Newbies to Caravanning. Instructions needed.
So, me and the family have taken the plunge and bought our first Caravan. We can’t wait to have our first adventure with it.
We were lucky enough to find one with hopefully most of what we need to dive straight in to it.🤞. Included was an awning, It’s a outdoor trail scafell 390. Unfortunately it never came with any instructions. I have searched the inter web but to no avail. Could anyone point us in the right direction as we don’t want to spend the whole first outing trying to put it up? Any help is much appreciated.
thanks.
Dave and Charlie
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Welcome to your new Caravan! I'm afraid I can't help you with your awning instructions, but I can suggest that you take a look at the CL network operated under the aegis of the Club. These small, 5-van sites offer great value and thousands of places to stay across the UK. Many are on farms or in rural locations. But don't assume they are all basic (some are) but most have Electric, many have WiFi and some have fully serviced pitches. Others even have tooilets and showers.
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Welcome to CT and the wide wide world of caravaning. I did a quick google and came up with at least two demo videos on U-tube.
Try >this one<
Hope it helps, enjoy your trips.
peedee
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Your awning looks similar to my Kampa 390. Here's how I put mine up. The poles thread through sleeves in the awning from the outside so you need to sort out your poles first. Hopefully they are sprung together!!! Looks as though there are 4 you may find that 2 of them have some sort of attachment for storm guys, these are the outside ones. Lay the poles out; you may also have some longer poles which go inside the awning to stretch it out length wise, I will deal with these later. If possible remove the sides/front of the awning. Identify the outside of the awning and then thread this trough the rail from the front of the caravan, as it goes into the top of the rail only you can thread it through t he highest slot. Position the awning on the rail so it is clear of a window and you can open the door fully. Now to the poles. Thread them into he slots in the canvas starting at the front (or rear) of the caravan. Fix guys to the 2 end poles. Now you can go inside the awning and attach the stretcher pole I mentioned earlier, there should be ties in the roof of the awning to attach the canvas to the poles; if not one goes about half way along the roof and the other by the bend above the front windows. Position all the poles to roughly there correct position. Refit the sides if you removed them earlier. Now accurately position the poles and stretch out the awning until it is a tidy fit over the poles. and start to peg out the awning. Do the 4 corners first and then the rest. Fit the guy ropes and then you are done. Give yourself a pat on the back. This sounds complicated but after a bit of practise you will find you have no problems.
To sum up:
Sort out poles
Thread canvas
Fit 'exterior' poles
Guy out corner poles
Fit interior poles
Stretch awning over poles
Peg out, corners first then rest
Fit guys
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If it’s like the one shown on YouTube on peedee’s link, it’s very similar to our Kampa Rally Pro porch awning, and there are a couple of very good videos, one by Practical Caravan, and one by Attwoolls, that go through erecting the awning step by step. Even if your awning isn’t exactly the same, looking at this might still give you a hint as to how the poles work, and how they slot into the awning.
Our first ever awning was a full Bradcot Active and, if it hadn’t been for some very helpful neighbours on site, we’d probably still be looking at a pile of canvas and poles now, even with the instructions in hand, and that was 2012 😕
Good luck.
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Sorry I have not heard of that awning but they tend to follow a pattern and I would take the advice given which is sound. You might find the poles are colour coded are marked to help put them up. If so the colours fit together or the markings do the same.
Not sure where you have the caravan but if there is room you could try a dry run before you go, but if not and you are on a a site, particularly a club site, do not be afraid to ask for help as most caravanners are only too happy to assist.n
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Have watched pedee's link and it shows roughly what I explained. He would have ended up with a better fit had he pegged out the corners first, starting with the 2 by the caravan (or his motorhome) and then the rest. He does not seem to have the inner poles that I mentioned and his poles are fibre glass rather the steel ones; but the method is similar and will certainly help.
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I'm sure you will soon find plenty of things to spend money on for the caravan. We've just spent too much money on a flexible kit for connecting waste water to a drain on a serviced pitch and a little collapsible container for connecting fresh water on a full serviced pitch. We won't any longer need to take our aquaroll and wastemaster with us when we're on a serviced pitch.
David
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Our first ever awning was a full Bradcot Active and, if it hadn’t been for some very helpful neighbours on site, we’d probably still be looking at a pile of canvas and poles now, even with the instructions in hand, and that was 2012 😕
We were on site on a warm day with a slight breeze and I was watching a first time awning owner trying to erect a full awning. Much head scratching but I did not offer help as there were already two helpers also scratching heads. I did walk across 20 mins later when they were no further forwards as their instruction sheet had blown away unnoticed and I had retrieved it for them.
I do recall that the reason for the puzzlement was quite amusing. No matter how they put poles together they always had some left over. It transpired that when they ordered the awning they also ordered a lightweight pole alternative. The manufacturer obviously found it more economical to provide a standard set of lightweight poles that covered 3 different length and pattern of awnings. They had the smaller size and hence spare poles
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I should call you EasyTeaser now
I know from experience how complicated some awnings can be, and some are just impossible to set up alone.
I've now gone for a an Air Awning from Kampa that simply slips into the awning rail and you blow it up with pump and peg it out.
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