Awnings ! Air or Poles ?
Hi Folks, going to purchase an awning shortly. I like the Dorema Daytona and see it comes as a standard pole version and an Air supported version. The Air version is £700 more expensive than the poles version.
Is it worth the money? In fact are any Air awnings worth the money?
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We are in our 4th season of a Bradcot Aspire Air 390 awning, that was £899 including the pump. Excellent bit of kit that has withstood storms that brought down Isabella poled awnings.
We also have a Dorema Monaco sun canopy that is very similar in quality of fabric to the Bradcot AA
There is another thread below this on air awnings for recent discussion.
There is a 'clearance' Bradcot Aspire Air2 + pump here: https://www.bradcot-awnings.co.uk/catalog/aspire-air-260-2-free-12v-electric-pump-ref-1602
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That will be a ‘no’ and an ‘I don’t think so’!
Whist not a race I can put up our Magnum as quick as our friends put op their Air Vango so I don’t see any speed advantage.
In strongish winds theirs collapsed several times in one corner and has been exchanged once and repaired once when beading detached.
They also tend to be heavier and therefore more difficult to handle
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well for me had both and an air awning is certainly quicker. Thread through the awning rail, that's the same for both types.
Now for a pole you have to get them out arrange them in the right order for the middle and ends, then there is the ones going downwards and the one going to the van. Assemble in a certain order, then tension each one, (don't forget the poles that fit into the awning rail back of and any pads. To make things easier maybe you have taken out the doors?
For an air awning, get the pump (electric or manual) and its up and ready for pegging in a few minutes all nicely in tension. Taking it down is super quick, unpeg, let the air out out pull out from rail roll up. No putting poles away.
The better ones (Kampa) have tie down attachments and they withstand really strong winds. Also a pole awning goes and those poles can do serious damage to your van as theseriousy flap around. So such concerns with an air one.
I suggest you try inflating at a local dealer, you will be sold!
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Can't disagree with what you say MM, but personally I wouldn't have a pole awning anymore, too much faffing around for me.
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indeed will never go back now, and the combined weight of poles and canvas is certainly heavier than an air awning
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I can’t speak for the Air Vango, but I’m very familiar with Kampa products. And there is absolutely no way that finding, laying out, extending, threading, temporarily guying, metal poles can be achieved as quickly as pumping up our air awning. Collapsing corners is another common argument against air awnings. We have practical experience of the effect of very strong winds on our air awning. The air poles will buckle in, then spring back in the strongest gusts. Nearby metal framed awnings also buckled in, bent and couldn’t spring back.
There are only two real reasons not to buy an air awning - weight, cost.
There is just one reason to buy an air awning, it’s more convenient.
Of course, some people just like traditional equipment, so they will avoid anything which they perceive as new fangled. There’s room in the world for both. Inaccurate opinions I’m less comfortable with.
Once their weight penalty has been resolved, and the cost reduced, air awnings will inevitably become the only type made. We’re not at that point yet.
Meanwhile, some manufacturers are still selling poorly designed and made products. Maybe that includes your friend’s Vango, I don’t know. The market leaders measured by sales volume and recommendation, are Kampa.
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Our two (porch and larger) Kampa Air awnings have never waivered in winds and storms, except once when pegs pulled out in high wind - that could/would have happened even with a pole awning. But the awning still stayed upright, albeit flapping about.
i would say much quicker to erect than a pole awning, especially as I use an electric pump, meaning I can get on with other tasks whilst it is inflating. (It has an auto cut-off at preset pressure).
no question about it for me - an air awning every time.
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Jennyc, what is an inaccurate opinion? Reading your post it seems it’s one that differs from your opinion.
We considered three different models from two brands, spoke to owners looked around inside,saw them being erected etc and after consideration chose to stick with Isabella.
Since then one has the problems mentioned, and now uses a full awning, one has sold and one is not using due to issues with the weight.
We spent time looking at air awnings as we felt they were a good idea but in the end preferred Isabella which we are very happy with as I am sure you are with yours.
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Like for like on "canvas" quality and awning size, threading an air awning through the rail where it has in addition the air bladders, simply must be coping with a heavier item than threading one without. You simply can't add something and not add weight.
That is the "Achilles heel" of air awnings that can only be countered by lightening the quality of the fabric or doing it in smaller sections.
Whether that introduces a significant enough issue depends on ones age, fitness, number of individuals involved and size of the awning in question.
I even older than friends, can thread my Magnum's roof section through my rail, single handed, somewhat quicker than he with the help of his wife can thread their Kamp Pro through their rail.
He getting out and putting away his air pump, seems a longer task than me tipping out my poles and picking up the right ones as needed.
I don't dislike their awning, I feel it has to have its inner roof to offset the condensation issues I don't suffer from, but I certainly would not change awnings with them.
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We have both - we like the convenience of an Air awning and will use it if just going on a short break. If staying put for a week or more we will take our Magnum as its just better in virtually every respect when compared to our Air awning (Bradcot and previous Kampa). One thing that hasn't been mentioned is that we have found air awnings hopeless on sloping pitches as there is no height adjustment of the legs
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I’m sorry to have ruffled your feathers Alan, but I have an extensive engineering/ scientific background, which, when applied, can conflict with commonly expressed views.
The OED defines ‘opinion’ as follows;
A view or judgement formed about something, not necessarily based on fact or knowledge.
There are lots of people with ‘opinions’ about air awnings, which differ from those who’s knowledge is based on actual experience. If you think about it, an air awning can’t collapse unless it has a puncture. But it can bend, then spring back. That’s a, not always popular, ‘fact’ about what happens in real life.
I’m pleased that you like your Isabella, lots of people speak highly of them.
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Hi bought a vango air awning last year and have to say its a cracking bit of kit and easy to put up but it does thread in my wind out canopy which i think does make it easier to put up . Did have pole awnings in the past with my caravans but prefer the air awning so does wife no more deaf and doom suppers
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I don't have an air awning so cannot express an opinion other than to say that whilst we were away recently we saw two lots of people packing up air porch awnings. What surprised me was their inability to fold them up into a reasonably small bundle. Whether this is normal after they have been erected and it's difficult to remove all the air I don't know. It may just have been down to the users. I'm sure my full Isabella awning takes up less space in the car than the size of the bundles that were being squashed onto the back seats of the cars.
From a time point of view, we can take our full awning down and packed away in about the same length of time it took the two parties in question.
If this is 'the norm' I don't think I would bother looking at air awnings if ever I was in the market again.
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it seems there are 'votes' for both sides here, but what is interesting is that no one who has used an air awning said they will go back to poles, the opposite in fact.
At the end of the day it is what will suit you and what you will be happy using RR. If you could get some experience of using both that would certainly help.
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Air for me, yes they weigh more when packed up, but i do't agree with the suggestion that a pole awning can be put up as quick as an air awning. that's just the psychical limits of the individual,10 minutes maximum for mine from taking out the bag, feeding in the channel and inflating. pegging down time is the same as a pole awning and takes as long as it takes given the pitch your on.
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good for you
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blimey, not at all, and I wasn't up to that point of posting, anyway I loved being proved wrong, that what maths/learning is all about, all I said was good for you, that's all, -sorry if that upset you somehow
Guess you don't like being answered back eh?
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I can’t see any sarcasm🤔
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