# Awning pros and cons



## Batch (Dec 2, 2005)

I need some advice on whether to put an awning on my Hymer and if so the benefits or the negatives. Are they worth having? I'm off round europe in the summer will I use it? What do others do? What also about safari or privacy rooms. Please enlighten me.


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## johnsandywhite (May 9, 2005)

Hi *Batch* We have toured Europe (mainly Spain) and the USA for the last 6 years. We have always in that time had a full awning. In all that time we have had the awning out at least 4 times. :wink:


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## 96088 (Aug 22, 2005)

Purely a personal opinion

Horrible things...Great for wet dogs though.

The boss says we should get one...An awning that is...We have already got the wet dog.

Sadly finances will not allow :wink:


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## Scotjimland (May 23, 2005)

Awning great, wouldn't be without it.... wet or sunny weather. 

Safari/privacy room, no, too much work when you want to go out for the day, if you need extra living space for the kids buy a free standing awning or tent.


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## bognormike (May 10, 2005)

We have on Stella2, she came with it fitted. Used it quite a few times last year in the hot weather we managed to get - good for providing shade, but a nuisance at night. It tends to flap in the wind, and I would lay in bed wondering whether the wind's going to get up & flip it over the roof. Saying that, we bought a tie down kit for it & have never used it! 
We never seem to be on site long enough to bother!


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## xgx (Oct 14, 2005)

Yes to an awning!

Imagine...

Sitting, munching, alfresco; along comes a light shower of rain... work it out...

Same scenario... blazing euro sun.. fry or stay 8) 

That's the easy bit, 

Q: windout or freestanding

A: have both :wink:


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## 96088 (Aug 22, 2005)

Just to clarify my earlier post. I was refering to freestanding (3 sided tent) as opposed to the windout thingy.


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## 95431 (Jun 13, 2005)

we use a wind out awning, no sides, it is a god send. we travel europe for two months every year. mainly spain so we live outside virtualy all the time and the shade is a must. it takes 2 minutes to set up and we wouldn't be without it.

Ian.


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## Grizzly (May 9, 2005)

We've just gone through the same decision-making process Batch. Our last van had a Fiamma windout awning fitted and came with complete safari room.

We used the windout awning as a sunshade ( with shower curtain attached for side shade) but never even unpacked the safari room bit. It all seemed a bit much effort for a day or two on site. We never used it for wet weather cover.

The new van has no awning and we don't want to start drilling holes in the side or spending a fortune. We do however want shade.

We've looked into gazebos: heavy and awkward to store in the van, might blow away while we are off site and a pain to put up if you're only stopping for lunch.

We've looked into free-standing, drive away awnings; ditto gazebo.

Today we went to look at a Fiamma Caravanstore awning.

http://www.agentfiamma.co.uk/erol.html#358x0

This will cost us approx £140, will fit in the caravan awning channel which seems to be ready-fixed to the van so no extra fixing expense, will give us shade in double quick time and we can travel with it in place so it won't take up space in the van. We carry a Lakeland folding step ( excellent peice of kit by the way) so will be able to reach it easily to pull out. We have a Fiamma tie down kit which we will use with it but Fiamma are giving one away free with every order.

We think we've made a decision !

G


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## 88927 (May 10, 2005)

We have had wind out awnings on our three mh's and the RV came without one   We have recently ordered a Carefree Spirit FX awning from Linda at stateside tuning (plug, sorry) and cannot wait for it to be delivered, because we used our awnings every time we went out previously.
Personally I think they are a "must have" option.....

Keith

Ps. for what it is worth I thought the Omnistor awning was a better quality unit than the Fiamma (we have had both) and that would be my recommendation.


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## 88919 (May 10, 2005)

we have a free standing awning and a wind out awning. the free standing awning we only ever use if we are away for a week or more. its heavy to carry takes up too much room in the van (as we dont have anywhere else to keep it when travelling). its not worth the bother if you are only away for a couple of days. we use the wind out awning all the time and have just bought one of the new light weight awnings (porch size) so the free standing awning is probalby redundant now. :roll: 

amanda & andy


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## Boff (May 10, 2005)

Hi,

once upon a time when I was still a boy and we were travelling with our family of five (plus cat) in a Volkswagen T2 campervan we had a free-standing awning and this was absolutely essential.

Now I have a "real" :wink: coachbuilt motorhome which came with a wind-out awning. However, in the 3 years I have the van now we have actually rolled out the awning maybe 5-6 times at all...

Of course, this is partially because:
a) we usually travel to countries not that much sun-spoilt like Scandinavia, Ireland or UK
b) we usually go wild-camping where any kind of awning is normally considered inappropriate.

Would I buy a new van ex-factory now I would not have an awning fitted.

BTW, _re-fitting_ a wind-out awning is relatively simple, while _removing_ an existing awning will leave some quite nasty holes.

Best Regards,
Gerhard


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## 88864 (May 10, 2005)

hi Batch we use our wind-out awning almost every time we go out in the van, I use a tie down kit when just using the wind-out and roll it back in at night, use the safari room when staying more than a couple of knights, I can put the safari room on my own in just over half an hour.


chris


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## 96827 (Nov 30, 2005)

We have both a wind out and free standing awning. Bought the latter off e-bay for £160. Best thing we did as the old Elddis Eclipse isn't the biggest van in the whole wide world.

It weighs heavy but only takes around 45mins to put up and really does give you the extra space. We even put it up at weekends when we're on site for just a couple of nights.

I made two carriers out of plastic pipe with end caps and locks and fixed them onto the bike rack - I put the long and short awning poles in there and they don't get in the way.

Last year we only put the awning away wet once all year! (Pain in the butt drying it in the back room when it did go away wet though!)

I would recommend a free standing awning to anyone.

Phil


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## 89210 (May 16, 2005)

Hi, we had a wind-out fitted to ours. It's used almost everytime we're away, the safari room take 20mins max single handed and increases the living space significantly. we tend to leave our outdoor gear in it so it's not in the way indoors. But it's really "horses for courses".


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