Awning depth
Hi folks, just seeking your thoughts. She who must be obeyed has decreed that we need a bigger awning. We've kind of settled on a Kampa one that is three metres deep. Our caravan itself is just the standard width, not 8 feet. However she's now a bit nervous about whether this would fit on an 'average awning pitch'. Those of you who have one that deep, do you ever encounter any problems bearing in mind the fire regulations etc?
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We use a thre'penny bit shaped Kampa Air 400 awning on the side of our 2.3m wide caravan and have to say it will only just fit on some of the CC pack 'em in pitches. I've ended up with pegs in the no man's land grass fingers before now .... but .... I try not to use CC sites so I live with it.
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We do have both an 8’ wide van and a Kampa 390 Grande awning at 3m deep. It is tight on some CC pitches but if we can, we try and pick one with a bit more room around it. We are not big fans of Club sites because we hate being packed in like sardines and only tend to use them in winter when a hard standing is more desirable. On those occasions, we invariably use our alternative Sunncamp Air 390 which isn’t so deep - and easier to dry if we have to pack it away wet.
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I’ve been using my Isabella Commodore 3m deep awning for about 6 years now on all sorts of sites and never had a problem.
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Back when I had the caravan, I inherited a 2.5m full awning with it. My van was 5m long and the space seemed massive. I only put it up twice before selling it and reverting to my porch awning. I can see why families might want the space of a full awning though. Quite why there is a need for an awning 3m wide on vans that generally average 5.5m or larger, giving an area 30% larger than mine was, is however something of a puzzle to me.
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As I said earlier, I have a 3m deep full size awning for my 7m long caravan. The extra space when I go away with my family is valuable to me, it gives plenty of storage space for food, clothes, shoes, dirty washing, toys etc. as well as a good space to eat outside whilst providing some shade or shelter.
When I go away on my own I use my Isabella magnum porch awning, again it gives a little storage space and gives an outside space to eat and relax.
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I thought I had read somewhere, possibly the magazine, that wardens might not allow very large awnings on some pitches despite them being designated as awning pitches because it can be difficult to achieve correct distances especially on some hardstanding pitches. Club site pitches vary so much in size. On a site like Moreton in Marsh you might struggle to get the caravan and awning contained within the hardstanding and that is with the car parked across the unit. Maybe not such a problem on grass pitches?
David
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Thanks everyone. I guess our next job will be to stand inside a few and get a feeling for them. Does anyone know the best awning showroom with the biggest range in northern England? We're in Cumbria so i imagine I'll have a reasonable distance to travel so want to make sure there is plenty to look at once we get there. Or is it better to go to a show? Can you get deals on awnings at shows?
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Its a long way from Cumbria but the last time i was at Glossop caravans they had a good selection on show, however they are not the cheapest.
I'd draw up a shortlist and then phone dealers to find out if they have the model you are interested on display. If its only to get a feel for the size it should be fairly easy to find an awning of the size you require to view.
Good luck.
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Again - a long way from Cumbria but Yorkshire Caravans at Bawtry have a large awning Dept - selling mainly Kampa, Isabella and Sunncamp - they are also open to a bit of haggling!
I would also do an internet search at this time of the year - I got a good discount on a 390 Sunncamp about a year ago in an end of season sale.
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Having witnessed a long van's large reach awning's roof being ripped open by water pooling, I would be very reticent having one as our van is also quite long.
The awning rail height for any van is a fixed value, as is the height of the edges. The only thing one has to avoid water or hail a chance of forming a pooling catenary, is to add rafters, or be there to stand inside with a broom to keep shedding the build up.
Possibly some air beam awnings might yield enough before the fabric does?
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The Kampa awnings all have roof beams plus the current ones have a dual angled roof to prevent pooling on the roof. The only time I have experienced pooling is if I haven’t pulled the awning out tight enough when pegging it out.
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