Oh no, not someone needed awning advice again!
I can only imagine just how many new caravan owners have asked for awning advice in this group - I hate to be adding to this list, but I'm going to anyway!
Recently, we bought a lovely (new to us) 2013 Elddis Chatsworth 574. It didn't come with an awning as the owners had sold it the year previously.
From our years with our old motorhome we know we'll need an awning for when we go away, particularly in the summer. We had a partial awning with our motorhome (similar size to a porch awning for a caravan) and although this gave us much needed additional space, it was never big enough.
So this time round we know we want a bigger awning. Our adult daughter and son in law would like to come away with us occasionally in the summer but prefer not to sleep with us (understandable!) and so we're also thinking to either buy an awning with has a part you can separate off, to be their bedroom, or an annexe room with the awning for them, or the ability to add one later.
We are planning to attend the Caravan and Motorhome show at the NEC in February and we're thinking we could buy one there. But we don't have a great deal of money - we need to buy it once and buy it right! Would we be better off buying from second hand from a member, or maybe from a local dealer?
Then there's the whole, air awning or pole awning thing!!! I've tried to do a lot of research, but it hasn't really been that helpful as mostly it seems everyone has an opposite opinion to everyone else.......
I was wondering if anyone in this group already have an Elddis Chatsworth 574 and can share what kind of awning you have and which you think would be best for us? I know that's a long shot, but might be very useful.
So before I go off to brave the heaving crowds at the NEC, can anyone help with a bit of useful guidance here?
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There was a thread recently about air v pole. I wouldn't go back to poles ever again but as you say opinions are are very divided but they are certainly popular on sites.
Just to help on another point you raised, we had a similar point with daughter and OH. They just wanted the occasional week/weekend so we just bought a simple pop up tall double inner tent that lived in the awning. It collapsed easy enough each morning and evening and even though we bought a small oil filled radiator it wasn't needed and the air bed could either be propped up or deflated during the day. It worked quite well.
Post edit it was similar to this one https://www.caravan-megastore.com/product-page/sunncamp-universal-pop-up-awning-inner-tent
Double post edit, we also used the camping pods once at Coniston, not the cabins but the simple wooden huts. No bathroom or anything but two camping beds, a heater and power sockets. They used it for just sleeping and they then joined us for eating.
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Before you dismiss the idea of buying an awning at the show remember you'll probably get a good discount if you do! We bought one of our previous caravan awnings at the NEC, we could see what was on offer and have a good look at what would suit us at the time and take on board any advice needed. Lightweight awnings are handy but if you're thinking of good weather protection and night time use you might need to get a more substantial awning.
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Thank you so much @Cornersteady - that's really useful. I hadn't thought about the idea of a pop up inner tent, but that might work. I'll click on the link you sent and have a look! We tried the camping pod at Brighton and that was OK, we did the same as you, but as we mostly go to CLs, that's not really an ongoing option for us.
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My pleasure
There's even a three berth version, have a search on google.
https://www.awnings.co.uk/sunncamp-pop-up-3-berth-inner-tent.html
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I think we'll be going substantial as we really do hope to buy one that will last a few years and see us through many holidays. We certainly haven't discounted the idea of buying at the NEC, in fact we're definitely going there, but we feel that (as we've been to these shows many times before) we'll do best if we go there with our preparation already done and already pretty sure of what we want.
Thanks for your advice though - good advice is always welcome
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I've got to say that, I'd never even heard of these pop up tents before, and having followed your link, I can see what a brilliant thing they are! Obviously you've got to buy your awning first and make sure that it's both tall enough for a pop up to fit inside, and also that it's large enough as in reality, I wouldn't want to keep on putting the pop up, up and taking it down again (especially as they'd probably want to leave some clothes etc inside it).
So this is definitely an option, but we still need to get our awning first.
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Thanks @Brue - just read through the discussion on the link and that was really useful. Particularly I noticed that people with air awnings struggled on sloping/uneven ground to get them up well.
As we usually stay on CLs, which are often all kinds of sloping, I don't think an air awning will work for us. I think we'll be much better off with a pole awning.
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Air awnings can be heavy too so look at the weights involved. Have you looked at the classified section, member ads for awnings, quite a few good secondhand ones on offer. Hope others can offer some suggestions. Remember you can also put up a small tent alongside your van as long as it fits of your pitch, our daughter did this when she visited us on a site but we had a bad storm and she ended up in the van! ....Be prepared.
