Roll-out awning that uses caravan awning rail
Just returned from our third trip to the southern part of France, and yet again took with us our awning, only to never put it up once! The warmer weather encourages sitting/cooking/eating outside, so the awning isn’t needed.
But - we now feel it would be handy to have a roll-out awning, so that things like table & chairs etc could be left out, instead of folding them down, and placing under the caravan when rain is threatened or happens.
but because we want to continue to use our Kampa air awning when in UK, a permanently fixed (to side of caravan) rollout awning which would inhibit use of the former wouldn’t really meet our needs.
has anyone experience of the type of rollout awnings which roll into a bag, which in itself uses the awning rail to fit, and therefore presumably can be slid in/out at will? I think both Flamma and Kampa make such, but there may be others. Can the bag (with awning inside) be left in situ when travelling or does one have to remove? Do folk add front/sides to the roof when needed? Or is it just a roof?
any feedback much appreciated.
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Ian, we have a Fiamma Caravastore. Perfectly safe to leave in situ when towing; if not supplied, just get a couple of lugs which slide and lock in the awning rail and this will ensure it does not move when towing. Only takes a couple of minutes to pull out and roll away and sometimes we roll it out at lunch stops. Only minus is that they are not too wind tolerant and have to be taken down in very strong winds even if well 'guyed' down.. We do not have sides but do have a front extension which gives either more shade as a 'sun awning' (you need some poles for this) or wind/rain/sun protection when pegged out at an angle. We leave our Kampa awning behind when we go on the continent. Very happy with our purchase, shop around there are usually good discounts available.
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If you have a caravan with a strong enough roof and body sides ie Bailey then you can do as us and others have and have a wind out awning fitted on the roof which the also leaves the awning rail channel clear,an added benefit is it gives another "skin" as you can have both deployed keeps it cooler,and "quieter" if raining
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Two awnings, eh?......
so would that be JV 'two awnings' B?
...as in Arthur 'two sheds' Jackson?
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We got our first Fiamma Caravanstore back in 2000 after seeing a van with one on a site in France. We never had a full awning, but did have a porch one which was a pain to put up. After we got the Fiamma we rarely used the porch.
Our first Caravanstore was only a small 2.6m one, we did add the sides and a front over the years, and found them useful.
When we changed to our present van, a large twin axle, the old Fiamma was too small, so we changed to a Fiamma Zip, 3.6m, which we have travelled all over Europe and UK with for 9 years.
Easy to erect, you can use just the roof, or zip on as many panels as you wish, the more panels you use the better it stands up to the wind.
As we do long trips, it got a lot of use, and last year the roof part started to fail. We considered getting a new roof, we believe we can get one that is compatible with the zips on our 2008 model, but decided against that due to cost and not being sure how long we would continue caravanning. Instead we got a lightweight canopy, Sunncamp 390 I think it is. We have tried it out and we think it will do what we need. Not as quick to put up as the Fiamma though.
If we were 10 years younger we would not hesitate to get another Fiamma.
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Welcome to the world of continental caravanning, Almost every motorhome has a wind out canopy and a Fiamma or Omnistor canopy in a bag is a good solution for a caravan.
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I have just got the Sunncamp canopy having found the Fiamma got stiffer to roll up just as my fingers are failing at the job. I enjoyed the zipped variety for several years. I love the canopy but would you want two sides (no front) on the continent? Last year I was next to a French couple with a large canopy which I admired, it turned out that he had made it presumably from an old awning. There seems to be much more choice of canopies these days.
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We looked at the Isabella, and some other similar ones, but we really wanted one that would shelter the doorway from the prevailing rain side.
The Sunncamp gives us shelter at the sides, and enough cover to allow us to leave out our table and chairs and our drinks coolbox
We found that mainly we used the Fiamma roof plus the side next to the door when abroad. We latterly started leaving all the other bits at home.
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We have just got the kampa revo 350 roll out canopy, just returned from 2 weeks in the south of France using it for the first time. Very impressed with it, had one hell of a rain storm one night and the canopy coped with out a problem. Going to purchase the privacy room for it next for the winter months. Paid £260 free delivery from Norwich camping.
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