Some of you may have seen my post about poles, so forgive me that I will probably be back with lots of questions now we have an awning!
Finally we have it up, a dorema. We plan to leave it up as we are on a seasonal but want to go away confident it will be ok, so any general tips on securing it well will assist but specifically;
we have used mainly the screw in type pegs with a drill - we are on hardstanding. Its gravel on top and generally speaking very hard ground. However we have a problem area where the pegs are just not staying...there is no grip. As hubby says its like they are going into soft ground. Typically this is the side of prevailing wind so we need to get it right. Its effecting about 4 or 5 pegs in a row. Any advice?
The mud skirts, or whatever they are called. Now where the door will be is a bit of a trip hazard as the skirt is continual all along that panel, if that makes sense. Is it a real no no to cut up the skirt to make it a flap at the door section (or where the door starts)
The canopy poles on the dorema are optional. Are they just aesthetic or do they provide structural support - should I get them?
How do you organise the draught skirt along the bottom of the van and the bits of the awning that get pegged in, the triangle corner bit so that its not draughty and again a trip hazard.
Sorry thats it to start. Sure there will be more! Any one got pictures of inside there awnings for ideas and inspiration.
"The mud skirts, or whatever they are called. Now where the door will be is a bit of a trip hazard as the skirt is continual all along that panel, if that makes sense. Is it a real no no to cut up the skirt to make it a flap at the door section (or where the door starts)"
I can't get my head around this bit, can you put up a picture so we can have a look and understand it better? Usually you just unzip the door and it flaps to one side with nothing to trip you up,don't cut anything.
The draught skirt along the van goes in first. Put the awning up and put the corners in the correct position and peg them, then pull the triangular bits in and peg them, they'll be beside the skirt under the caravan so they won't be a trip hazard.
I dont know how to do pictures and think they need to be on an external site like photobucket? If so Im not on anything like that.
Does this explain better. The door is part of a larger panel. The whole panel has the same continual skirt, so the door doesnt have a seperate one. Hence when we open the door the whole skirt pulls up from under the flooring. This makes the door part of the skirt more flappy than necessary and an extra trip hazard. Only been up a day or so and weve all caught it...maybe something we will get used to or I considered cutting one line up the skirt where the door starts on the panel so the rest of the skirt will stay under the flooring.
I still can't picture this. Which Dorema is it? I'll look it up and see what it looks like.
I can't do photobucket either but it's easy to put a photo up in your profile, even I managed that! Have a look in my profile and you'll see our awnings open with the door and skirt, this is the same sort of set up I've had in tents and awnings for the last 40 years or so apart from bucket type groundsheets.
Let us know which awning it is and we'll see if we can help further.
The skirt where the door is just tucks under, don't peg that area! Some people just cut that part of the mud skirt. The triangle bits fit flush inside awning to side of caravan.
Are you on a windy site? We are and we belt and brace everything.
I would advise canopy poles, extra roof poles and extra front poles, ratchet straps for inside front corners and front centre to keep frame down, buckle straps on outside fittings to keep canvas down, last but no means least, throw away the baby pegs and invest in some marquee pegs
All the images I can find have the door open but you get the idea that the front panel is one part, as is the mud flap.
John and Mel - what are buckle straps and how do you fit the ratchet ones? As our awning is large it has 5 roof poles and 5 front poles anyway. Should there be more?
Your awning should have 2 buckles on each side to attach a strap to, also I would have 7 roof poles and 7 front. Easy ratchet straps about quid from b+m. Self explanatory really, just wrap them around the front corners and peg down then pull tight.
Thank you. Yes we have the buckle strap. I will be ordering the extra poles both for roof and the front. Are such poles universal or do I go back to dorema?
Do you think it necessary to put extra poles at the back corner too? Am I going over the top LOL?
when you say marquee pegs do you mean the ones that are about £4 each - about 15 inches long and a cm wide (sorry to swap measurements)
Underneath each window corner is like a teardrop shape piece of rigid plastic with a hole in it. Clearly another tether point but given its height Im at a loss how to connect it to the ground. Do they do ladders that long - I guess they must be 40 or so cms from the ground.
Yes that's the type of peg I meant, about 3 quid a pop. Also any accessory shop should have poles, they don't have to be dorema. The plastic under the windows I would attach to them with bungy ropes and peg down with your screw in pegs.
We also use sandbags around the inner mud skirt to stop the canvas lifting! But like I say, we are on a fairly windy site and we like to keep our awning down.
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Topic: first full awning...lots of questions
