Alternative to Wind-out awning?

[Kayleigh]

No, it can be pulled out of the slot fairly easily.

You just put 2 of the beads on the dometic adaptor directly into the factory fit Cali rail, and slide it into place.

Makes you wonder what purpose it actually serves… and it’s nearly £100!

 

[Amy&Mark]

Hi The Green Man,
Dunno if this helps but thought I’d share… The Sunncamp Sunsheild 240 is a canopy with double beads 4mm and 6mm. It will work in all the rails wind out as well direct only both sides of the van without any extra connectors. For straight to van rail connection you just feed both beads into the rail.
Mark

Sunnshield 240 Universal Sun Canopy

Sunnshield 240 Universal Sun Canopy A simple sun canopy, with beading, which fits directly onto your caravan. Our 240 model has DUAL BEADING which allows the canopy to fit motor caravans and campervans with a fitted rail or aftermarket wind out blind (check compatibility with your dealer)...

sunncamp.co.uk

 

[Up10]

The canopy looks great. I like the height adjusting poles and the pitching options. We’ve got some Outwell tarps, designed to work with the roll out awning, but we do use one just as a rain cover on its own. That said, I’m very tempted!! We’re off on a tour of the west coast of Ireland in a couple of months, and it ‘might’ rain and be windy!

Might rain? You could be lucky!

The other advantage of the Funky Leisure or Debus sunshade is that it can be used away from the van as a stand alone structure, to shade a picnic table or on the beach for example . It has holes for poles and guy ropes in the corners plus two at the midpoint on either edge.

A favourite game on our camping expeditions to see how many combinations are possible and how many are actually useful! Wave if you spot us!

 

[jaydisc]

This Kador adaptor fits the Cali awaning rail perfectly, gives a very snug fit:

Dometic Twin Driveaway Kit 4m - Dometic UK Shop

Awning fitment accessory Twin keder Suits most awnings Reinforced stitching Reinforced stitching for added strength

store-eu.dometic.com

Are these any good? And do you use the same Dometic kador adapter as mentioned above?
Thanks
View attachment 132133

I own, and found both of these solutions to be imperfect, as they get pulled out if the tension is too high, especially if the weather is quite warm (I'm in Australia). I've probably put up the awning about 10 times, and I get better at it each time. I think the next time I do it, I will inflate and set up the awning BEFORE attaching it to the van, and then attach afterwards ensuring minimal/reduced tension.

There's someone in our Facebook group (and maybe here on the forum), that makes 3D-printed grips that go on each end of the kador straps, which I definitely think helps reduce the likelihood of the kador disconnecting from the rail.

Also, the Dometic Twin Driveway kit is available from lots of different manufacturers (search "Universal drive away kit"), e.g. https://www.funkyleisure.co.uk/universal-awning-drive-away-kit---twin-6mm-to-64mm-13159-p.asp. The key requirement being the 4mm/6mm being grouped on one side for wedging into the rail:

 

[Hawthorn37]

Hi
I too, am not a fan of the cassette awning particularly as it cannot be left up in the wind. We have recently moved from a converted T6 Transporter to a T6.1 Ocean and I have just ordered a flysheet sunshade and a Kador strip for the Ocean in the last hour. Why? Because when we are in Europe, we bend the 3m flysheet into a corridor which protects the rear sliding door from the weather and we can use it in limited space pitches. Both items were ordered from Funky Leisure and cost me under £100 as we already have the poles. I will try and add photos from our old set up.

Universal Awning Drive-Away Kit - TWIN 6mm to 6/4mm

This Universal Twin Drive-Away Kit has dual 6mm 4mm kador beading on the vehicle connection side for compatibility with Mulitrails, VW California

www.funkyleisure.co.uk

Debus VW Campervan Sun Canopy V2.0 – Midnight Black

The Debus VW Campervan Sun Canopy V2.0 is the new 2024 upgraded version of the original 3 poled waterproof sun canopy awning in cool midnight black

www.funkyleisure.co.uk

View attachment 132139

We’ve just received ours, ready for a tour of Ireland ! Thx for the info. @Up10 it looks like a good bit of kit.

 

[Up10]

We’ve just received ours, ready for a tour of Ireland ! Thx for the info. @Up10 it looks like a good bit of kit.

We received our new one (orange) last week too and I cannot wait to try it out properly. The 6+6/4 kador also arrived and fits the van rail perfectly. The offcut was saved and my husband put a metal rimmed hole in it so now we only need to find one tree for the washing line or it could be used as a support for a water refill bottle over the water intake. So many ideas!
Enjoy Ireland. It's on our list. I would be interested to hear how you get on.

 

[thegreenman]

I have also gone for the Debus (midnight black), I think the S&S awning1 is too small at only 1.5m. Looking forward to trying it out, hopefully before we head off to Croatia in the summer.