# awning or safari room?????



## hannah29 (Feb 13, 2006)

which would you recommend and which is easiest????

we have found during these damper months that when we are on site for a week or so and the weather is bad its a real pain having to put the pushchair down and put it away in the garage only to get it out again half an hour later to go somewhere else.....it would also be nice to have somewhere to put muddy shoes without having to balance with one foot on a step whilst trying to get your other wellie off and risking falling out the van and into the mud!!!!

we have an omnistor awning already fitted so a safari room is an option but we are also tempted by the small awnings as we would not be too worried about using it as living space...more for storage

thoughts please.......


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## peejay (May 10, 2005)

If you already have an omnistor then the natural or most convenient option is to fit a safari room but obviously you won't be able to move the van while its up.

If you had a separate awning then you could leave it on site and go out for the day if req'd.

Clearly you have a dilemma here,

I'd say if you don't move much once on site then go for the first option and if you like to get about in the van for day trips go for the second option.


pete.


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## hannah29 (Feb 13, 2006)

it is a bit of a dilemma and i think the only thing that will help us to decide is knowing how easy/difficult they are to put up.....i suppose with a safari room we have the added bonus of just having the sides or the front in during the summer to shade if necessary..... having 2 kids and a rather large euramobil we don't go off on day trips due to the amount of packing up we would have to do but we do travel quite a bit and stay on sites for a few days before moving on to the next one......


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## 94055 (May 1, 2005)

Hi,
Drive away awnings are great but even with experience it would take 1 person approx 1hr and two about 45mins to put up properly. Great for 2 weeks or maybe 1 but not for the weekend. I have just bought a lightweight awning which slides into a groove of the wind out awning, which is then wound in and a couple of poles/tie downs hey presto. 10/15mins tops. I can not remember the name of it at the mo :roll: I do not know if you can get one to fit your M/H. Hopefully someone will be along to give name etc.

Steve


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## 94639 (May 1, 2005)

Hi all

We have an awning which sounds as if it is the same as Steves. It is a Base Camp Panorama Awning, comes in two differing lengths 2.6 & 3.9 metres and fits into the channel of your wind out awning and is then secured with poles and tie downs. Took us about 15 mins to put up and a lot less to take down. The height of your awning rail from the ground has to be measured to ensure a correct fit, unfortunately our awning was about 4 inches to high, the solution to this was to bond a length of awning rail to the side of the van at the correct height. Shop around on the net for best prices, we found used units going for £70 - £80 on e-bay, however brand new items can be purchased at £99 for the 2.6 metre and £129 for the 3.9. A photo of ours can be seen on the following link.

http://www.motorhomefacts.com/modul...oto_Gallery&file=index&include=view_photo.php


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## hannah29 (Feb 13, 2006)

that sounds and looks perfect......only thing we may have a problem with is height.....being a euramobil it has a deep double floor.....will get some measuring done and see where we get too

many thanks


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## des (Aug 13, 2005)

We had a Safari Room on an Omnistor on previous MH. took about 2 hrs to put up properly, and about 30mins to take down. In many ways, glad to be rid, as it made pitching such a lot of work. 'Twas why we started towing the car. Can't comment on drive-aways. But I always notice several of both types on sale "only used once or twice". Tells me something?

des


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## Grizzly (May 9, 2005)

It sounds as if the bulk of the use would be in winter. Safari rooms and anything attached to the van are susceptible to wind damage and that is more likely to happen in winter. Even with proper strapping down it is not unknown for the whole thing to take off and rip the fixings from the van or worse ( see threads on here)

At least your separate awning would not damage the van if it was very windy.

G


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## wobby (May 1, 2005)

I had a Fiama zip awning with safari room on my old Hymer 544 found it a bit of a pain unless I was going to stay put for at least a week, bit of a pig to set up. We've bought an Apache drive away to use with our new van which we'll use when staying for longer than a week, other wise we'll use the omnistor awning, might by a sun screen to fit on it as well. At least this way if we want to nip go off for the day we don't have to take down in the morning and put up when we return, which IS a real pain. 
Best of luck Wobby


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## ianhibs (May 1, 2005)

Don't know if this helps but we have an Omnistor Safari Residence which is much stronger than the room and is ideal for summer & winter use. Yes! It does take time to put up but we are down to 40 minutes now and I'm hoping to break the 30 min barrier next time.

I do agree it's not ideal if you're moving every day (our solution is a Dutch Windbreak plus the windslip supplied with the Safari residence which we intend to carry as an alternative) but obviously this would be no use to you.

All I can say about the Residence is that it may be over the top for storing muddy boots. It really is a large seperate weatherproof room with which you can double your living space.

Ian

PS You will need to carry a small step ladder to put it up.


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## xgx (Oct 14, 2005)

Hi Hannah
Faced with the same problem we opted for a simple store tent (pent roof shed type); they come in expensive and cheap :wink: 

We opted for the cheap and it's served us well ... at £50 on offer from Waudebys a year ago it doesn't owe us anything  ...10 mins to put up.

Home made side curtains (see grizzly's posts on here somewhere) complete the set up

We did buy an awning tent but sold it on 'cos we didn't want all the pfaffing about...


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## Grizzly (May 9, 2005)

Hannah...not ideal I know but if you have a big well draining door mat ( ie rubber with holes) at the bottom of your steps you can step out of your wellies. Hammer two stakes into the ground beside the door - cricket stumps are excellent but sharpened lengths of broom handle are also fine- and put your boots on them upside down. You can step up from the doormat into the van with dry feet. Your boots will stay dry inside which is all that matters.

We also have a small cheap plastic wellie-remover-thingy to save having to bend down and wrench them off. That stays outside under the van.

G

2 stakes per person !!


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## 101448 (Oct 18, 2006)

Hi Hannah29

The problem with a safari room is that it limits the get and go advantage of owning a motorhome. You might as well have a caravan.
We solved the problem for £10. We bought a pup tent where we store everything while we are off site, including any bits that are stored in under seat lockers that are often hard to get at. It has been one of the best £10 we have spent.

Good luck
Mannick


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## hannah29 (Feb 13, 2006)

thanks mannick....i was actually considering some kind of pup tent/toilet tent.....as i say its more for the pushchair than anything else and perhaps an awning for the longer stays on site


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## 96105 (Aug 23, 2005)

stevercar said:


> Hi,
> Drive away awnings are great but even with experience it would take 1 person approx 1hr and two about 45mins to put up properly. Great for 2 weeks or maybe 1 but not for the weekend. I have just bought a lightweight awning which slides into a groove of the wind out awning, which is then wound in and a couple of poles/tie downs hey presto. 10/15mins tops. I can not remember the name of it at the mo :roll: I do not know if you can get one to fit your M/H. Hopefully someone will be along to give name etc.
> 
> Steve


hi steve nice idea :idea:

any pics :?:

saruman


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