Air awnings - drive away, total novice.

[Plynchy]

Hi all
Just had a couple of nights in Keswick, love the place, been going since I was a kid. We picked up our MoHo last September, have done a few trips and recently picked up a lightly used drive away air awning for use on longer stays. Weather was great in Keswick (weird I know) so we thought we'd put the awning up to see what it was all about. We primarily bought it to house the muddy/wet Boxer we're owned by. Found the ground sheet doesn't attach/seal like we thought it would, we thought it would be tent like, and the attachment method to the canopy rail isn't exactly drive away without some serious precision manouvering.
Am I missing a trick here? It's made us think we've bought the wrong thing altogether. It's a Cayman Air High by the way. Oh, and it pretty much blew itself to bits in a light breeze yesterday, although that'd be down to me not pegging it correctly I imagine.

 

[RM_Marine]

Hi

I've got a air awning from Kampa bit like this

Kampa Touring AIR LH

Kampa Touring AIR LH - Inflatable drive-away awning, 6.1 m depth

www.kampaoutdoors.com

We use it for extra room but I don't both connecting due to moving the motorhome everywhere day

If I did connect it, I'd use a awning rail exstension like this but you then need the plastic connectors as well (seen in second picture)

HI-GEAR Awning Extension Strip | Blacks

£33.00 | The Awning Extension Strip allows you to connect your...

www.blacks.co.uk

Connecting them is a art

 

[Puddleduck]

We only ever connected our "drive away" if we were staying put for a few nights. Otherwise it was a stand alone extension

 

[rob1234]

We only ever connected our "drive away" if we were staying put for a few nights. Otherwise it was a stand alone extension

that is what we do now ,,vanway hexaway stood just at the length the canopy extends to ,,if raining out of the canopy and into the awning ,,brilliant ,,but on saying that had nightmare at Keswick, as i was made take it down twice, as it was over hanging the grass by 2 inches

 

[Ray-Vic]

Hi all
Just had a couple of nights in Keswick, love the place, been going since I was a kid. We picked up our MoHo last September, have done a few trips and recently picked up a lightly used drive away air awning for use on longer stays. Weather was great in Keswick (weird I know) so we thought we'd put the awning up to see what it was all about. We primarily bought it to house the muddy/wet Boxer we're owned by. Found the ground sheet doesn't attach/seal like we thought it would, we thought it would be tent like, and the attachment method to the canopy rail isn't exactly drive away without some serious precision manouvering.
Am I missing a trick here? It's made us think we've bought the wrong thing altogether. It's a Cayman Air High by the way. Oh, and it pretty much blew itself to bits in a light breeze yesterday, although that'd be down to me not pegging it correctly I imagine.

It sounds like you may be missing the keder strip and figure 8 pieces as shown in post #2. Even with them it's still a bit of a faff to drive away and reconnect, but once you have done it a few times, with marking your wheel positions etc it becomes easier.

With regards to the wobbly side, it could be that you haven't pumped it up enough. My Dometic one takes 9 psi which makes the poles pretty rigid, but they are apparently tested to 26 psi, so won't burst when pumped up to the right pressure. Obviously pinning it down tightly will also help.

We don't actually use ours as a drive away now, but the additional 'porchway' area provided where it joins to the motorhome is a handy space for the kettle and coffee machine etc.

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[RM_Marine]

The connecting sheet to the van i just position on the other side as we have doors on both sides

I do use all the pegs and guide ropes to help give it rigidity and pump the tubes to the right pressure

 

[Plynchy]

Thanks for the tips.

I do have all the correct parts, I just envisaged something more practical as a 'drive away' option. I reality we'll rarely move the van once the awning is up, that's what my bike is for, shopping runs etc. The Keder strips, do both parts of that slide into the canopy rail?

rob1234 that was part of the issue, site staff asked that we try to keep the awning on the pitch. Impossible.

 

[rob1234]

Thanks for the tips.

I do have all the correct parts, I just envisaged something more practical as a 'drive away' option. I reality we'll rarely move the van once the awning is up, that's what my bike is for, shopping runs etc. The Keder strips, do both parts of that slide into the canopy rail?

rob1234 that was part of the issue, site staff asked that we try to keep the awning on the pitch. Impossible.

i mostly use it in France ,,dont have any problem there ,,,and use a dometic electric pump ,,makes a big difference,, when your asked to move it twice in 27o heat ,,

 

[CAB96]

Use some brightly coloured pegs against the wheels when you first park up, they will locate you in the right place when you come back.

 

[NPea]

The keder strip attaches to the awning rail then the plastic fig 8 pieces slide onto the other side. Your awning then attaches to the plastic fig 8. There is a knack to it but easy once used to it, as someone said leave some markers for your wheels.

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[DT9447]

Another interesting read thanks everyone. We are looking for awnings at present and would like a largish air awning but fear the odd camp commandant asking us to move it. Our MH is around 2.1m wide and we see the Vango Kela Pro Air is 3.7m wide overall, which nicely fits in a 6m wide pitch (Like Carfest) - The sewn in ground sheet also appeals to us. Unlikely we'll 'drive away' much but it would be nice to have the option and thanks for tips on marking the wheel positions with bright pegs.

 

[JnJ]

We have just bought a Quest Falcon 300 air. We had the poled version before this. It just zips off from the side of the van. It has a full length zip on the Kador so you don't need a separate joining kit.
It doesn't have a built in ground sheet, we use a large lightweight outdoor carpet. A lot of sites don't let you use ground sheets anyway.

 

[Silver-Fox]

Is it just me but there seems to be a lot of faff with this type of awning.

And precision driving required on return

Maybe this is why I like the Quest stand alone

 

[rob1234]

Is it just me but there seems to be a lot of faff with this type of awning.

And precision driving required on return

Maybe this is why I like the Quest stand alone

the hexaway vango can be used very well stood on its own