Exploding Kampa Rally Air 390 Awning
I wonder if any of my fellow campers have had similar problems with the new style ‘inflatable’ awnings like our KAMPA RALLY AIR 390?We checked in the SANDRINGHAM camp site in July of this year only to experience A CATASTROPHIC BURSTING of one of the air poles during the second week of our stay.
We arrived on site on Saturday 16th July and pumped our awning up using the Kampa 12v two stage pump, set at 60Kpa (8.7psi)……….all very well for the first week.
When we returned to our caravan on Sunday 24th July we found that one of the large air poles had BURST, completely ripping through the inner lining and outer awning covering, effectively shredding the ‘pole’ and collapsing the whole of the awning.
The adjoining campers told us that the sound was like a gun shot being fired!
Regrettably, our awning is now COMPLETELY BEYOND REPAIR and I fear that to date, I have received little positive response form the manufacturers.
I’m wondering if this is a ‘one off’ or have other club members had a similar experience. Notwithstanding the potential cost of replacement, having an expensive awning and being used for just over three seasons, I had hoped for a longer life of this product.
I would be most interested if other members have had similar problems.
Comments
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I see there are warnings to avoid bursting here
http://www.kampa.co.uk/brochures/instructions/awnings/2015/rallyair.pdf
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Thanks for the feedback.......I can understand IF the awning was a few years old and fabric subject to UV decay. In addition, if the blow the tubes up beyond the recommended 9-11psi. But this is NOT the case here!. These are a nice idea, BUT little confidence
in the long term use and durability.0 -
Would the manufacturer of a quality product not include a simple vent to release any over pressure? Especially as with these inflatable thing such danage appears to be terminal, rather than get a replacement pole.
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Did you inflate the awning in shade or cooler temps and then it was in bright sunshine and higher temp which would have increased the pressure in the tubes?
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...No.........either way, as all the vertical and horizontal poles are connected, any expansion, pessure increase would be evenly distributed. Kampa MUST have tested these in excess of 9psi. A factor a safety of 5 would not seem un-reasonalbe!!!
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Tom
I wonder if this would reach more members if posted in the discussion area?
David
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wenhave a kampa rally pro . You say it collapsed the whole of the awning, did you lock off each individual pole? We were told to always lock them off so that if one does burst , it won't collapse the entire awning . Ours has been ok so far , they are not
cheap and im really hoping it lasts .0 -
Having pumped the awning upto 9 psi with the kampa electric pump came back to site after going out and found the exact same thing with the large pole had exploded like a gun according to the next door occupants . The awning is ruined. What have you guys found out about this as my awning is only 3 years old. Should I get another air awning
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Ours has just suffered the same fate and wondering if you had any joy? I notice Kampa say that uv degradation is not covered, a laughable comment when you consider the use an awning is intended for.
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Our Starcamp air awning central pole burst this weekend whilst we were at Sandringham. It was cool in the night and we had to pump it up in the morning, then it became hotter during the day. We arrived back at lunchtime and obviously the air had expanded and burst the tube. We will be contacting the manufacturer, Dorema, and hoping for more response than you have had.
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16th May 2019 On holiday at Freshwater East, we pumped up our Kampa Air Pro 390 to the recommended 10 PSI with the Kampa 12 volt pump, came back to he caravan after a day out to find the awning completely deflated. We were told that there’s was a loud bang and the awning collapsed. The chap on the next pitch said that exactly the same thing happened to him last year with the same awning. We have contacted Chichester Caravans and have been told to take it back on our return and they would return it to Kampa for assessment. The Awning is 18 months old and has only been used 4 times. We now regret selling our Isabella Magnum.
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I bought (at great expense!) a Kampa Frontier Air Pro 400. Not even a year old and a pole has burst. This is a great awning and easy to put up but I was surprised to see that the tube is thin plastic. This isn’t exactly leading edge technology and I’m sure they could make this more durable. I suspect my awning is a write off, but let’s see how good Kampa customer service is.
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Exactly the same happened to our Kampa Ace Air 400 awning when we were staying at Broadway in September 2019. We had bought the awning new in 2016 for approximately £1,000 believing it to be 'top of the range' and we certainly didn't expect it to explode in the way that it did after only three years. It happened only 2/3 days into our two and a half week holiday.
We had used a 12v Kampa pump which, in theory, means that you cannot over-inflate the awning as long as the psi has been set correctly.
The Kampa distributors at Witham recommended contacting 'Trio Pair' in Yorkshire about repairing the awning; they charged £50 for the repair and £20 each way for the carriage. Kampa supplied a new bladder free of charge. We haven't used the awning since September so we are hoping that all will be well.
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I have just had a weekend away and I have had the central bladder explode. The roof stitching has torn, the bag and the bladder are also torn. I pump up to the lowest green setting on the manual pump. The awning is 2018 and because of Covid has not been used that much. I am going to contact Kampa to see what they say.
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