Driveaway awning Vs. fast-pitch tent

[Dogleg T6er]

Hi All,
I have a Vango Galley compact drive away, but it is a bit of a pain to set up if not more than a couple of nights. I also a wind out Thule awning (which does make attaching the drive away easier though). Thinking on ditching the driveaway for an upcoming trip to France for a quick pitch medium sized tent, for dumping our kit in when we are out for day. What are peoples thoughts on this, or should I stick to my drive away?
Cheers,
Chris.

 

[JOG]

Those pop up tents to stash your stuff in are great, especially if you intend heading out in your van everyday.

 

[jimc91]

We’ve stopped attaching our drive away to the van when camping in the summer and just use it as you suggest to store our stuff when out for the day so go for it and have the option

 

[True Romance]

 

[Ayjay]

Depends on your definition of 'medium size'! We use a small 2 man Decathlon pop up tent to stow all our kit (including the Vango Kela blow up awning when we're not using it). It's plenty big enough for our needs and I have always thought that we take more kit than the norm when on longer road trips. It's one of these:

Camping Tent 2 Seconds - 2-Person QUECHUA | Decathlon

Meet our 2-person tent for your next adventurous get away. We equipped it with a guided system so it takes 2 seconds to pitch and dismantle it and…

www.decathlon.co.uk

It's been up in some foul weather and never let us down and we've also found that it doesn't even need to be pegged as the weight of all the gear keeps it firmly on the ground. My Mrs has well and truly got to grips with folding it away and it only takes a minute to do. This is in Croatia last year:

 

[Dogleg T6er]

Thanks some good idea's there. Just getting the van fully converted next week after camping in it as a day van last couple of years. Don't think I'll need the full drive away option, so think I might go form something just a bit larger than the Quechua. I'll have to see whats around. Definitely up for something I can pitch in under 5 minutes, so I can be sittting with a cool beer within 10 mins of park up!

 

[cgtmiles]

We have a similar setup to ayjay for short stays (canopy and pup tent) albeit the tent is for my daughter to stay in and one word of warning, lots of sites include an awning in the price but charge extra a night for pup tents which is a bit of a rip off especially as our awning setup has a much larger footprint.

 

[Ayjay]

@cgtmiles is correct about campsites trying to charge extra for the 'small tent' but I've always chosen to not mention it on arrival and just put the thing up (we rarely pre-book). I've never been asked to pay extra yet but have probably just jinxed myself for the future with this confession.

 

[roooms]

Depends on your definition of 'medium size'! We use a small 2 man Decathlon pop up tent to stow all our kit (including the Vango Kela blow up awning when we're not using it). It's plenty big enough for our needs and I have always thought that we take more kit than the norm when on longer road trips. It's one of these:

Camping Tent 2 Seconds - 2-Person QUECHUA | Decathlon

Meet our 2-person tent for your next adventurous get away. We equipped it with a guided system so it takes 2 seconds to pitch and dismantle it and…

www.decathlon.co.uk

It's been up in some foul weather and never let us down and we've also found that it doesn't even need to be pegged as the weight of all the gear keeps it firmly on the ground. My Mrs has well and truly got to grips with folding it away and it only takes a minute to do. This is in Croatia last year:View attachment 198564

I like this sail and tent setup. I bought a sheltapod for a recent trip to the Isle of Wight. While it was awesome as a tent for sleeping (van isn’t ready inside just yet) and the awning was great to bridge the gap between van and tent, I am wondering if the railsail I got and this kind of pop-up Quechua just gives much more versatility and ease of use. You can store stuff easily in it or sleep in it and leave stuff in the van. My MTB is pricey and I’d prefer to sleep in a tent knowing it was safely locked in the van rather than the other way around

 

[cgtmiles]

This is our setup, not a pop up tent but still goes up in seconds. The bigger setups are handy for longer stays when wet but this is more what campervanning is about I think. Park up and beer in hand ASAFP!

 

[Loz]

Awning Gallery And Poll

In keeping with the other gallery information topics, here is one for Awnings. Please post a picture of your awning and include the following information if you can; Make and model (Bold and Font size 6) approx cost suppliers list any extras in your photo. {Photo of awning} As usual, we'll...

www.t6forum.com

 

[Lozza]

Depends on your definition of 'medium size'! We use a small 2 man Decathlon pop up tent to stow all our kit (including the Vango Kela blow up awning when we're not using it). It's plenty big enough for our needs and I have always thought that we take more kit than the norm when on longer road trips. It's one of these:

Camping Tent 2 Seconds - 2-Person QUECHUA | Decathlon

Meet our 2-person tent for your next adventurous get away. We equipped it with a guided system so it takes 2 seconds to pitch and dismantle it and…

www.decathlon.co.uk

It's been up in some foul weather and never let us down and we've also found that it doesn't even need to be pegged as the weight of all the gear keeps it firmly on the ground. My Mrs has well and truly got to grips with folding it away and it only takes a minute to do. This is in Croatia last year:View attachment 198564

Love the awning - looks versatile and great colour match for your van. Where’s it frrom please?

 

[Ayjay]

@Lozza. Kiravans Railsail - a bit more expensive than most but worth every penny IMHO:

Kiravans Railsail Awning - The Versatile Multi-pointed, Heavy-duty Campervan Shelter

Expand your living space with our Railsail campervan awning. A durable, high-quality, sail-cloth style rain and sun shade designed to be attached to the side of your van using the sewn in kador bead. Crafted from heavy-duty waterproof fabric, it offers good shelter from rain or sun during...

www.kiravans.co.uk