Small Porch Awning recommendation?
We have a largish Isabella awning which is not practical for winter caravanning. We would like something small and relatively easy to put up for our shoes/boots and the like in. Not overly keen on air awnings and wonder whether anyone has some recommendations please? Our caravan is a Coachman VIP 575 if this info is needed.
Comments
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Both ourselfs and our friends have Isabella Magnums found very good our friend has just changed his to a blow up type so it will be interesting this year on pitchers how we both perform .Dont dismiss classified for awnings he has just sold his vgc Magnum for £300 !
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As well as our Kampa Air Pro 390, I also bought a Sunncamp 220 for the same reason as the OP. It's very light and easy to erect, has no poles touching the van so little chance of damage in a strong wind and was only £85! I chose that size because it was a perfect fit over the door and one window on our U3 Barcelona and is ideal for storing boots and all the various doggy bits and pieces. If it has to be packed away wet, it can be stuffed into its generous bag and dried easily at home afterwards - certainly a lot easier than the big heavy Kampa!
At £85 I thought if it only lasts a season or two, it wouldn't owe me anything, but for the money, it's very good quality and is showing no sign of wear two years on.
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I would be really interested as to how people are finding air awnings. I am coming to the point of replacing our Kampa Raleigh Pro and have been somewhat anti air awnings as they were relatively new when I last bought. However my dealer says that they are extremely robust and In fact perform better in wind as there are no poles to bend, aside from being much easier to erect.
I guess I am anti as everything I have that has air in it, such as air beds need reinflatimg and don't fancy doing that to the awning!
Views?
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MDD - as I have indicated above, we have had a Kampa Air Pro 390 for the last two years and it has been in use almost every month (except perhaps in the winter) since then. The plusses are that with the (expensive) air pump I bought recently, it's erected in less than five minutes (still has to be pegged out, though!), it's very strong and, as you've been told, performs extremely well in strong winds - without the fear of damaging the van. Other than the instance below, I've not experienced a problem with it losing air and has stayed fully inflated for two weeks or more.
The negatives are that it is very heavy to get on the rail and I need a set of small steps (which we keep in the van) so as to get a straight pull on it when fitting it on the rail. Condensation can also be an issue - but that applies to all impermeable fabrics - not just air awnings - but this is alleviated by keeping the top of the doors open slightly to maintain a reasonable air flow. Some users have complained about 'pooling' of water on the roof, but I have found that providing you stick exactly to the provided instructions, this hasn't been an issue.
We did have an problem with our first one which failed to inflate at the start of a two week holiday. A couple of phone calls resulted in Kampa sending a new one out to our campsite by overnight courier which was excellent customer service. Since then, however, this one has performed faultlessly.
Some have multiple inflation points which can be a bit of a faff - but Kampa and, I think, one or two others, do rely on a single point of inflation.
Having had a 'traditional' pole awning many years ago, I wouldn't go back to all that hassle of sorting poles out and trying to get them in the right place - and then worrying when the wind got up and listening to the roof poles creaking and groaning against the van.
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