loose stuff in the back - I know you would need top be a moron to do so and even I haven't done it myself but I've witnessed the first two (and it's why I always loop a short length of orange cable over the steering wheel!).
  5. On return look out of the window and reposition the van in the same place as you left it - a few cm either way doesn't really matter and reverse the procedure above.
Simples - after a trial run, the whole thing takes only a couple of minutes on either side and is pretty foolproof (ie. even a fool like me can do it).

Personally, we always us a pop up storage tent for all the crap when we're on site so we just chuck the awning in there. I've said it in other posts before on here, I would recommend one of those to anybody. We feel it's an essential accessory for any trip..
Click to expand...
Thanks for the detailed post. Unfortunately this still means I have to dismantle the awning, which was what I was trying to avoid. Although, the advice you offer does make it sound a little less hassle than I envisaged. I guess the only way for me to see what does and does not work is to see how it pans out, like you say we may find that we don’t use the van when camp is setup. Thanks!
 
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How are you proposing to secure the side attached to the van once it’s disconnected? Poles or drop it to the ground and peg? Either way I think the faff of securing when you leave then exactly positioning the van, reconnecting the canopy then retightening the guys once you return will take longer than just taking it down and putting it back up. I think leaving the pegs and guys as suggested by Ayjay is a fab idea and will certainly speed up re-erection (!) and means the van doesn’t have to be inch perfect like a drive-away kit needs. I’m going to borrow that idea in the future!!
 
I understand what it is you want to do. But i think when you figure out how to do it and actually do it a few times you will opt to get a drive away awning instead. I have a debus canopy and vango wind break side walls that would probably suit this situation.

Screenshot_20250717_115234_Photos.webp

You'd need a drive away kit obvs. So when you have marked your wheel placement with whatever method you opt for, and disconnect van and move away, you can probably peg down your kador edge and use out riggers/guy ropes to make it stable, it'll stay up.
 
Couple of observations. We've just returned from a 7week trip to Portugal & back. We have a Reimo Palm Beach sun canopy that slides into the awning rail.
We haven't used the sun canopy once. I know it's horses for courses, but most european sites have shady pitches.
When we have used the canopy previously, we just slide it out of the rail & leave it on the pitch when we go out in the van, covering the chairs/table/bbq etc. Trying to park up in exactly the right spot in order to match up with the awning is a PITA unless you leave yourself some reference points.
Don't overthink it!!
 
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