Vango Hexaway

[Amarillo]

Having given away our much loved, well-used and certainly abused Vango Kela III, we bought a nearly new and unloved Vango Hexaway as a replacement.

Here are my initial thoughts based on a single errection, still standing firm after two nights.

It’s big. The footprint is marginally larger than the Kela, but the near vertical sides gives it significantly more space. It also feels bigger as it is brighter with five windows and three upvc roof windows. Three panels are fully unzip-able for doors.

Without a sewn in groundsheet, the feel of the awning is more like a gazebo and less like a tent.

There is no obvious way to run 12 volt electric into the Hexaway. I have attached it to a nearly fully wound out awning canopy. The 12v electrics come out of the boot of our van, the cable then wraps around the rear awning arm, drops to the ground and enters the Hexaway at ground level as the ground sheet is not sewn in. The cable for the fridge stays at ground level, and the cable for the lights is concealed in an inflatable beam sleeve.

Inflating up the Hexaway seemed to take forever. While the Kela took just a few strokes to get a beam good and firm before moving on to the next, all six beams of the Hexaway inflate simultaneously. I was hot and sweaty by the time it was fully errect, with no energy for anything. Perhaps I’ll invest in an electric pump.

I reckon the Hexaway has the space for kitchen, dining room and storage for a family of six. It would happily seat 10 in a horseshoe configuration.

Here’s a final no frills photo of ours as it is. With such fine weather the tables and chairs have been outside, only brought in for the night.

The Hexaway is perfect for our needs but not without flaws, in particular the lack of thought into provision for electrics and no sewn in groundsheet.

 

[Amarillo]

We had the Hexaway up for eleven nights.

No need to add additional air.

It is high, about 2.2 m standing room in the middle, dropping to about 1.9m about 10cm in from the very edges.

We drove away twice, and it was neat and easy to do so, with the tunnel neatly rolling back to the main entrance.

We had very hot weather with temperatures up to 38C. With three big doors you could get good air circulation inside.

We had no rain so cannot comment on its waterproofness. The lack of a sewn-in groundsheet does mean that water would get in if it had rained, but there are a couple of features that suggest ingress could be minimised.

We had no wind so cannot comment on how it stands up to a gale. We only used eight pegs, six on the corners and two on the tunnel. Five sides have an additional mid side peg point and each of the six legs has a guy point, so I expect it would stay up in fairly strong winds.

The detachable groundsheet means that it can be used at sites which do not allow awning groundsheets.

It does have a skytack system to attach lights, washing lines, secure electric cables, etc. We didn't use it as we didn't have any skytrack clips, but it does look like a very useful feature.

I am very pleased with it and it is a perfect upgrade on our Vango Kela. I'm looking forward to seeing how it works in stormy weather. We are at Pevensey in two weeks, so praying for gales!

 

[Zave]

Sold - 2018 Vango Airhub Hexaway Low With Carpet £250

This was bought in 2019 and only used a few times. I'm not really getting on with it so it's for sale.

www.t6forum.com

One for sale here...

 

[MrsC]

We also chose the hexaway and used it through a night of torrential rain and wind. I now regret not having a sewn in ground sheet and will try to not use it if I think (heavy) rain is forecast. The space is great though for a family of 5.

 

[jimmywease]

We also chose the hexaway and it’s first use was through a night of torrential rain and wind. I now regret not having a sewn in ground sheet and will try to not use it if I think (heavy) rain is forecast. The space is great though for a family of 5.

I had the same issue on our first outing with the Hexaway, along with the Welsh horizontal rain springing through the seams! Some waterproofer has taken care of the seams but getting the layers of doors/skirts/groundsheet to stay in place is tricky. I was thinking of adding some adhesive Velcro strips, to try to get them fixed, particularly at the midpoints.

Has anyone tried fixing adhesive Velcro tape to the shiny skirt/groundsheet fabric, or have any other suggestions for keeping the midpoints of the Hexaway sides in order? I might also try putting Velcro under the carpet, as this is also prone to ‘walking’. I think the hexagonal shape (along with non-SIG) exacerbates these issues.

On a more positive note, I love the awning for it’s size, height, style, speed of erection/pack-away and the versatility of the three large fully-opening doors.

 

[-Goldie-Horn-]

I had the same issue on our first outing with the Hexaway, along with the Welsh horizontal rain springing through the seams! Some waterproofer has taken care of the seams but getting the layers of doors/skirts/groundsheet to stay in place is tricky. I was thinking of adding some adhesive Velcro strips, to try to get them fixed, particularly at the midpoints.

Has anyone tried fixing adhesive Velcro tape to the shiny skirt/groundsheet fabric, or have any other suggestions for keeping the midpoints of the Hexaway sides in order? I might also try putting Velcro under the carpet, as this is also prone to ‘walking’. I think the hexagonal shape (along with non-SIG) exacerbates these issues.

On a more positive note, I love the awning for it’s size, height, style, speed of erection/pack-away and the versatility of the three large fully-opening doors.

