Fistral Air Low Awning for T6

[70Stenson]

Hi , new to the Forum , have bought a Vango Fistral Air Low Awning for T6 VW. Has anyone used this type ?
Not sure whether we need to use the straps round the van as well as the connecting rail, with the fittings on the rail.
Reason being , just using the rail means that the door will slide onto the tunnel possibly damaging it.
Thank you in advance.

 

[Captain Quick]

I bought a Vango Fistral Low (poled version) recently but haven't had a chance to use it yet. When I do it will be attached to the Reimo Multirail.

I did a bit of measuring earlier and found that when the sliding door is open, the gap between the edge of the rail and the top of the door is 100mm whilst the top of the door is 25mm below the bottom edge of the Multirail attachment slot. If my calculations are correct, to touch the door, the angle the awning tunnel fabric would need to slope down is around 14° from the horizontal, so, even though the awning tunnel will slope down a bit the angle will be less than 14°. I believe the clearance should therefore be around 2mm between the fabric and the top of the door, which whilst not a lot, should allow the door to open without causing damage to the awning fabric.

 

[Lotuscamper]

We just bought Vango Faros II poled for sub £300 not sure how it compares but we not used it as only had a couple of days

 

[JamesP]

@70Stenson & @Captain Quick how have you got on with the Vango Fistral awning? Would you recommend it? I’m just considering buying one.

 

[Captain Quick]

I just saw your post.

We've used the Fistral a few times now. When erected it provides a decent amount of space for cooking, dining, storage, etc. In all honesty, we’ve come to the conclusion that it’s probably a bit bigger than we need for us (two adults and a dog). We found recently that the combined width of the van and the awning exceeded the site’s guidelines for spacing between pitches which was a surprise. In our view, the front facing porch works well as it avoids having to look at your neighbour. We opted for the poled version which makes life a little more fun as you connect and thread the 3 poles into the sleeves. Still it avoids having to carry a pump to inflate an air version. We have now worked out the best sequence, so can erect it in about 30 - 40 minutes. BTW, I managed to overcome the issue with the awning fabric rubbing along the top of the sliding door by putting a 1m length of split 15mm pipe insulation over the door edge.

The Fistral comes in a fairly large bag which takes up a fair bit of space inside the van when travelling, much to the annoyance of our dog, a 30kg setter. In use, we found getting the awning side tunnel straight and aligned with the van could be a challenge. On one occasion, when it rained, we found water had accumulated on the awning tunnel roof. That said, with each subsequent use we managed to get the tunnel tighter and avoided a recurrence.

Overall, it’s a decent enough driveaway awning with good features but in hindsight, I’d probably have bought a slightly smaller one. Hope that helps.

 

[JamesP]

I just saw your post.

We've used the Fistral a few times now. When erected it provides a decent amount of space for cooking, dining, storage, etc. In all honesty, we’ve come to the conclusion that it’s probably a bit bigger than we need for us (two adults and a dog). We found recently that the combined width of the van and the awning exceeded the site’s guidelines for spacing between pitches which was a surprise. In our view, the front facing porch works well as it avoids having to look at your neighbour. We opted for the poled version which makes life a little more fun as you connect and thread the 3 poles into the sleeves. Still it avoids having to carry a pump to inflate an air version. We have now worked out the best sequence, so can erect it in about 30 - 40 minutes. BTW, I managed to overcome the issue with the awning fabric rubbing along the top of the sliding door by putting a 1m length of split 15mm pipe insulation over the door edge.

The Fistral comes in a fairly large bag which takes up a fair bit of space inside the van when travelling, much to the annoyance of our dog, a 30kg setter. In use, we found getting the awning side tunnel straight and aligned with the van could be a challenge. On one occasion, when it rained, we found water had accumulated on the awning tunnel roof. That said, with each subsequent use we managed to get the tunnel tighter and avoided a recurrence.

Overall, it’s a decent enough driveaway awning with good features but in hindsight, I’d probably have bought a slightly smaller one. Hope that helps.

Thanks for your great reply. Really useful. Thank you

 

[Kerit]

I just saw your post.

