Hi everyone - if you wish to just read my question without the preamble then please drop down to para 6
Firstly lots of big thanks to all the responses I received in response to my previous posts when I was asking for advice on moving from a pathfinder folder to a caravan
The list of good advisors included but is not limited to - Lesa, gazmister123, Bewickman1, lunarjon, Robin 54, Ulti-mates, faulkner1066, cathymac, michael, Annegor, JanP plus plenty more.
We (The family committee) having been unable to locate a suitable storage for our first choice a 2 axle 6 berth Pageant Loire, and having taken your advice have now decided to choose a 4 berth single axle (2 of the family will have to fight over who is kipping in the awning). We have viewed and reveiwed comparible Baileys, Swifts, Elddis plus others, and finally today the vote settled on the Baileys Pageant 6 Burgundy.(we know the series 7 is due shortly so this is a bargaining tool)
Some of you will recall the recommendations given to me to chat to Andrew at Discover Birtley, which I have done, (tremendous young man), and we are down to the haggling stage over the final price including extras such as AKS HITCHLOCK ,85A LEISURE,BATTERY 40L AQUAROLL 5M BREATHABLE GROUNDSHEET, and awning etc.
My question to you all is I am being offerd a 2.5mtr deep awning - "1000CM HARRINGTON'S AWNING (STEEL FRAME) £499.99", which I understand is made for Discover Leisure only. However having read other posts on this site regarding awnings from 2.4mtr to 3.5mtr deep, I am atrracted to a deeper awning such as a 3metre deep given that their are generally 6 of us minimum. I attach a link to a web site offering 3mtr deep awnings.
Would any one like to guide me as to what I should be looking for when comparing awnings as I have no previous experience on caravan awnings.
Bear in mind that if your awning sticks out too far it will eat into your available pitch space reducing the amount of outside space available for parking your car or drinking wine or stuff like that.
Remember that most awnings are 2.4m, when sites work out pitches they usually allow for this. All club sites (whichever club) and many private sites insist on the 6m rule. If your awning sticks out an extra metre it may cause you problems which may prevent you from using your awning or having to pay extra for a larger pitch.
Hi Durham - unless you are set on a new awning have a look on ebay where there are many excellent used awnings, some with annexe, from Isabella, Ventura, Dorema & Trio. Steel frames are very heavy, alloy poles I have seen fold in a gale & in my opinion carbon fibre are the best . Many sellers offer 'collection only' but courier collection is usually acceptable at approx £20. Good caravaning. denisc
I've looked at your link to the awning you're most interested in, and have noticed it is made by Pyramid which is also the maker of my awning, a Pyramid Corsican. The reason I bought the corsican was mainly due to value for money, it's made out of a decent enough grade of acryllic type construction so doesn't have to be waterproofed before use (like most the cheaper awnings I looked at , pvc type construction) and seems to be fairly well breathable compared to my spacelight I used to put up - out of ease ! I'm sure when I bought it the awning lad told me about the pyramid orion - that he didn't stock it but could order me one in if I wanted a 3m depth but I decided against the 3m depth after speaking to some friends and they advised me to stick to 2.5 m depths ! - due to limited pitch space especially in busy periods when they squash too many of us in together on site !
I personally prefer steel for the frame, I know it's a lot heavier but if the wind get's up it's a lot stronger than alloy ! - I saw a fellow caravanner have to saw an alloy frame into bits the last time I was across Blackpool (mind it was bloomin wild !) as it bent like a banana as soon as the wind got a bit wild !
Thanks everyone good advice on the space allowed. I wasnt aware of that.
I got to admit I think I prefer steel poles myself so big choicie between carbon or steel -definately no alloy.
I am a little confused on the differences between acrylic, pvc plus other materials I have read on web sites today and dont want to get caught out with an awning that has to be water proofed every other day.
See below. This is the one on offer with the van at 100 X 24cm deep for £499.for Steel p0oles Whats your thoughts ?
The Harringtons Awning is a five piece full zip out acrylic awning. It has a one piece printed roof, a full fly screen on each side panel, six door ways, both sides can take either a tall or standard annexe, It also comes with the following, storm straps, fix on blocks, draught skirt / wheel arch cover, curtains with alloy curtain poles and pegs.With a choice of steel or fibre frame this awning is a winner!
Of course now i have been reminded of ebay I must take a peek
That must be a brand new product that I've missed out on ! It certainly wasn't on offer a few months ago when I bought the corsican. It sounds a little bit more money (only 30/40 quid more) than what I paid, but i had to pay extra for the storm straps and it didn't have alloy curtain poles or pegs on mine so is probably worth the little bit extra money to be fair !
