Travelling with roll out canopy in awning rail....
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I have traveled a few miles with mine in situe - it did cause a certain amount of panic when I was being loaded onto a ferry - it was no where near the wall but they got uptight! I don't think mine obscures the light? I have wrecked one on a narrow gate though!
I hope it's not illegal!
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It would only be illegal if it took the caravan width over 2.55m. The issue with the end outline marker lamp being obscured means it doesn't comply with the lighting regs. I see this all the time with MHs fitted with wind out awnings where the converter is too tight to fit end outline marker lamps at front and rear positions.
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Mine's fixed to the right up top of the side panel of the caravan and is a permanent fitting, but as overall width of a vehicle is only defined up to a height of 2m and the Fiamma awning is located higher than that, it doesn't affect the overall width as defined by the manufacturer in the Certificate of Conformity.
The side marker lights are along the bottom edge of the side panel of my caravan, so the awning doesn't obscure them.
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I think the OP meant end outline marker lamps as side marker lamps, coloured orange, are mounted lower down. End outline marker lamps show white to the front and red to the rear. The regulations allow for a single lamp to be used on each side and must be mounted as high as possible. There are many many vehicles running around with these lights obscured. As far as I know, nobody has died and no accidents have resulted so no big deal really.
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Unless the awning is permanently fixed to the van i.e. with screws, then surely the legalality of the caravan's dimensions will be maintained. A rolled up canopy, slotted into the awning rail should be interpreted as temporary and therefore legal. Temporary loads on lorries, vans and even cars, which increase the overall dimensions are far from uncommon. That said, I'm sure that they would be required to be safe in terms of not being a danger to other road users.
Perhaps, the greater hazard is increasing weight well above the van's centre of gravity, combined with some asymmetry of aerodynamics. Not that a caravan, or a motorhome's aerodynamics are particularly sophisticated in the first place.
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Even if it is permanently attached, so long as it is more than 2m above the ground it doesn't count as part of the overall width. By the way, the exterior mirrors don't count towards overall width, either, even though they are lower.
I'd challenge anyone to be able to tell the difference in the way the motorhome handles with and without the roll-out awning. I've seen motorhomes with sailing boats on the roof.
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