how do you attach a drive away awning to your caravan?
I am thinking of getting the Movelite square or the Towsure XS awning to go on Holi. She has a lower than normal rail height (only 220cm) and only has a 660cm ground to ground length so a normal awning just doen't fit!
Do you feed the awning into the rail first and then erect it or do you erect it and then try to feed the awning bead on the tunnel into the awning rail??!!
Any advice ot tips would be very much appreciated. I need something lightweight and easy to erect solo!
Drive away awnings are for campervans and as far as I know don't fit to an awning rail - i.e. standalone. I am sure someone will be around to correct me if I am wrong.
Drive away awnings normally have section along the top to fit a rail. The answer is that you would have to experiment to find the best method. Provided there was an opening in the rail near the top of the caravan it might be better to erect first but it would probably need 2 people to get it into place.
Quality Drive away awnings have 2 common methods for attachment. It is the top of the tunnel that attaches only, not the whole end section. The 'sides' are pegged in tension as close the the structure as possible, in the case of a caravan down the outer wall.
A gusset to which poles can be threaded through and clamped to structure be it camper van, caravan, wall, tree etc
A bead that fits to a figure of 8 plastic extrusion.
The figure of 8 can in turn be attached to a vehicle rain gutter on a camper / traditional van; the top of a cassette type awning; to a kador safari gusset to insert in a front channel of a cassette awning; a safari/safari gusset to fit an awning rail.
The difference between a safari/safari and kador/safari gusset is that the k/s has different diameter beads, the s/s has same size beads each side of the gusset. Thread the gusset into the awning rail as you would a caravan awning, run to the top, then bring tunnel up close and thread 2 beads into figure of 8.
There are different heights of drive away awnings, the height will determine the slope of the tunnel.
In your case you need a gusset, just establish what the bead sizes are, and figure of 8. From your description. Checking the towsure web site they show a Motorhome drive away kit. Establish your caravan awning rail size and ask towsure for the correct gusset within the kit. The picture on the towsure site appears to show a s/s gusset i.e. equal size beads, but there are no words to confirm this, so ask the question, to save hassle. This is based on the Towsure XS awning you quote. The Movelight appears the same but has less detail available on the website.
I considered one of these for my caravan as it has a low awning rail, but decided against it as I don't think I could put it up on my own. They do recommend two people to put them up.
They are fixed to the van in one of two ways: either the long straps attached to the "tunnel" throw over the van and are pegged down the other side, or a figure of 8 strip is used to connect the beading on the awning to a double beaded strip which slides in to the awning rail.
So to erect the awning you put it up first then make sure it's in the right place, then attach it.
(The two awnings you mention have a beading just like a caravan awning - but there are others out there that don't have that and used a pole and clamps to attach it to a gutter rail on a van rather than a proper awning rail.)
In theory you could attach the beading direct to the awning rail first then erect it, but this could be a bit difficult as it will be in mid-air instead of on the floor when you're trying to put the poles in.
------------- Caz
If you can't see the light at the end of the tunnel, just keep going till you go round the bend.
A day of all things motorhome and campervan. The show is held both in the main indoor arena and across the grounds. Catering, hot drinks and food options are available. Easy access to the site and free parking included. Win one of five pairs of day tickets
Topic: A silly question, but.....