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Hi Reedit, Not got a van like yours but if you think that you may, at some point, change it then that is something to consider before deciding.
Whilst the NEC is a great place to window shop you need to be pretty sure of what you want before you arrive or it may just cause confusion and uncertainty-a seeming bargain can cause many plans to be thrown out!
I would suggest getting as much info as you can to be certain of the full awning size you need and then checking manufacturers sites to be clear on how their 'sizing' works-it can be very misleading at times.
Everything considered you may be best looking bat all the various selling sites, from the club classifieds and specialist awning dealers to the likes of ebay etc.
One site i was made aware of was Facebook Marketplace, I don't use Facebook, and we bought a secondhand porch awning there last year.
I would advise that, as for most things, get the best you can afford and with an eye for how you will be using it-like inner tents etc.
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Thank you SO much! That's brilliant advice (I was already thinking we needed to completely have our ducks in a row before going to the NEC and flashing the cash. One of the problems is that although we've read lots of info on what size of awning we need, the more we read, the more confused we're getting.
It doesn't help that awning companies seem to sell awnings in "set sizes", rather than the size you actually need! This concerns me as what do you do with the "extra" since clearly you need to go slightly larger than you need, if you have the choice between a stock size awning that's a bit too large or a bit too small.
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Hi, Assuming that your van is based on the 574 the awning A measurement is 1010/1020 depending on where you look. The Isabella size is 1000 and, looking on FB Marketplace there seems to be quite a good number for sale.
Prices will likely rise as Spring approaches and people start to think about getting out again.
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Why not just buy an awning that suits the two of you and let adult daughter and partner buy a separate tent that suits them?
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We have never bought a new awning. Many get traded in along with vans, so dealers often have quite a few for sale. Ours have always been in very good condition, and come with all the poles, curtains etc…. We did buy one that needed altering to size, but that was easily done as well. It’s saved us quite a substantial amount down the years. We did buy a cheap porch awning for our big van, but you wouldn’t have wanted to sleep in it.😁
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You say "Our adult daughter and son in law would like to come away with us occasionally in the summer " and later you mention staying on CL's with uneven ground.
I'm thinking along the lines of eurotraveller Buy a good 2nd hand awning that meets your needs 95% of the time and for when your daughter and son in law come along a separate tent as these are usually OK on a CL, unlike a main C&MC site.
Your options will be greater, you'll have more flexibility and costs are probably going to be less. They will also have more privacy, as will you.
Colin
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I echo some of the other comments, we bought a second hand awning 2 years ago from a local seller in the club classifieds to replace a medium sized (360) awning that came with our van but got damaged (someone's mad dog jumped through the side!). The one we bought was a 'poled' Kampa 390 'plus' with an annexe, we find this is plenty large enough for the 2 of us in normal configuration and the annexe can be added if we take offspring with us (rarely like you). We paid less than £100 for it, it's still 100% watertight and sound, we've had 2 years good use out of it already and if we want to buy a new one, I know that the size/design is perfect for us and happy with Kampa's design material/durability etc etc before I make a substantial purchase.
The downside to a 'full' awning is that if you might swap your van, you may well find the rail length is different so you need to buy a new awning as well, whereas a '390' or similar will fit any largeish van.
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We got our Bradcot Porch awning on eBay. It was only two years old and had hardly been used. The seller had a fixed price open to offers. I made a silly one that was eventually accepted. 😀
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If you decide on an air awning I'd advise getting an electric pump as well. Remember that awnings made to fit right round the caravan rail will be of no use when you change your caravan. I prefer one that is slightly shorter than the caravan and I find a manufacturer's annex zipped into the end of the awning is best for sleeping extra relatives.
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Hi, I finally decided to make a comment about my awning in the hope that others don’t make the same mistake. I know this is a bit of an old chestnut but I wanted to get it off my chest.
I purchased a Kampa Grande Air Pro about 18 months ago and am totally disappointed with it.
Unless your pitch is like a snooker table at the Crucible this awning does not fit nicely on the ground at all and most importantly, in NO WAY is this awning waterproof. The roof leaks as does every seam.
Only on a really level pitch and a sunny day is this fit for purpose. Unless I was just unlucky I would recommend you try another brand. If it wasn’t so expensive I would chuck it in the bin. Avoid like the plague.
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