We've used the Fistral a few times now. When erected it provides a decent amount of space for cooking, dining, storage, etc. In all honesty, we’ve come to the conclusion that it’s probably a bit bigger than we need for us (two adults and a dog). We found recently that the combined width of the van and the awning exceeded the site’s guidelines for spacing between pitches which was a surprise. In our view, the front facing porch works well as it avoids having to look at your neighbour. We opted for the poled version which makes life a little more fun as you connect and thread the 3 poles into the sleeves. Still it avoids having to carry a pump to inflate an air version. We have now worked out the best sequence, so can erect it in about 30 - 40 minutes. BTW, I managed to overcome the issue with the awning fabric rubbing along the top of the sliding door by putting a 1m length of split 15mm pipe insulation over the door edge.

The Fistral comes in a fairly large bag which takes up a fair bit of space inside the van when travelling, much to the annoyance of our dog, a 30kg setter. In use, we found getting the awning side tunnel straight and aligned with the van could be a challenge. On one occasion, when it rained, we found water had accumulated on the awning tunnel roof. That said, with each subsequent use we managed to get the tunnel tighter and avoided a recurrence.

Overall, it’s a decent enough driveaway awning with good features but in hindsight, I’d probably have bought a slightly smaller one. Hope that helps.

Hi

 

[Sackmycook]

Hi

 

[Kerit]

I just saw your post.

We've used the Fistral a few times now. When erected it provides a decent amount of space for cooking, dining, storage, etc. In all honesty, we’ve come to the conclusion that it’s probably a bit bigger than we need for us (two adults and a dog). We found recently that the combined width of the van and the awning exceeded the site’s guidelines for spacing between pitches which was a surprise. In our view, the front facing porch works well as it avoids having to look at your neighbour. We opted for the poled version which makes life a little more fun as you connect and thread the 3 poles into the sleeves. Still it avoids having to carry a pump to inflate an air version. We have now worked out the best sequence, so can erect it in about 30 - 40 minutes. BTW, I managed to overcome the issue with the awning fabric rubbing along the top of the sliding door by putting a 1m length of split 15mm pipe insulation over the door edge.

The Fistral comes in a fairly large bag which takes up a fair bit of space inside the van when travelling, much to the annoyance of our dog, a 30kg setter. In use, we found getting the awning side tunnel straight and aligned with the van could be a challenge. On one occasion, when it rained, we found water had accumulated on the awning tunnel roof. That said, with each subsequent use we managed to get the tunnel tighter and avoided a recurrence.

Overall, it’s a decent enough driveaway awning with good features but in hindsight, I’d probably have bought a slightly smaller one. Hope that helps.

Hi , we’ve just used the Vango fistral awning for the first time and had exactly the same issue with rain collecting on the awning tunnel roof . Luckily I could see it puddling about half a litre of water creating quite a bulge in the material . Had did you stop this happening as there seems to be no where for the water to run off . I can’t see how you would stop this happening again , cheers

 

[Captain Quick]

Hi , we’ve just used the Vango fistral awning for the first time and had exactly the same issue with rain collecting on the awning tunnel roof . Luckily I could see it puddling about half a litre of water creating quite a bulge in the material . Had did you stop this happening as there seems to be no where for the water to run off . I can’t see how you would stop this happening again , cheers

I explored fixing a length of 7mm glass fibre tent pole across the corridor to give it some shape but gave up as I couldn’t find a way to secure it to the fabric. I then looked at putting a tent frame underneath the fabric but the one I found proved too short to lift the fabric up high enough so it was back to square one. My latest thinking is to use a shower tent frame inside like this Olpro one but not sure if it’s worth the hassle of carrying the extra weight around.

 

[Kerit]

I explored fixing a length of 7mm glass fibre tent pole across the corridor to give it some shape but gave up as I couldn’t find a way to secure it to the fabric. I then looked at putting a tent frame underneath the fabric but the one I found proved too short to lift the fabric up high enough so it was back to square one. My latest thinking is to use a shower tent frame inside like this Olpro one but not sure if it’s worth the hassle of carrying the extra weight around.

Cheers , I was thinking the same thing possibly some sort of pole to push the material up to create a bit more tension so the water doesn’t collect. Tricky one , had a Coleman drive away last tent no issues with that . Thanks for advice