Do you try fixing the groundsheet? We want the Hexaway but probably aren't going to buy it for the single reason of this not being sewn in.

 

[jimmywease]

Do you try fixing the groundsheet? We want the Hexaway but probably aren't going to buy it for the single reason of this not being sewn in.

Yes, I fixed adhesive Velcro tabs to the midpoint of each of the six sides, to fix the groundsheet to the permanent awning edge material. It certainly helps with encouraging the groundsheet to stay in the right place.

I’m not sure I’d go for the hexaway again though, because it didn’t quite live up to my optimistic expectations:

I thought it would be a comfy extension of the van living space, but the van door and awning door must remain closed during British weather, because the interface is too draughty. Ensuring every corner is fully rain-proof is a faff. The zips often snag on the black awning material, sometimes also catching, maddeningly, on the little toggle-loops.

I thought the numerous openings would allow the hexaway to work like a gazebo in hot European weather, but the roof heats up and doesn’t offer very much shade, due to its domed shape.

I thought that the size, shape and connection to the van would appeal, but the hexagonal internal space is inefficient, given the required pitch size.

I thought that the air-inflation would allow fast pitching, but by the time I’ve adjusted every corner and used around half of the zillion supplied pegs, I’ve had enough!

Don’t get me wrong - I’ve got used to the issues and we’ve used the awning loads. I think it’ll be perfect for Latitude Festival this weekend, as the weather will be not too hot or too cold and the awning will be providing shelter and privacy, as long as the pitch can accommodate it. I think I was just expecting the hexaway to do too much. With hindsight, I should probably have chosen a modern clever gazebo-with-sides for European summers and something more weatherproof for the UK (but rectangular and maybe detached, and with sewn-in groundsheet).

 

[-Goldie-Horn-]

Thanks for your reply. I'm really resistant to getting an awning, because the whole point of a van is so that you don't have to deal with wet tent fabric. Having 2 kids means it's gotta be done, however.

The big dome of the Hexaway getting hot in the sun is a common concern, but we aren't planning on going abroad anytime soon and I figured (i) when it's hot and not raining we won't need to be in it so much (ii) all tents are susceptible to this, and I seen someone else comment that the Hexaway has lots of doors on all sides so it can be opened up more than most awnings/tents.

It's funny you mention the amount of pegs, because one of the reasons I'm keen on the Hexaway structure over others is that it seems like there are less pegs required! Some of the tunnel structured awnings look like they need about 10 guide ropes just to stand up even on a windless day. Not to mention 1 inflation point instead of 4 or 5.

The issues you have with the drive away connection the van, do you think this is an issue with the Hexaway or vango awnings in particular? Or is this just an issue with driveaway awnings in general?

 

[jimmywease]

Thanks for your reply. I'm really resistant to getting an awning, because the whole point of a van is so that you don't have to deal with wet tent fabric. Having 2 kids means it's gotta be done, however.

The big dome of the Hexaway getting hot in the sun is a common concern, but we aren't planning on going abroad anytime soon and I figured (i) when it's hot and not raining we won't need to be in it so much (ii) all tents are susceptible to this, and I seen someone else comment that the Hexaway has lots of doors on all sides so it can be opened up more than most awnings/tents.

It's funny you mention the amount of pegs, because one of the reasons I'm keen on the Hexaway structure over others is that it seems like there are less pegs required! Some of the tunnel structured awnings look like they need about 10 guide ropes just to stand up even on a windless day. Not to mention 1 inflation point instead of 4 or 5.

The issues you have with the drive away connection the van, do you think this is an issue with the Hexaway or vango awnings in particular? Or is this just an issue with driveaway awnings in general?

I agree with your reluctant need for space - we also have two kids (plus two dogs) and everyone seems to need sooo much gear with them on holiday. I think it’s mental, by which I mean that each family member has a psychological desire to control their immediate environment. My desire is satisfied by the (my) van and camping accessories. The other five satisfy their need by bringing half the contents of our house!

Certainly the Hexaway does open up well for warm weather and I should stress that it was only my over-optimism that expected it to function as well as a gazebo for 30deg+ family dining. I do keep meaning to make some Velcro-fastening blinds, to cover the upper (roof) windows, which would help. Recently I used a sun-tarp to add more shade in hotter weather when abroad. Very rarely a problem in the UK, however.

Also I think the newer version Hexaway may have improved the snagging zips.

I think connection of any awning to a van is probably draughty and requires both doors to be closed in classic British camping weather.

Like I said, I barely use about half of the pegs, unless there is driving wind and rain. There are quite a few though - six corners, six sides, six guy ropes, ten for footprint (optional), another 6-10 for entrance area…
Deffo best to only partially insert pegs until awning position is perfect.
Only one inflation point needed though (make sure the other two are closed/open for pitch/decamp).
Get one child to do the easy pumping at the start, then send them inside, to push up the roof while you inflate, otherwise it can get stiff but not erect (oh dear).

I’m sure it’ll be fine. Like I said - I’ll be praising ours this weekend, while I’m hiding booze down my trousers, during the festival!