Advice on enclosing current roll out awning (2 Viewers)

[realgandy]

Evening funsters

I’ve been told we need to have a snazzy outside room on the motorhome. We currently have a roll out Thule Omnistore which is 3.5m long and I believe one option is to get stuff to fill in the three open sides to make a cosy room that can be used when it’s not quite as warm as one would hope outside. Of course there needs to be an option to easily open up parts of it for air flow when needed.

I’m looking for some advice in what I would be looking for, where to get it from etc.

I’ve also seen “carpets” for these indoor/outdoor spaces - any recommnedations in this space too? Would you use them on both grass and hard standing pitches?

Finally… (sorry lots of questions) I’ve seen people tying down their wind-out awnings, assumption is to stop any gusts whipping them off into next door’s plot.

So, what would work if we get the awning sides filled in?

Or is there a better option to do something radically different ?

Many thanks for any advice
Gary

 

[David and Sally]

Personally, we are using a drive away awning as we don’t trust the roll out to stay put in a strong wind even with the side and ends on.

 

[realgandy]

Personally, we are using a drive away awning as we don’t trust the roll out to stay put in a strong wind even with the side and ends on.

Would that mean removing the existing roll-out?

 

[David and Sally]

Would that mean removing the existing roll-out?

No. The roll out has a track on it to accept an awning.
A drive away will require a kador strip and figure-of-eights to connect it to the roll out cassette. A normal awning should go straight onto the cassette.

We have used a drive away and still do, but are looking at a normal awning for simplicity.

A good caravan or motorhome dealer will advise accordingly.

 

[Orion]

Have you seen the Thule side, front and even room options?

RV Tents and panels | Thule | United Kingdom

Our hassle-free RV tents and RV panels are easy to use and protect you from wind, rain, and shine. Find the perfect RV tents or panel fit here!

www.thule.com

They also have a tie down kit that will help secure your existing awning and work with the options.

Thule Hold Down Side Strap Kit | Thule | United Kingdom

-

www.thule.com

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[Phill D]

believe one option is to get stuff to fill in the three open sides to make a cosy room that can be used when it’s not quite as warm as one would hope outside

Unless you want to spend an hour putting it up and a further hour taking it down and packing away, and it is very heavy I would suggest you give it a big miss.

We bought one a while ago ( fortunately pre owned and in great condition). It was an absolute pain and I could quickly see why it was in excellent condition and for sale!

If you are staying put for a week or so or over winter somewhere then it may be a sensible option.

I am sure they suit some motorhome users but think carefully before you shell out your hard earned cash.

 

[Fulham Dave]

Evening funsters

I’ve been told we need to have a snazzy outside room on the motorhome. We currently have a roll out Thule Omnistore which is 3.5m long and I believe one option is to get stuff to fill in the three open sides to make a cosy room that can be used when it’s not quite as warm as one would hope outside. Of course there needs to be an option to easily open up parts of it for air flow when needed.

I’m looking for some advice in what I would be looking for, where to get it from etc.

I’ve also seen “carpets” for these indoor/outdoor spaces - any recommnedations in this space too? Would you use them on both grass and hard standing pitches?

Finally… (sorry lots of questions) I’ve seen people tying down their wind-out awnings, assumption is to stop any gusts whipping them off into next door’s plot.

So, what would work if we get the awning sides filled in?

Or is there a better option to do something radically different ?

Many thanks for any advice
Gary

Hi Gary

Attached are some photos of our Thule Residence G3 room that I have taken for you this evening. We purchased it from Rose Awnings who are very helpful. These rooms are not cheap, but if you use them regularly, they are value for money.

Our is 6m long, so gives us lots of additional space. We live in the van full time, so we utilise the space frequently.

Let me know what else I could help you with

Dave

 

[David and Sally]

Unless you want to spend an hour putting it up and a further hour taking it down and packing away, and it is very heavy I would suggest you give it a be miss.

We bought one a while ago ( fortunately pre owned and in great condition). It was an absolute pain and I could quickly see why it was in excellent condition and for sale!

If you are staying put for a week or so or over winter somewhere then it may be a sensible option.

