A used Thule G3 Residence room V a new Comfortz awning.

[Iron Van]

I have a drive away awning for long stays, but now I want an awning for short trips of a night or two.

I could wait and buy a used G3 which I feel I could leave out no matter what the weather, or buy a new Comfortz awning that would probably need to be taken down at night if there was a strong wind warning. My question is do people leave their Comfortz awning out in bad weather, and if so, other than the normal storm guys, what other precautions do you take?

 

[Ch1pbutty]

I have a drive away awning for long stays, but now I want an awning for short trips of a night or two.

I could wait and buy a used G3 which I feel I could leave out no matter what the weather, or buy a new Comfortz awning that would probably need to be taken down at night if there was a strong wind warning. My question is do people leave their Comfortz awning out in bad weather, and if so, other than the normal storm guys, what other precautions do you take?

I don’t have a Thule G3 or comfortz, but G3 looks like it will take a while to set up. Comfortz would probably be better, just peg the sides down securely & close any opening to stop wind from lifting the fabric and it should then be very solid.

 

[BeagleMum]

I have a drive away awning for long stays, but now I want an awning for short trips of a night or two.

I could wait and buy a used G3 which I feel I could leave out no matter what the weather, or buy a new Comfortz awning that would probably need to be taken down at night if there was a strong wind warning. My question is do people leave their Comfortz awning out in bad weather, and if so, other than the normal storm guys, what other precautions do you take?

We had a Comfort Awning Room, always left it out, just made sure it was securely pegged.

 

[Amarillo]

We have had both - and still have the G3. The Comfort one is quick to set up but very leaky, and needs to come down in a storm.

The G3 is a faff to set up, taking as long as a driveaway awning, but robust. And if you have a wheel cover and side skirt can be heated by the van’s parking heater.

We now generally use a third option which are the Outwell panels. Seconds to put up or pack away, but about as weatherproof as a fishing net.

 

[BeagleMum]

We had a Comfort Awning Room, always left it out, just made sure it was securely pegged.

In all the years we had it, we never found the Comfort to leak, we had the additional side panels which may be why.

 

[Iron Van]

We have had both - and still have the G3. The Comfort one is quick to set up but very leaky, and needs to come down in a storm.

The G3 is a faff to set up, taking as long as a driveaway awning, but robust. And if you have a wheel cover and side skirt can be heated by the van’s parking heater.

We now generally use a third option which are the Outwell panels. Seconds to put up or pack away, but about as weatherproof as a fishing net.

That‘s really insightful, thank you. Your reply has reinforced my thinking and I will be looking for a G3 to compliment my drive away. I had never thought about using the van heater to heat the awning, that’s genius.

 

[andyinluton]

That‘s really insightful, thank you. Your reply has reinforced my thinking and I will be looking for a G3 to compliment my drive away. I had never thought about using the van heater to heat the awning, that’s genius.

Something to be aware of on the G3 is that there are two arms that fit on the side of the roof that support the G3 sides, these are substantial aluminium bits of kit that split in two for transportation, even when in half they are longer than the width of an oceans boot.
To fit them in you have to slide the rear bench forward.
The whole package of a dismantled G3 weighs a tonne and takes up loads of room.

 

[Amarillo]

In all the years we had it, we never found the Comfort to leak, we had the additional side panels which may be why.

We had a very early version which we bought second hand in 2017, so they might have improved the design. But ours leaked terribly trough a gaping hole where the straight edge, front and rear, met the side of the van. In contrast, the G3 has a puffy contoured pad that sits snuggly against the side of the van.

 

[Iron Van]

Something to be aware of on the G3 is that there are two arms that fit on the side of the roof that support the G3 sides, these are substantial aluminium bits of kit that split in two for transportation, even when in half they are longer than the width of an oceans boot.
To fit them in you have to slide the rear bench forward.
The whole package of a dismantled G3 weighs a tonne and takes up loads of room.

That’s a good point, thank you Andy. I don’t think that it will bother me, but food for thought.

 

[Amarillo]

The whole package of a dismantled G3 weighs a tonne and takes up loads of room.

Agree about the weight.

The carry bag is huge, but we have a way to pack it to a reasonable size. The two spars get rolled up in one end of the groundsheet matting, then the panels placed onto the rest of the groundsheet and it all gets rolled up together with the pegs and tie down kit. The roll is held together with a couple of straps. We don’t bother with the carry bag.