Hello all! We are looking at adding a canopy to our caravan kit this year. We don’t have or want an awning….we just want a little sheltered outside space to sit in and use for the Cobb or Cadac. We’ll use it in France and in the UK, for both shade and if it’s a bit wet.
We’ve seen lots of versions and we can see that there are pros and cons in different designs. There’s a huge range of prices….we’ve liked designs by Sunncamp, Dometic/Kampa and Isabella. We’d love to hear from canopy owners! What do you like about them, what issues have you had, would you recommend what you bought? If you had to replace it would you buy the same again? Do you feel your canopy was value for money?
We have an Omnistore which rolls up into a bag which sits on the awning rail. We travel with this on and have found it the best solution, for us anyway. We have always bought second hand, so there are some deals to be found.
------------- Freedom is a light caravan and an open road.
We use the Thule Omnistor and think it's the best thing since sliced bread. We do not use in the UK it's for France only.
Having seen the Fiamma version, personally I would say the Thule is far better quality and we have never had an issue with it.
Would I recommend, yes. Would I buy again, yes. And to me it is value for money.
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Remember, if you buy something you bought it, not brought it.
We have a Dorema which we use in France/Italy. Not cheap but we have had ours for 14years now and still going strong .. we particularly iike the zip in sides.
Thanks Joanna and BlueExpo….we have a fair bit of Thule kit for carrying bikes and a roofbox and I’m a big fan in general. In terms of the caravan we just don’t have the payload capacity for an Omnistor. We did consider one for the VW but having bought an “interim” canopy from Funky Leisure we found we could put it up as quickly as chums with an Omnistor and as we never needed anything more substantial we ended up leaving it. Lovely bit of kit though!
I’ll have a look at Dorema Grahame….thanks for that.
We bought a Tencate sail from Obelink in the Netherlands a few years ago, which is great. Looking on their website, however, there’s no longer an English language page; I guess they are not finding it economic to export over here now. Here it is on their French site Tencate awning. If you’re in the vicinity of Winterswijk, worth dropping in!
Worth getting marquee pegs, in case of squally weather!
If you have an awning rail on your 'van then any straight canvas awning type will do. e.g. The Tencate link shown by morepints.
We have one which we use constantly. Usually the poles provided are a bit flimsy,so get more sturdy ones. Our awning, double guyed, has put up with gales, hailstorms, snow storms ,as we wandered around Europe at 4 months of a time each year.
It can be easily be erected by one person in under 5 minutes.
Somewhere we have a "proper" awning but have not used for years.
We have had a variety of awnings and canopies over the years and the one problem with plain canopies, such as the Ten Cate, which we bought from Obelink whilst in Holland many years ago, is that they are restricted to the shadow position, when the sun is not directly overhead, and do little to protect from the rain if there is any breeze blowing.
Due to this I bought a secondhand Sunncamp last spring but my wife hates it, she says it looks cheap, so during our summer UK tour we just used a brolly if it was sunny and go to the bar if its rining!
We've had the Fiamma awningbin a bag type (which stays on the awning rail) but also like the simplicity of the Isabella Shadow canopy. Lightweight (carbon X) poles make it a doddle to pitch. Just double-guy the end king poles for extra stability (wider models have 3 poles) and use Delta pegs.
We have a sheet & 3 poles canopy that has lasted for about 14yrs which we use in France if we need some shade. Binned it now as worn out & for this year onwards have bought an Isabella Shadow 360 which is still pole & sheet but with glass fibre poles. A bit expensive at over £200 but should see us out.
These canopies rely on tension to keep them up so a selection of pegs is needed for whatever surface you are on. We take 18inch long wood pegs for sandy coastal pitches in France. It is the only type of canopy we use. Can’t be bothered with full awning.
We have a Kampa revo zip 270 which attaches to the awning rail plus the privacy room which we no longer use and we want to sell it , it’s all in good condition
------------- Never do today what you can put off until tomorrow
Quote: Originally posted by billy on 06/3/2022
We have a sheet & 3 poles canopy that has lasted for about 14yrs which we use in France if we need some shade. Binned it now as worn out & for this year onwards have bought an Isabella Shadow 360 which is still pole & sheet but with glass fibre poles. A bit expensive at over £200 but should see us out.
These canopies rely on tension to keep them up so a selection of pegs is needed for whatever surface you are on. We take 18inch long wood pegs for sandy coastal pitches in France. It is the only type of canopy we use. Can’t be bothered with full awning.
If you buy 2 x Isabella veranda poles you can use them as stretchers at the top of the 3 king poles and it makes it all much more rigid. You can even position them so you can use to dry towels on, this also provides a bit of shade and privacy.
Last year we upgraded from a tarp + poles to a Kampa/Dometic Sunshine Air Pro 300 https://www.dometic.com/en-gb/outdoor/uk/products/climate/awnings/static-awnings/d........ and think its great (its designed for caravans, but also work well on MHs). Its very quick and easy to put up, and even though its marketed as a sun shade ours has stood up to strong winds and rain as well (and because of the centre rafter rain doesn't puddle on the roof). The 300 model that we have only weighs 7.5kg, the wider ones will obviously be slightly heavier.
If I had to replace it would I get the same again? Absolutely yes!
Great to hear from someone who has the Kampa Dometic Sunshine Air Pro. Based on videos, reviews and a similar product on display at a local caravan dealer, this was probably our initial favourite. It looked super easy to put up.
Do you have the optional sidewalls? What are your thoughts on them?
We are also considering the Sunncamp Swift…both air and poled variants. Allan’s wife feels it looks cheap but I think that’s a bit harsh!
For ease of use with our campervan the sheet and pole canopy we have is brilliant but as we won’t have to keep removing and reattaching to the caravan every day that’s a bit less of a consideration.
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Topic: Caravan Canopy Recommendations?
via mobile 05/3/2022 at 8:48pm