I am sure they suit some motorhome users but think carefully before you shell out your hard earned cash.

As above.

We re considering one of these as a way of getting some added shelter. Easy to put up and pack away.

Dometic Leggera Air 260 S Awning 2024

The Dometic Leggera Air Awning has been designed to be lightweight but good quality It has been in Kampa’s range for a number of years but for the 2021 season it has undergone a big update. The new Leggera is now com

www.attwoolls.co.uk

 

[The Wino]

As previously said I think if you tend to stay in the same place for a week or two or more on the same place it could be useful but heavy to carry around and time consuming to put up. It also would mean taking it all down and putting it away every time you want to move the motorhome. I think no matter how well it's pegged down it would be a really good idea to get it away if strong winds are forecast

 

[Bobby-gg]

We looked at the thule options at one of the Motorhome shows a while back and couldn't believe how big, bulky and heavy they were when packed up, so decided to give it a miss.

But last year bought a set of lilypad windblockers from a classified ad on this very site, which, may not give you the same protection as the thule sides, do squish down into a carrier bag sized storage, so they remain in the van all the time.

I'd recommend going to a big show and checking out all your options before committing

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[realgandy]

Hi Gary

Attached are some photos of our Thule Residence G3 room that I have taken for you this evening. We purchased it from Rose Awnings who are very helpful. These rooms are not cheap, but if you use them regularly, they are value for money.

Our is 6m long, so gives us lots of additional space. We live in the van full time, so we utilise the space frequently.

Let me know what else I could help you with

Dave



View attachment 888325

View attachment 888326

Thanks Dave, really helpful and good to get views of someone who uses one.

Having seen this, it certainly looks exactly like the sort of thing we would be looking for.

Got a few more questions if you don't mind.

So others are saying things like "It's too heavy, takes too long to put up" etc, but as you use it regularly, how unwiedly does it seem to you? How heavy, etc?

How long would it typically take to put it all up and take it down?

What's the water tightness like?

How long have you had it and how is it holding up to wear and tear?

I also note some straps to hold it down - what sort of wind speed would you consider too strong for it to cope and get it all packed away for, or haven't you been in that situation?

 

[Fulham Dave]

Thanks Dave, really helpful and good to get views of someone who uses one.

Having seen this, it certainly looks exactly like the sort of thing we would be looking for.

Got a few more questions if you don't mind.

So others are saying things like "It's too heavy, takes too long to put up" etc, but as you use it regularly, how unwiedly does it seem to you? How heavy, etc?

How long would it typically take to put it all up and take it down?

What's the water tightness like?

How long have you had it and how is it holding up to wear and tear?

I also note some straps to hold it down - what sort of wind speed would you consider too strong for it to cope and get it all packed away for, or haven't you been in that situation?

So others are saying things like "It's too heavy, takes too long to put up" etc, but as you use it regularly, how unwieldy does it seem to you? How heavy, etc?

I have never owned anything else and we have ample payload so comparing is difficult however, it is 6m long and it is heavy. It comes in two separate bags, so you can spread the weight.

How long would it typically take to put it all up and take it down? It does take a time as their are so many parts to assemble. I would suggest to unpack, assemble, erect, tie down / nail down it will take up to 1.5 hours (longer on your first few attempts maybe). To dismantle and pack away, probably a similar time unless your have been hit by a Saharan dust storm, then it was 4 hours to clean and pack!! But we take our time and are not in a rush.

What's the water tightness like? Excellent - we have not suffered any water ingress. We have the skirting along the foot of the van too which makes it almost wind and rain proof - it is well sealed.

How long have you had it and how is it holding up to wear and tear? We have had it two years and it is holding up well - we have had family and friends stay in it several times (we have the curtain which black out the sun very well) and they have slept soundly.

What sort of wind speed would you consider too strong? Anything north of 30mph / 48kph I consider taking it down. It would probably be fine, but I err on the side of caution, especially as it is 6m long and if the wind should get under it, it could act as a bloody big sail. It is well anchored, we use a mixture of 8/10 inch screw and hardened nails, as well as having each panel nailed and screwed too (probably why it take so long to erect!). We have the Thule tie down staps for each end, the additional centre leg and the centre pole too. We also have 10m climbers rope with long spring at either end that we strap across the length of it if the wind is likely to be an issue where we are.

