Air awning build quality
Hi everyone
We are in the market for a porch awning. we want something to fit in between our baby basic porch, and our full awning, so needs to be in the range of 330 to 350. There is now so much choice, its difficult to know where to start. I have looked at what seems
to be most popular on our recent stays, I have read magazine reviews, I have talked to staff at the main dealers. We have narrowed down to a short list, primarily by what will fit without impacting too much on windows. The choice would be models by Kampa,
Outdoor Revolution, or a couple made by Outwell. Can anybody reccomend based on (a) build quality (b) ease of use (c) ability to stand up to the weather (d) after sales service. I'd really like to hear any comments on Outwell Pacific Coast or Cozumel Reef.
If anybody can reccomend models outside of these three manufacturers, that would be good too. Many thanks folks!
Comments
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hi there,just bought the bradcot aspire air 390.not used it yet,but having read the reviews on air air awnings ive gone for the bradcot.they arent cheap but after reading comments on the internet,they seem to be the best.good luck.
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Having a Wife that is a self proclaimed expert on these things and having been the proud owner of more awnings that i care to remember the best awnings on the market are the ones made by Kampa. We have 2 of them at the moment, one for winter and one for
summer. I,m sure she will be adding to my collection again soon. Also i don't think there is much difference in set up time for the Air models and normal ones.0 -
If air awnings are supposed to be so good, why aren't the main awning manufacturers like Dorema, Ventura or Isabella making them? We sold ours after using it about 5 times. Worst caravan accessory purchase we have made in a long time and was supposed to be the top of the range air awning.
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We have a Kampa Air Pro 390 and have just put it up for the first time. Delighted with the result. However its a heavy piece of kit for my wife and I who are in our late 60's. Best piece of advice I picked up was to take a set of light weight steps. Makes
pulling the awning through the caravan rail much easier.0 -
We also have a Kampa Air Pro 390 and do the same as CMart for the same reasons. However, one of the questions posed by the OP was about customer service.
Our first Air Pro was an ex-demo one, bought at the same time as our new van, last year. It was OK for a couple of times and then, at the start of our main two week holiday, just wouldn't inflate, whatever I tried. A phone call to the dealer resulted in
the Kampa Rep ringing me back and between them, they arranged for a replacement to be sent out to me - to the campsite - by courier and it arrived within less than 24 hours. All at no cost to me.There was no argument, no attempt to deny liability - all the Rep was concerned about was 'rescuing' our holiday for us with the least amount of inconvenience to us. Now that's what I regard as outstanding customer service.
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Thanks everyone, seems Kampa are everybodys favourite. OK, just another question. Do you think the extra cost of an air awning, over a framed version is worth paying?? Particularly when you think the Kampa Air is almost twice the price of the original Kampa
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Just purchased the 2016 Rally pro 390, erected it last week which was very easy to do, it was easier than i thought getting on the awning rail but harder getting it over the side light as the un inflated tubes were heavy, first time it took us all of 15
minutes to get it threaded inflated and pegged it was quite windy that night, and also snowed and two poled awnings on the site were damaged ours buckled under the weight but when i cleaned off the snow it simply popped back into shape, i would say easy to
erect for single nights away and ok weekly stays deflates quick and folds into holdall easy enough for longer stays would probably go for a traditional awning though.0 -
Due to my shoulder injury and no longer being able to drag a full awning let alone the poles, we opted for a Sunncamp Ultima air280. We used it for the first time last August BH we considered it to be very easy to erect compared to the full awning but we noticed a small defect in th front mesh screen I contacted the dealer ( large Derbyshire) and was told to ring after BH, this I did and was asked to send photos and after 4 days I contacted them again when I was told I could return it but it was at my expense. I complained that this would cost me £30 in fuel and asked why I should have to pay more for my new awning than others did, so I contacted Sunncamp and spoke to a lovely lady called Sue who I heard talking to a man close to her and the result was yes they could help but not straight away due to show commitments etc, as I was due to have my shoulder operation I told her not a problem as I would be using it until Feb. We kept in touch during that time and in Feb I was contacted and told a courier would collect the old one and deliver the new awning, to my surprise they sent me the 2016 model which we used at Whitby over Easter where it was subjected to 50mph winds and heavy rain and apart on a minor leak from the awning rail which soon stopped the awning was superb the only damage if you can call it that was I lost a small Velcro tab which keeps the annexe air vent open so again contacted Sunncamp and again fantastic aftersales new tab sent FOC. The quality of the material is good and I must also say that I consider it better than last years also we didn't get water pooling on the roof and condensation was almost non existant so Sunncamp for me.
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Sounds like a good result Jimbo.
I've lost count of the number of awnings we have had over the years. We always hope that the next awning will be easier to cope with than the previous one, but the reality is often different. The biggest problem for me is the pegging - and I'm yet to find
an awning the doesn't need to be pegged!!!
David
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David, the best thing I've bought for pegging was some builders knee pads, might not help with the actual pegging but much easier on the knees when moving round the awning. Must also add that like a few others we have bought some 3 tread steps which means I don't have to reach up to pull it through and can do it from just below shoulder level.
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I bought a recon Oxygen Speed from ebay. It goes up easily, its totally stable in winds - I can't really complain about it.
Aside from an obvious kink in the air tube where its been repaired before re-sale.
Write your comments here...
I'm afraid that kinks in the air beam of Oxygen Speed awnings are an intrinsic problem. We had one replaced under warranty for that reason, it's replacement was the same so third time around, our retailer replaced it with a Kampa Air, and voila, problems
solved. There's a good reason why Kampa air awnings are so often seen on sites - they work.0
