Hi, I'm totally new to caravaning and have just purchased a Swift Challenger Sp 586. Having 2 young children we need an awning. We've been to see the Kampa range air and poles and the the dealer were we bought the caravan is pushing us to buy the Outwell Pacific Coast Air awning. But we just don't know, and have very limited knowledge.
We're looking for a porch awning around 330 - 360 wide and would really appreciate any help.
We've been away twice in the caravan now and have only seen full awnings and ones that are quite old.
We have a Vango Air Awning they are excellent so easy to put up. We are lucky that we go away nearly every weekend and it has been up in all weather and has never let us down. You do have to blow each beam up and some now only have a single blow up point , however most single points have lots of ugly shut off values.
Don,t bother with the pole types only tip is look at the shape and the quality. The Vango quality is excellent.
It may be worth considering other makes than Vango and Kampa.
Before we bought our Prestina 390 I looked at both and having looked at the 'build' quality of them all struggled to work out why the Vango and Kampa offerings were twice the price.
The Prestina cost £379.99 and is sturdy, has withstood windy and wet conditions, is easy to erect and take down and represents a considerable saving over the two expensive competitors.
It being a relatively new make I wonder if this is the introductory phase and that as time goes on the price will rise to reflect the build quality and get it nearer to the Kampa and Vango prices most on here seem to recommend.
I've heard of both leaking so despite the cost they're not perfect!
Super, thanks for the advice. It's a tough choice and honestly I can't decide. Looked at most options online but being in Northern Ireland I have limited access to see the full range erected.
Yes most on other forums recommend the Kampa / Vango but is it worth it? Paying for the name? Who knows, only experience will tell. I'll keep you posted
after years of pole awnings bought a £700 vango airbeem awning last year,had it for 4 months was nothing but hassle,it was 1 of the first vango 420. gave it back to dealer and replaced it with a pole awning again
Slightly bigger than your looking for but we bought the Vango Sanna 420 ( last years model) for £400 being heavily discounted. Air Beam is the way forward.
I looked at the Prestina and the others at the £380 price bracket as it was tempting due the the price but have to disagree with the above poster, they are not an equal quality wise.
Money no obeject i would have got the Dorema Air All seaon, with the traditional awning fabric it looks and feels amazing but this come at a big price tag of £850 :(
Thanks Acesup, thanks for the info. Difficult to go for the Vango as no NI dealers stock Vango (disappointing). We have a rough £700 max budget and can't go over that. So need to get everything all in for that including draft skirt. Nearly all sites here in NI don't allow ground sheets which is handy as it'll reduce he cost but we would need the sto straps, just in case.
Get a kampa rally pro 390 or 330 you'll never have to repair any punctures and it takes me 25 mins on my own to put up. This is whilst my wife fills the water and puts the kettle. Great team work we think.
We had a Kampa Air awning however after using it about 5 times we sold it. Nice awning but way too heavy to pull through the awning rail plus they weigh more than the equivalent size porch awning. Takes just as long to erect an air awning as a normal porch awning so be aware.
IMHO just a gimmick at the moment and I am wondering if they will last as long as a conventional awning. After all why haven't Isabella ventured into this market as they probably know something we don't.
There is some varied criteria to consider. I liked both the Dorema and Vango products, (plus a few other offerings too), but given the design of my Swift, the standard sizes offered by the competition would have fouled either my front or rear windows when fitted. The Kampa Rally Air Pro 330 is the only air awning that's fits without covering the windows.
I can't agree with the comment regarding them weighing more than the pole version. When packed, they are more bulky but overall they weigh an average 6 kg's lighter than their equivalent; this is for the whole thing, but bear in mind the canvas for the pole version is lighter to thread into the awning channel. That said, I've personally not experienced any difficulty in threading my Rally Air into the channel and can easily fit the awning on my own.
Quote: Originally posted by G7ACU on 26/5/2015
There is some varied criteria to consider. I liked both the Dorema and Vango products, (plus a few other offerings too), but given the design of my Swift, the standard sizes offered by the competition would have fouled either my front or rear windows when fitted. The Kampa Rally Air Pro 330 is the only air awning that's fits without covering the windows.
I can't agree with the comment regarding them weighing more than the pole version. When packed, they are more bulky but overall they weigh an average 6 kg's lighter than their equivalent; this is for the whole thing, but bear in mind the canvas for the pole version is lighter to thread into the awning channel. That said, I've personally not experienced any difficulty in threading my Rally Air into the channel and can easily fit the awning on my own.
With a traditional awning, the poles are seperate which is why the awning itself is lighter. In addiotn, with a tradiotnal awning you cna take out the panels thus making it easier tothread the awning through the awning rail instead of battling with a heavy cumbersome awning.
We have the t-shirt which is why we sold our air ace awning and went back to a traditional which is eaasier and quicker to erect IMHO.
We have bought both and prefer the traditional. The air awning is slightly quicker to put up but needs very careful pegging out which means that overall it takes longer to put up! It is also heavy/ unwieldy and more difficult to get through the awning rail. Our air awning is acrylic and we found it be very noisy in the rain and a bit prone to water ingress. We are now using a 10 year old canvas awning which is indestructible and quiet. It just feels more sturdy which is important when you like sleeping in the awning as we do.
Quote: Originally posted by alpiner on 27/5/2015
Air awnings are improving all the time but for now buy the one that comes with a good puncture outfit.
You cant get a flat in a pole.
you cant get a flat in a pole that is very true.But air awnings dont damage the caravan if the wind takes it.thats what put me off the pole type,and they seem fiddly to erect especially for a weekend
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Topic: Air awning / Pole awning HELP
