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We are thinking of buying one of these as we like the idea that you leave it on the van, has anyone bought one and are they any good.

 Jo

 Thanks Michael, that was the one thing that was worrying us, the weight on the rail.

Will give it serious thought.

 Jo

I am also very interested in one of these.  Very seriously tempted to get one, which means I probably will get one.  We have got a seasonal pitch for this year and will be popping there most weekends so this seems ideal for putting up quickly on arrival. They are made of the nylon fabric that tents are made of I believe so should be reasonably lightweight compared to a traditional porch awning.

Leanne

well i must say, it looks good,

so.... new to caravanning - and as I will be going on my own, I have been thinking for a while,why they don't make an awning that 1 person could put up on their own ! is this it???

IE, thread the roof through, then put the vertical poles up ( a bit like a sun cannopy) then zip the sides in, and the front, then add any extra poles in etc.

This would make it easier for erecting, yes I realise that you would have more bits, however, you could dry them out easier, ( on the washing line / garage etc / conservatory etc) and you could have moe flexibility in what bits you zip on, ( the front could be in 2 or three sections,

This would be so much easier?? does anybody make an awning like this,?? as I said new to all of this, and the awning that came with my van, I doubt i will ever use, due to me being on my own

mmm, but how easy are they to do on your own, My old trailer tent "living area" had

1 x pole that all fitted together to form the front of the awning, and it ws really hard to do it, especially if the wind picked up a bit whilst trying to hold it and put the horizontal poles on. Trip to towsure tomorrow!! to look 

We have the quick lock pads to attach our roof poles to the caravan.  The pole hooks into it.  We pop them all in and carefully leave them hanging down while we sort out the vertical poles then just pick it up and slot it in put it in place and tension the roof pole. 

My dad, who really shouldn't due to ill health, puts his awning up by himself.  He zips out all the panels so it's a lot lighter just as you described.

Hi

No, I don't think these are better than a "full awning".  The material they are made of is not as sturdy in my opinion (although I have several tents made of the same stuff which are excellent quality and never leak).  Our awning is very heavy and does not have zip out panels all around which means putting it up can be a task.  We have got a pitch on a site were we will be leaving the caravan all season and popping down on the weekends.  I just think if we arrive on site around 7pm on a friday night the PDQ awning would be quick and easy rather than bothering with the full awning just for a couple of nights.  I would still keep the full awning for when we stay for longer.

Have you had a go at putting your awning up by yourself?  I wouldn't rule it out until you have had a go.  If it's a definate no no then decide where to go from there.

Leanne

These PDQ awnings look impressive from the video but is it really that easy and do you drive around with it attached to the awning rail? don't know if I would like that flapping around doing 60 down the motorway! or have I lost the plot!

Have you all seen this Here

Cheers  Ratty

thanks ratty,

it seems a few of us have seen this, well as i said, new to caravaning. I went to towsure and saw that some of the awnings had 3 poles, or 5 across. also you could buy some awnings with the sides and front zipped out, so as said previously - I will try my awning on mu own (all one piece) and if I can't manage look for one where all the sides and front zip out, at least I think it will be easier to put up.

hi i have purchased one of these awnings and tried it for the first time last weekend ,the awning goes up in a couple of minutes as claimed and is a good bit of kit and weighs just 11 kg this spread over 3.5 metres will not hurt the van i dont think the only problem is the zips, there are 2 zips per panel and they meet at the top when closed but if you want to go in and out you have to disconect the zips at the bottom, and when the awning is tensioned up it needs 2 people to put the zip back together i have spoke to pyramid products re this and they said that i will just have to get use to it as that is how it is designed and if i alter the zip the warranty will be void  i have never come accros an awning that needs the zips disconecting each time you enter and exit i hope this helps regards dave

 Hi all, after reading all the comments and speaking to a freind who has just purchased one we have decided not to bother with the PDQ and go for a Midi awning instead . We have a porch awning but a bit small for holidays.

 Thanks again for all your comments, really useful.

 Jo