Pole or air awning
We have just got a new van and need a bigger awning.In the past we have only had a pole awning and are confused as to what type to get. Are air awnings easier to put up? Are they Ok in strong winds? Has anyone experience of several years use of an air awning?
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My experience is that air awnings are much easier to put up and not necessarily any heavier than the pole type. Most of the time erecting an awning is spent in pegging the base and this is much the same whatever type you get. Either type are alright in strong winds with the addition of storm straps however note that some awnings are sold for fair weather use.
My advice would be to visit a few dealers and look at as many different awnings as you can. If you are on a site then don't hesitate to ask others there what they think of their awning.
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My Bradcot Air porch awning is threaded in to the rail and inflated in about 6 minutes with the electric pump. but as said you still have all the pegging out and other stuff to do. FWIW, I wouldn't revert to a pole type as I find it so much easier,
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I have the Air 400 Ace and previously had the Air 390.
They are heavy...ish, but I have never had any problem putting either up single handed (which is always the case - a small amount of sanitary silicone spray in the channel makes it easy to handle)
As above, pegging takes the same, but no faffing with poles. I use the Sevylor electric air pump, makes it so easy and you can shuffle it into position whilst its inflating.
I had the 390 up in France, when the nose was on the floor and the rear on 3 bricks with no problem, so I don't think uneven ground is at all an issue, not with the 390 anyway (though it did not look too pretty, I'll grant you).
I would not go back to a pole awning, but at the end of the day its all personal choice!
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Limited experience of pole awnings, but as we are perfectly satisfied with both a Kampa air porch awning and a bigger 390, I can't see we would be likely to change to poles.
we bought an electric pump, which I leave running whilst doing other tasks, as it auto switches off. Only drawback is that it draws 10amps on 12v, and the caravan 12 v socket only delivers up to 6 amps, so that means I temporarily have to have the tow vehicle on the awning side of the van, as the lead is not long enough to reach right round the van.
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We have a Kampa Air Pro 390 and I use an electric pump called a 'BP12', originally designed for large dinghies and it blows the awning up in three minutes and then switches off at the pre-set pressure. So - much quicker to erect than any pole awning although the pegging out takes just as long. It has been up in some very strong winds - 50mph+, this summer - with no ill effects and, of course, there's no danger of any damage to the van caused by poles banging against the side. It is heavy to thread onto the awning rail but newer versions, I believe, have fully removable doors and side panels making the task a lot easier. I have never had a problem on uneven pitches since there is enough adjustment via the 'ladder' fixing points to cope with most eventualities. I now cringe at the distant memory of battling with a pole awning many years ago, and wouldn't consider reverting back to that type again. Agree with Ian, above, that electric pumps do draw a lot of power and it is a bit of a pain having to position the car to allow clipping the pump direct to the battery. I am thinking of getting a portable power pack which I could use for both the awning and the Lock 'n Level, but at £160 for that bit of kit, I will be thinking about it for a while!
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I overcome the problem of powering the compressor for the awning by buying a small 20Ah battery, £37.99 . See picture. its less than 1/2 the size of a normal 75Ah leisure battery. I also found a small insulated bag with handles that it fit's in perfectly. Sold by Sainsbury's as a small cooler bag.
Once charged it last for ages, and if need be a small charger can be purchased for £5
If anyone is interested, I'll find the link to the battery supplier.
Incidentally, this battery is what you will find inside one of the better quality car boost packs.
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Hi all, I also use a BP12 type air pump, (noisy but fast) But I use a 7AH gell battery which fits into the middle pocket of the bag the pump come with, this keeps it all self contained and I recharge at home using s Ctek 5amp charger which has a motorbike battery setting as well. The battery is also used with the tyre pump as well and lasts for long enough for our needs.
As others have said awnings with air poles/beams are generally heavier to handle but you don't have to sort out the poles! Pegging out takes just as long.
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Re long term experience... we have had our Kampa Air Pro 260 for 3 and a half years and it is still fine. No air leaks!......that may be tempting fate!!! It has survived very windy conditions in Snowdonia this year and has weathered some really heavy rain and hail at times.
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Thanks Milo - good idea. Found a few on the net including a Lucas one for £39. Only reason I was thinking of the power pack was that a guy on a site this summer had one and I was impressed by how small and neat it was - but your solution is much more sensible!
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Your welcome,
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Hi I have a Bradcott Aspire air awning , I have found that unless your pitch is perfectly level it has a poor fit to the van. for instance raise the van on the awning side and the door of the van catches the roof beam, raise the van on the other side and the awning will not sit against the van. Levelling the van front to rear can also give issues . With a conventional pole awning one has the ability to adjust the frame to accommodate any deviations , with the air frame this is not possible
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My experiences exactly. would not buy another (Bradcot)
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