Is it on display at Discover Birtley ?
(ps Be very careful with used awnings, especially around the zips, some people don't know what they're doing when erecting and make the mistake of tensioning their poles with the door un-zipped, once they zip up - riiiiippppp !!!) - I've seen some dodgy repairs on some second hand awnings at other local dealers and now understand why some companies refuse to now take awnings in part exchange !
Hi everyone - if you wish to just read my question without the preamble then please drop down to para 6
Firstly lots of big thanks to all the responses I received in response to my previous posts when I was asking for advice on moving from a pathfinder folder to a caravan
The list of good advisors included but is not limited to - Lesa, gazmister123, Bewickman1, lunarjon, Robin 54, Ulti-mates, faulkner1066, cathymac, michael, Annegor, JanP plus plenty more.
We (The family committee) having been unable to locate a suitable storage for our first choice a 2 axle 6 berth Pageant Loire, and having taken your advice have now decided to choose a 4 berth single axle (2 of the family will have to fight over who is kipping in the awning). We have viewed and reveiwed comparible Baileys, Swifts, Elddis plus others, and finally today the vote settled on the Baileys Pageant 6 Burgundy.(we know the series 7 is due shortly so this is a bargaining tool)
Some of you will recall the recommendations given to me to chat to Andrew at Discover Birtley, which I have done, (tremendous young man), and we are down to the haggling stage over the final price including extras such as AKS HITCHLOCK ,85A LEISURE,BATTERY 40L AQUAROLL 5M BREATHABLE GROUNDSHEET, and awning etc.
My question to you all is I am being offerd a 2.5mtr deep awning - "1000CM HARRINGTON'S AWNING (STEEL FRAME) £499.99", which I understand is made for Discover Leisure only. However having read other posts on this site regarding awnings from 2.4mtr to 3.5mtr deep, I am atrracted to a deeper awning such as a 3metre deep given that their are generally 6 of us minimum. I attach a link to a web site offering 3mtr deep awnings.
Would any one like to guide me as to what I should be looking for when comparing awnings as I have no previous experience on caravan awnings.
PS I intend to purchase an annexe at a later date to act an extra bedroom
Post last edited on 12/04/2008 20:23:45
We were close to buying a Bailey Bretagne and a Avondale Dart 630/6 at Discover Birtley and were offered £1000 off retail price and free delivery, which we were very happy about. The salesman was called James and very helpfull. Hope this helps if you havn't already bought it.
Just an idea..but..when considering an awning, think about how often you would be using it and for what length of period it would be up.
We (the family) found a full awning a pain to put up just for the weekend, and can eat into your period of stay putting it up and taking it down, and then if it rains?? You will need to find somewhere big enough to hang up said wet awning to dry.
If however it is for a season pitch, and you are allowed to leave it up, a large awning is ideal.
We used a large porch awning for the weekends and a full awning for the long stays. the large porch awning was big enough to have a table and four chairs in and still have room to move round them.
Ah well. Looks like the 3mtr Orion I found in the 'net is a no-go as they tell me at Discover that it is made from PVC and because it cant "breathe" it becimes to hot inside
They reckon I need to be looking at acrylic types which can breathe
Gonna keep looking for a reasonble priced awning, hopefull slghtly deeper than 2.4mtr.
James is the brother of Andrew I beleive from previous posts by Lesa
They must both be good guys
Both are great lads we did our deal through Andrew, but if we have needed any advice and Andrew hasnt been around James is more than willing to help us. We couldnt believe that they were brothers when they told us. So pleased that you are finding them as helpfull as we did. Good luck with your deal and heres to plenty of trips away
Hi durham thanks for the name check. Look at towsure. They have a Cameo awning sadly for you only 2.4 wide but it is made for Dorema overseas with all Dorema bits. That is what we were told at the last NEC show. They start at a reasonable price and don't look too bad.
We have just had visitors this weekend in our Dorema sirocco awning as we currently have a pageant Champagne. My daughter & boyfriend slept in the awning in a inner tent on an air bed. They slept really comfortably & no problem so it may be that the fighting will be to sleep out their & not in the caravan!!! LOL.
I think in my family the outside bedroom will become the "huffy" tent for when somone falls out with the others or perhaps the quiet space for a bit of making up lol
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Topic: Full Awnings -Advice please