We have had it up for 3 / 4 weeks at a time with no issues, but I am always checking wind speed forecasts. Having said that, we have had it up for a matter of days only for the weather to change and we have dismantled it.

As people have said, other awnings are probably easier and allow you mobility of the van should you wish as you can drive away. However, we do not require this, love the space it gives us, the quality is good and if I am honest, I love the way it looks against the van.

So would I change, no - is it perfect, no - am I happy yes - probably because we get to use it often and have all the time in the day to erect and dismantle it.

Hope this helps and that I have not wittered on too much.

Dave

 

[starquake]

Personally, we are using a drive away awning as we don’t trust the roll out to stay put in a strong wind even with the side and ends on.

We both purchased and use a drive away air awning for when we on a site (actual ccampsite) where the weather due to be bad for a few days so at least we can be "outside" when wet (as the normal awning isn't "great" for that. Also for use in winter as a shoe changing device so the mud doesn't enter the motorhome after having carpet cleaning issues this winter. Far more stable and better than the roll out as you say, but still uses it as an attachment for the driveraway porch...

I do agree though, in strong winds they work better..... one day we had ours up and the wind was so strong a neighbours caravan awning (nnot blow up) was ripped apart, ditto we saw a flagpole touch the ground! Our awning howeverheld up just fine in the unpredicted squall which was over in sub 10 minutes.

Just bear in mind if you get one, not all retailers include the driveaway kit to make detachment "easier". Only £30 but you soon get one after your first trip with one.

Also, forget the instructions after your first use, you see it's far easier to put up well using a different order (attach to side rail firs,t then you can get the tension on the driveaway piece of awning just right BEFORE blowing the thing up).

 

[starquake]

We both purchased and use a drive away air awning for when we on a site (actual ccampsite) where the weather due to be bad for a few days so at least we can be "outside" when wet (as the normal awning isn't "great" for that. Also for use in winter as a shoe changing device so the mud doesn't enter the motorhome after having carpet cleaning issues this winter. Far more stable and better than the roll out as you say, but still uses it as an attachment for the driveraway porch...

Should add the one we got was the Outdoor revoultion air one, £800 rrp, but we paid £400 which we thought a very good price via a local-ish big camp store, given the "pole" not air awning varients we had priced were £300 or so. Didn't come with driveaway kit, but given the price online is £500-800 we were happy with the price when compared with Dometic offerings for £1000+, and so far it's lasted since Jan... (too new to comment on longevity, but it doens't leak).

Hasn't leaked (water or air) yet, and even us "noddys" can get it up now in 10 mins. It really is as simple as unroll on ground, unroll the main awning on the motorhome to get lower, attach driveaway kit and awning attachment to the driveraway kit whilst the awning still on ground, not pegged (unless windy). Once attached to motorhome retract the awning (roll out) (as it's too high to then get to top otherwise) and peg the ground NEAREST motorhome only. Pull out other side until taught, peg that, then blow up.

4 ground pegs is what we start with for the 4 corenets, then when blown up attach all the other strenthing lines + tentpegs. First time took 30 mins. Second 10. Packing up takes 10 mins but you ideally want it dry ... so take down the night before as otehrwise you'll need to wait until the morning damp/dew has subsided.

Would also add we don't put it up every time, it takes about half of one of our larger 2 lockers, takes less room than our BBQ in fact, and with the pump is alledgely 17kg or so.... We'll probably put it up at campervan campout next weekend if you want to see one. (think it's not this but next weekend) if you are there. (the packed away awning + pump is ... about the size of a single full tesco bag for life..) for a 3m x 3m awning.

