Easy Awnings
We have had a Fiamma canopy for many years but since my husband has had heart problems it is too heavy to roll above his head. Do you think air awnings or the newer lightweight awnings with poles will be easier to handle ? It is an 8m caravan. Thanks for your experiences.
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Similar problem. We have poled lightweight. But would like to go to air awning but which one ??
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We have a Suncamp one, it is easy to erect, only about ten or so pumps, and there electric pumps as well. However you still have to feed it through the awning rail and with all the air poles it is quite heavy. I suggest you got to your local dealer and try one.
Also when you plan to be away will be a factor. If you go away all year a more robust one with storm flaps will be needed. Also have a look next time your on site and ask people.
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I have a Camptech 390 air awning. I find this fairly easy to put up, it's a lightweight fabric so even with the air poles it's still not too heavy to cope with single-handed.
Should mention that I usually travel solo and am a mere female! 😂
Gill
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Given the health challenge then even the weight of an air awning can be an issue lifting for the overhead thread through.
However, if it is a replacement for a canopy rather than the Fiamma in its safari role [or whatever name they use for an awning], then Isabella's Shadow is as light a lift as it gets to thread through overhead and is a canopy.
I would budget for the front "net" accessory as well, which is also nice and light and greatly enhances the canopy's usefulness in low sun angle conditions.
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Depending on the make of caravan you have,a possibility is to have a wind out canopy, we have a Thule omnistore 6200 fitted to the roof of our Bailey which is very easy to wind out and in ,and can also have a lightweight Thule awning fitted on the original awning rail,
I agree that air awnings with the air poles attached are heavy
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I would add to the comment about Isabella Shadow. We are both in our 70's and a year or two back we realised that we just cannot comfortably manage an awning. Unpacking, attaching to rail and then all that pegging just became too much; not to mention putting it away again. We invested in an Isabella Shadow 5 metre and we love it. It seems expensive but it works and is so simple to use. Now for this year we want to get the net front. Not cheap but I think it will make all the difference in France.
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We have two awnings. One is a Kampa Air Pro 390 - which is a brilliant awning IMO, but it is extremely heavy and I need to use a pair of steps to get a straight pull on it when attaching it to the awning rail. In all honesty, I think your husband would probably struggle with this size of air awning.
By comparison, we also have a Sunncamp lightweight awning - albeit quite small at 2.2m but it was bought as a cheap alternative for winter use when drying at home might be an issue. It is very light and an absolute doddle to thread on the awning rail. It only has two poles plus a fibreglass hoop and nothing touches the van so no danger of damage. I am sure larger sizes are available.
There is still the issue of pegging out and both can be just as exhausting when doing so on a hard-standing.
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We have the same fitted to our Bailey, but they are not a cheap option. Very easy to put up the canopy, and you can get sides to put in too. We have the sides, but to be honest, as we spent all of last summer in France, Italy and Germany, we didn't need to put them in. In the autumn we didn't bother at all, so the panels have not yet been used.
Deleted User User also is a great advocate of the Thule awning.
David
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