Our 5 year old porch awaning has had it, it's a Suncamp that we bought when the van was new and we've had our monies worth from it. We'd like something better quality for weekends and that will stand up to weather better than the Suncamp.
Anyone have a Vango Airbeam awning? If so, what do you think of it? Worth the money? Any niggles?
I need one for the weekend too....
Thanks in advance
Watching this with interest, we are looking at one of those too
We've got one we use with our STW-approved T5 camper van - in fact we've used two and one of the tents as well - and can't fault it for ease of pitching and build quality. Goes up really quickly, is well designed and does the job basically. Loads of extra space coupled with easy access to the van for cooking/sleeping etc, just very civilised and you can leave it on site for the day while you drive off if that's your thing.
The van ones, or the one we have at least, are blinking massive though and on a few occasions we've wondered if the pitch is going to be big enough to cope with it and they're also pretty hefty when packed down, though that's probably less of an issue with a caravan.
They're not cheap, but they do work really well ime. I think Outwell do similar ones, but I have no experience of them.
Cheers BWD, just what I was hoping for. We've a traditional full size awning for week+ holidays and need one for 2-3 days that is quick to erect, so looks like these will fit the bill.
They've got the 2015 vango airbeam 3 metre at JR leisure Leicester for £420 it's got the 150 weight cloth.
Funnily enough we looked at them and the kampa range today the kampa pro series have the 300D weathershield cloth, really nice awnings but we decided to pay £300 less for the same Kampa awning but with poles instead of the airbeam. The air ones seem very expensive for an awning that's not as rigid.
The air ones seem very expensive for an awning that's not as rigid.
To be fair, in use we've never had an issue with rigidity. The whole structure feels very stable and, in really extreme conditions, there's an argument that Airbeams deform and spring back in situations where a rigid pole would fail catastrophically.
Fwiw, the beams work a bit like a bicycle inner tube with an internal 'tube' surrounded by a zipped sleeve which, in turn, sits inside a channel in the tent. The feel reassuringly robust once inflated.
Yes, we saw that JR Leisure, they haven't got one anymore ;-). Decided to take a punt on it. The old Suncamp one had steel and fibreglass poles are doesn't take weather well at all, guys ripped, poles bow very easily. Contrast to our full size, it takes everything lobbed at it in very exposed pitches too. Away over Easter two vans had their porch awnings ripped out the ground and torn apart next to us. I know it's more £ but hopefully the air poles will flex.
The issue I've heard of with inflatables is stability in windy conditions. Any comments?
As above the old porch would bow so much I thought it would simply implode, luckiy it never did, only rip guy points off it. I guess it's the same as any tent etc, the right one, pitched correctly for the conditions will withstand most weather. I've read that they give in extreme wind, I'm hopingn that's the case.
I dont know about the awnings but last year I bought, well attempted to buy a vango airbeam tent.
In theory its good and it was easy and quick to put up. However the problem with it was that the airbeams were twisted. This meant that no matter what I did I could not get the tent to stand properly. Parts of the tent were sagging badly and other parts were under too much tension. Vango sent me a replacement set of airbeams. Again these were also twisted as if the sleeves were put together badly. They also had different seam patterns and the sizing of the beams were not consistent.
After 2 months of talking with the shop I bought it from and them talking to vango I eventually returned it for a refund and bought a vango tent with normal poles.
I've had vango tents in the past and will continue to buy them as generally they are pretty good. I will be avoiding airbeam tents for a few years yet until they iron out the quality control issues.
I have one of the first Kampa Rally Air 390's which is a few years old now. Easy to get to shape quickly but still takes a while to peg out. Rock solid in wind and you don't suffer from poles loosening in high wind. It was expensive for a lightweight awning and they now do the pro version with heavier material. I would agree that shaping can be a bit of a problem as the beams do twist a bit but not really a major problem. My original version has a rather annoying step in the doorway which can be a trip hazard but later versions just have a strap to maintain the floor level shape. Generally very pleased with it but in hindsight I should have waited for the models to evolve a bit longer. Would certainly buy again. I bought an inflatable boat 12v pump & a small gel battery to save using the hand pump which works very well. Another thing to consider is that these awnings aren't adjustable for height so on uneven pitches they can be a challenge to get a decent shape due to ground dropping off.
I use a Kela II on my Trafic. Its fantastic. Worth every penny. Buy the additional footprint too to save wear and tear on the floor, and keep the underside cleaner.
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Was looking at the Kampa ones last year, & a few people I've spoken to on sites rave about them, but they are pricey.
Had plenty of awnings over the years but the one that sees the most use is a really basic small porch type, with flexy tent-type poles, that was £30 from tent Hire in Walsall about 8yrs ago. Its up in 5 mins & ideal for quick breaks.
The normal pole type Kampa Rallye we borrowed took forever to out up & get right.
The latest kampa ones look really well made.
The issue I've heard of with inflatables is stability in windy conditions. Any comments?
I've found them fine. I left an early Vango AirBeam tent pitched on a campsite at the Keswick Mountain Festival a few years ago over a weekend where freak winds wiped out a whole bunch of conventional, comparable Vango tents over in Pooley Bridge during a two-day mtb event, just snapping some of the poles.
The AirBeam tent survived no problem. Like for like, as long as the beams are properly inflated and appropriately guyed-out, I don't think it's an issue. Big flat-sided structures like awnings are never going to be as stable in the wind as more aerodynamic tents anyway, but at least you know the AirBeam's not going to snap.
We've just got a Sunncamp Strand (well that's what I think it's called).
Had it up for the first time this weekend but it's solid and with the storm bars fitted wont go anywhere.
I think it's a 2.7 meter (to fit the motorhome) and picked it up online for about £300. Seems excellent for the money.
[url= http://www.jrleisure.co.uk/sunncamp-strand-270-air-volution-inflatable-porch-awning/p2217 ]Sunncamp Strand 270 Air[/url]
We've been looking at these for winter use. Our caravan is on a seasonal pitch so we have a full awning up March to October but want something for weekend use in winter, something that's quick to put up and easy to dry at home.
These looked good so interest noted.