 

[fred_jb]

A simple awning can be a problem even in light winds, not so much for security but for noise. Is this not a problem on these much more complicated setups? On our recent first trip in our new van we found that although the awning legs were pegged down and secure, the fabric of the awning would noisily flap in the breeze even when tensioned as tightly as possible. This resulted in a late night excursion to take it down before we got complaints from neighbouring pitches and because it was keeping us awake! The next day we improvised a solution by passing a rope over the middle of the awning fastened to a fence post at the back of the pitch and to a heavy cannister of AdBlue at the front! This worked very well.

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[starquake]

A simple awning can be a problem even in light winds, not so much for security but for noise. Is this not a problem on these much more complicated setups? On our recent first trip in our new van we found that although the awning legs were pegged down and secure, the fabric of the awning would noisily flap in the breeze even when tensioned as tightly as possible. This resulted in a late night excursion to take it down before we got complaints from neighbouring pitches and because it was keeping us awake! The next day we improvised a solution by passing a rope over the middle of the awning fastened to a fence post at the back of the pitch and to a heavy cannister of AdBlue at the front! This worked very well.

The joy of the air awning is it flexes in wind, so doesn't make as much noise. The bits that do make noise are the driveaway bit in our experience, so if bad wind forecast I think we'd disconnect the awning rail and tie down that piece to avoid flapping. We saw the air awning taking a significant beating at the squall I mentioned and it had far less issues than the neighbouring caravans had (there were only 4 motorhomes on this campsite in late March).

The roll-away awnings do flap far MORE in wind from our expeirence too. We would have had that in in the conditions the driveaway didn't have issues with.

 

[mry716]

Our Warwick Duo had a wind out awning but we wanted a 'tent' for the rear doors but found the weight with all the additional bits would take us well over our payload limit. How do all you folk with large awning cope? or do you just not bother to weigh your van?

 

[Fulham Dave]

Our Warwick Duo had a wind out awning but we wanted a 'tent' for the rear doors but found the weight with all the additional bits would take us well over our payload limit. How do all you folk with large awning cope? or do you just not bother to weigh your van?

Uprated the van from 5400kg to 5700kg giving us 1400kg of payload

 

[Clive G]

Evening funsters

I’ve been told we need to have a snazzy outside room on the motorhome. We currently have a roll out Thule Omnistore which is 3.5m long and I believe one option is to get stuff to fill in the three open sides to make a cosy room that can be used when it’s not quite as warm as one would hope outside. Of course there needs to be an option to easily open up parts of it for air flow when needed.

I’m looking for some advice in what I would be looking for, where to get it from etc.

I’ve also seen “carpets” for these indoor/outdoor spaces - any recommnedations in this space too? Would you use them on both grass and hard standing pitches?

Finally… (sorry lots of questions) I’ve seen people tying down their wind-out awnings, assumption is to stop any gusts whipping them off into next door’s plot.

So, what would work if we get the awning sides filled in?

Or is there a better option to do something radically different ?

Many thanks for any advice
Gary

 

[Clive G]

Hi.
I have a Swift 694 with a Omnistar awning. Last year I bought a Vango Hexaway Tall driveaway awning. Used it twice. To much hassle to erect it and pack it away even with an electric pump plus the extra weight. Sold it! Now I use a Sunblocker, carpet and side wind breaks. I also have awning tie-down straps. Works for me. No hassle now, more time to relax and enjoy.

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[Swiss]

My solution is:

If we are staying in one place and not using the van to go anywhere, I use the Thule awning with the G2 rain blockers (similar to Safari room but cheaper) all around, total weight of under 15Kgs, used this last week in the New Forest with 45mph wind over several days with no problems, I did use the additional Thule tie down straps, I also use the additional Thule canopy clamps that stop the flapping. I timed it and it takes 20 mins from winding out the awning to sitting down with a beer.

If we are planning to use the van for outings, instead of taking the G2 panels, we take our Quest Screen House 4 Pro which sits completely separate from the van, this also weighs under 15Kgs.

 

[Moss]

Hi Gary

Attached are some photos of our Thule Residence G3 room that I have taken for you this evening. We purchased it from Rose Awnings who are very helpful. These rooms are not cheap, but if you use them regularly, they are value for money.

Our is 6m long, so gives us lots of additional space. We live in the van full time, so we utilise the space frequently.

