# Silver awning



## aldra (Jul 2, 2009)

I had a silver/grey awning fitted on the new van 12 months ago

the instruction was to fit the biggest awning it would take

when we collected it we were in a hurry to get away to Europe, but queried the size of the awning

It was he said the biggest that could be fitted because of the curve

we have since seen much longer ones fitted onto the same van

When it rains the rain runs straight into the door as it stops half way across, the same thing happens at the garage side and we use that for the dog kennel

If we wanted side units they cant be fitted as the door would not open

we will have to get a new longer one fitted as it is really annoying us now

will we be able to sell the present one and at least recoup some of the money spent ?

Aldra


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## Hezbez (Feb 7, 2009)

Can it not be moved left or right a bit, to a better position?


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## bigcats30 (Aug 13, 2012)

Sounds like they charged you for the biggest awning and fitted one they had left in the backroom.


Another reason to ensure anyone buying checks the van over thoroughly before handing over the cash.


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## aldra (Jul 2, 2009)

not really, if it covers the hab door it leaves the garage exposed

Shadow us not the friendliest dog on the block when it comes to the motorhome so he uses the garage as a kennel on site, with fitted wire doors

There would be no shade in the sun and at present we can use a windblocker gathered and tied to the bike rack to offer extra protection

Aldra


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## gaspode (May 9, 2005)

My experience when trying to get someone to supply/fit an awning to our new van earlier this year was that very few awning vendors/fitters had any real expertise when it came to what awning would fit what van. Of three Rapido dealers that I contacted only one (Rapido Wokingham) had a clue as to what awning was appropriate, the others gave me advice which was completely misleading. Several well know suppliers were quite prepared to supply/fit awnings which were completely unsuitable. My van needed a special adaptor bracket to do the job properly (at a cost of course) but plenty of dealers were quite happy to quote a cheaper price using "adapted" standard parts, I suspect they just use whatever they have lying around.

Two dealers who did seem to know what they were about were Rose Awnings and Hillview Awnings, both on the south coast and both Omnistor dealers.

As for selling your existing awning, there's a lively market on Ebay in used awnings so shouldn't be a problem, likely as not whoever fits your new one could sell it on for you.


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## premiermotorhomes (Feb 13, 2008)

A dealers perspective.

We will not provide an installation estimate without an assessment of the motorhome. It's possible to make a safe judgment more often than not on what length awning will fit, but in reality you have to confirm the length, bracket requirements, internal furniture layout, height above the door, roof curvature and the locations of external lockers, doors, windows & flue's etc. 

A customer may wish to have an awning which is the maximum length possible, however if they wish to have a Room/Residence then a slightly shorter awning may have to be fitted to accommodate this.

There are of course exceptions to this for example a 6m X250 Ducato panel van will always take a 3.7m awning and will always require one style of bracket.

If a dealer has a franchise, then they would be more likely to be able to use past installations to provide estimates, however this is no guarantee as there is so many models and layouts available. We can of course refer to the options list to establish what the factory fitted option would be for some manufacturers, but this only indicates the length not the bracket requirements.

My personal experience is that the number of installations requiring brackets is small compared to those which can bolt straight on using the standard brackets.

In this case, it comes down to the awareness of the fitter of the availability and options of brackets to aid installation and experience gained from past installations.

I also feel that there are cases where customers are driven to accepting based on a better price, and that doing it 'right' could price a dealer out of the equation and there will always be someone who is prepared to take shortcuts to get the job.

Regards,
Chris


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## aldra (Jul 2, 2009)

Chris

I know its late, but what's the bottom line?

They had the van to check the measurements before they ordered

had the van also to fit a £5000 gas generator too, but failed to fit it in a way that would allow access without removing it each time it needed an oil change

bottom line is they were rubbish and we would never do business with them again

We trusted them to do a good job, they being the" experts"

Aldra


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## premiermotorhomes (Feb 13, 2008)

Good evening Aldra, 

I have to remain impartial, as its not appropriate for myself to comment on specific circumstances, I hope you understand. This is why I have provided an insight in to how I would think when approaching the matter. The only point I could add in to the discussion is that a number of independent fitters could all theoretically assess application suitability differently and all could determine different a solution.

We have not fitted a gas generator before, something I expect to be true of the majority of dealers as it's a niche product, but having looked in to the matter for a previous customer I can say that its a very challenging and time consuming installation and the space available can be very restricted, gas regulations have to be adhered, as of course do the installation instructions for the exhaust and every installation will be bespoke. I couldn't rule out the possibility that the install forced the oil change access to be inaccessible, but then I couldn't rule out the possibility that it could have been in another location.

Perhaps the oil change access could be adapted in some way such that it could be made accessible without the need to remove the generator?

Have you provided an opportunity for the dealer to discuss these points with you?

Regards,
Chris


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## aldra (Jul 2, 2009)

It can be made accessible and we are about to have it done, the skirt will be hinged to allow ease access

And it was not the dealer who has been and still is excellent

Its our own fault for assuming that a professional assessment would be carried out prior to fitting

and whilst we are at it the solar panel wires are covered by a channel, quite rightly but-- it stops half way across the habitation door and you've guessed it :lol: That is where the water drains off the roof 

anyway we shall use the winter to have the problems sorted

Aldra


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## premiermotorhomes (Feb 13, 2008)

Looking ahead, the issues are being resolved so you can look forward to an enjoyable season next year once complete and crack on using your motorhome with no further issues.

When the awning is resolved, ask the fitter to fit Rain Guard behind the awning as this will stop water running down the back of the awning and will force the water to travel to the front of the van where the awning rakes forward, which once it sits over the door will mean you won't get wet.

Regards,
Chris


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## aldra (Jul 2, 2009)

They are being resolved, and it will cost us a lot of money to resolve them

We live and learn an expensive lesson

Aldra


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