Air Awnings
we are new to caravanning, first trip this Easter.
We want to buy a 4 m air awnings and are looking at Kampa air ace 400 and the Bradcott
390. We are concerned that the Bradcott is heavy to feed into the van ( husband has bad shoulder) and maybe Kampa is lighter material? Having said that I prefer the look of the Bradcott. Is there any difference in pegging out time ? I notice from a few forums
that the Bradcott takes longer?
Comments
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Firstly, welcome to caravaning. I am afraid I don't have any knowledge of the awnings. I am sure somebody will be along with advice shortly. However, if this is your first trip caravaning, unless the awning is essential, I would do without. Thinking back to our first trip 11 years ago, there was just so much that is new to get to grips with. Unless you are going for more than a few days, I think you would probably enjoy yourself more without the added pressure of an awning. Also with Easter being early it may be cold and it will be so much easier to sort the awning on a warmer later trip.
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We have the kampa rally air pro 390 and due to the thicker material is very heavy to feed into the van, having said that once in place it is a lot easier to put up than conventional awning.
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Hi Verdier, also take a look at the Camptech Air Awning range on Jeff Bowen Awnings website. They are significantly cheaper. Quality is excellant. It seems all air awnings are quite heavy due to the fact that they are all in one piece. However if you
lubricate the awning rail (various products on the market to do this) then it will slide in much easier.0 -
Hi Verdier, also take a look at the Camptech Air Awning range on Jeff Bowen Awnings website. They are significantly cheaper. Quality is excellant. It seems all air awnings are quite heavy due to the fact that they are all in one piece. However if you
lubricate the awning rail (various products on the market to do this) then it will slide in much easier.Write your comments here...Pledge or Favour in the awning rail will do the job.
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Hi Verdier having used both Kampa and Bradcott I can safely say they are both very good awnings. We currently use the Bradcott Aspire Air 390 and after a few attempts I can now put the awning up in about the same time as the Kampa. I have not noticed any
real difference in the weight of the two but I will say the Bradcott is far easier to fold up, the living area feels bigger and the roof does not fill with rain as with the Kampa. Both can be inflated by a single point and the Bradcott comes with a electric
pump which is far easier on the shoulders. If you have space at home I would test putting the awning up before your first trip, no need to peg out just feed through and inflate and then deflate and fold away, this will give you a feel of what to do when on
site. We are still working so go away for 2-3 nights at least twice a month throughout the whole year and always put the awning up, with practice we have it down to about 40 mins from picking our pitch to sitting in the awning with a glass of wine, water conected
waste in place and feet up. My best advice is to take your time and do not worry there will always be someone on site to give advice or help. We have only been caravaning for 18 months and have had over 30 trips away once you start you just cant stop.0 -
Hi after having all sorts of awnings we bought the bracott 280 last year,we are very pleased with it.It is a little heavy to pull round,i tried to do it on my own and it kept running back down the rail.It is very well made,and withstood some strong cornish
winds last year.As has been siad no water collects on the roof.We bought the electric pump and it goes up in minutes,pegging takes no longer than any other awning.I like the fact that it has propper curtians,silly but it looks neater.As steveL said i would
maybe get used to your van first before you decided,it quite a lot to get used to first time out.One thing i wuold say is ,i wished i had kept my suncamp 260 for weekend trips,only because i could put it up on my own in 20 mins.we rally at weekends and i take
the van on a friday as husband at work till 7 pm.It was really easy to put up on my own.We find now we dont need a big awning and the bradcot takes a table and chairs with plenty of space.0 -
Tie something (we use a flat nylon tie-down strap) to the end that gets fed into the rail. Stand on the step and pull it until it gets to the level part. Once it gets to the level part of the rail simply continue to pull the strap as someone else feeds
the other end into the rail. Stand on the ground and just walk backwards. The longer the rope the less the angle. Leave the rope tied on for the next time, just tuck it away neatly to prevent it flapping. It works for us anyway.0 -
Sorry but I just can't buy into the Air Awning product, I retuned to caravanning 1 year ago after a 6 year break and my initial thoughts were positive. when it came to buying the awning we decided on a Kampa Rally Pro ( with a metal frame) it's far easier
to to thread into the awning rail, and you have no issues with leaking valves or tubes, on 3 ocassions last summer I came across people who were having problems with blow up awnings. If they work for you go for it.0 -
Hi Verdier
Welcome to caravanning, enjoy your trip at easter, you will find lots of helpful tips on this forum, if you've thought it someone has done it on here so ask questions if you get stuck.My wife and I started 4 years ago and have learned a lot, with help from
members on this forum. We bought a Bradcot Air 390 last year and used several times since then. it has worked well in some pretty rough weather and is well made imo. I found it to be no more heavy than other premium awnings I have tried but I always get the
wife to thread it into awning and I pull it through with no problems so far, plenty of pegs supplied and buy a carpet to go with whichever awning you choose or mats which are better for the grass as some sites may ask you to lift the carpet after a couple
of days to give the grass time to recover.Welcome and enjoy many happy times caravanning
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I looked at the Bradcot 390 and thought it was well made although the material forming the edge which touches the caravan side felt a little rough textured to me. My concern was that one end would have to rest over a window and I wondered if it would cause abrasion marks. The other concern applies to all air awnings - the fear of a puncture especially with age. How do you find a leak in something that big? In the end I went for a carbon framed Isabella Magnum which might be more work to put up but is robust and foolproof (I hope!)
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..... The other concern applies to all air awnings - the fear of a puncture especially with age. How do you find a leak in something that big? ...
I don't have an air awning, but those I've seen on display all have legs/poles that are able to be isolated from the rest, so you'd only need to be looking for a leak in the 'limp bit' ... Ooooer!
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We have Kampa ace air 400 each section of the air frame can be isolated and punctures can be repared using simple patches much like a bike inner tube. However the air frame is much more robust than an inner tube and should not fail in normal use. Once it's
on the rail four pegs pump it's up then finish off pegging happy days.0 -
I have a normal Kampa Pro without poles. Easy to put up solo if necessary. I have the extra storm poles which fit under the top and stop any rain from gathering so this 'problem' ceases to be one; and the storm guys which give that extra feeling of stability.
Good luck on your first trip in a couple of weeks. I'm certain you will gets lots of help should you get stuck!0