Let me know what else I could help you with

Dave



View attachment 888325

View attachment 888326

We have the same really pleased with it and bought the panels bit by bit. Starting with the 2 ends.

 

[DavidG58]

We are another safari room owner a d regular user, have been on the clock putting it up at a few rallies , we are now down to well under half an hour, that includes pegging down inside at which point I am allowed a beer another 15 mins to peg the outside skirt

It has been up and very secure in 40mph+ winds , full pegging is important

They are heavy and bulky but as said spread between a few bags , but you need a decent sized garage to store

 

[M-J]

We got a safari room with our MH, unlikely we’ll ever use it as it’s too much like putting a tent up which is why we got the MH in the first place.

 

[x17ken]

Evening funsters

I’ve been told we need to have a snazzy outside room on the motorhome. We currently have a roll out Thule Omnistore which is 3.5m long and I believe one option is to get stuff to fill in the three open sides to make a cosy room that can be used when it’s not quite as warm as one would hope outside. Of course there needs to be an option to easily open up parts of it for air flow when needed.

I’m looking for some advice in what I would be looking for, where to get it from etc.

I’ve also seen “carpets” for these indoor/outdoor spaces - any recommnedations in this space too? Would you use them on both grass and hard standing pitches?

Finally… (sorry lots of questions) I’ve seen people tying down their wind-out awnings, assumption is to stop any gusts whipping them off into next door’s plot.

So, what would work if we get the awning sides filled in?

Or is there a better option to do something radically different ?

Many thanks for any advice
Gary

I confess to having two awning rooms. Sorry, but there is a reason. I have a Thule panorama and an inflatable Dometic awning. I started with the Panorama. Great bit of kit, somewhere for the dogs, games with the grand children and all the messy stuff that comes with camping. We have used it extensively with three different motorhomes. It is quick to put up and flexible - eg. you can just use one side to protect you from the wind - you don't have to use the whole thing. It is therefore also useful when touring and not staying too long anywhere. So why did we buy an inflatable? We were on a very windy campsite in Spain. The panorama with its vertical sides and metal framing made one hell of a noise. It withstood the worst - but it was very scary. The guys next door to us in their inflatable awning were enjoying themselves with a wine or two. They were long staying and not at all bothered by the wind. I immediately recognised that your awning selection needs to reflect the way you use your van. So to this day we still use our Thule panorama when we are on the road. Sometimes we put it up, sometimes not. It depends upon the circumstances, the weather, and the length of our stay. When we long stay in Spain or Portugal the Thule Panorama stays at home. We take the inflatable to give us the best security against most weather conditions. We love to live in it when it is up - it is really luxurious with its shaped carpet and head lining. However, I hate putting it up. Its a beast of a thing. Its heavy and the attachment to the awning rail on the Thule wind-out is something that needs great care. As many have said in the past it is potentially "divorce in a bag" if there are only the two of you putting it up. Having said all of that I think we have the ideal setup for our very varied needs.

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[MartinH]

Ok had the Fiamma zip safari room used it for about 4 trips and then got ed up of the faff - Rally Air Pro is the flavour up in 10 minutes and down packed away in 15 - and you have the option of just using the awning still on short stops

 

[Orion]

Now I use a Sunblocker, carpet and side wind breaks. I also have awning tie-down straps. Works for me. No hassle now, more time to relax and enjoy.

We also use a full length Thule front sunblocker, which was invaluable in Spain last year. Fiamma patio carpet is nearly always put down and Thule tie down straps when required. I’ll probably get one side wind break this year as well. We very rarely stay more than a few nights in one place, so a ‘room’ or drive away doesn’t really suit.

 

[mry716]

Uprated the van from 5400kg to 5700kg giving us 1400kg of payload

Thats what I call a payload - I wonder what that works out to in bottles of wine ??

 

[The Wino]

Thats what I call a payload - I wonder what that works out to in bottles of wine ??

Sufficient......just

 

[M-J]

Thats what I call a payload - I wonder what that works out to in bottles of wine ??

Around 1160 so ok for part timers