Awning tips urgently needed!

[Blue Beach]

Hi
We have recently put up our Vango air beam awning for the first time on our new-to-us cali beach. We are really impressed with the awning so far, although I note the potential issues with the air beams, it went up really quickly and easily however.....
We really mucked up the attaching to the van thing. We have the drive away kadar kit but just couldn't get the distance right and the attachment was either baggy or too far away.
In our defence it was pouring with rain and really windy, but it felt like we are missing a trick with the attachments. Has anyone got any tips or ideas on how to get it right first time without the faff?

Thanks , h

 

[AlisonF]

The Vango Kela Airbeam video on tube is brilliant. They suggest threading onto awning rail before blowing it up - that way you get the correct distance.
For driving away and coming back (haven't done it myself yet) another thread on here suggested putting markers next to front and rear wheels and driving up slowly and lining against them on return.
Hope that helps

 

[surfer-rich]

Hi Helen
I used my Vango Kela III for the 1st time this weekend so fresh out of the bag putting up in 30mph winds!!!
What worked for me was opening the Cali awning a few inches & slotting the tent awning attachment bit straight into the cali awning chanel, then re-closing the cali awning (simple but hard to explain, ha!), I have a kador & figure of 8 but didn't use although i probably would if i was planning to drive away at some point.
Once the awning was attached to the cali I Ioosley pegged the 4 corners then pumped it up, re pegged where necessary & completed the fixing down. It worked a treat & lasted 3 nights of storms without any issues

 

[Mark13]

We've got the same awning (though actually rarely use it) and I think the responses above are spot on; its probably worth the effort to get it about right first time, then mark the wheel positions - we carry ramps and just use those. Seems to work (until someone decides to tidy up the site a bit before moving off and puts the ramps away inside the awning. I still deny it was me).

 

[Blue Beach]

Thanks,that's really helpful and not far off what we were doing. (Off to YouTube the vid). We also found that the awning caught in the door as we closed the van door is that just because it wasn't tight enough or is there a trick there?
H

 

[surfer-rich]

Thanks,that's really helpful and not far off what we were doing. (Off to YouTube the vid). We also found that the awning caught in the door as we closed the van door is that just because it wasn't tight enough or is there a trick there?
H

Ours didn't catch the door at all, not sure if that's because we made sure it was pulled tight when we re-pegged the base or possibly because we didn't use the kador kit? Also, ours is the latest model (Kela III) which has a 'low' version more suited to vans rather than taller motorhomes that previous version catered for.

 

[Kmann]

… then mark the wheel positions - we carry ramps and just use those. Seems to work (until someone decides to tidy up the site a bit before moving off and puts the ramps away inside the awning. I still deny it was me).

I read somewhere that someone used colorful pegs as markers. Not necessary to tidy up i think ;-)

 

[2into1]

Without a wind-out awning as surfer-rich suggests, it is tough to get a taught fit. Even with a wind-out, I gave up and bought a freestanding shelter, even though it does mean getting a bit wet zipping up the door and dashing to the van in the rain. Plenty do manage though, so with all the gathered tips, I'm sure you'll manage it more efficiently each time.

 

[Geezso]

Hi Helen. Firstly do you have a retractable awning on the Cali. That will make the difference. I assume you do if the door catches.
Firstly park the van and roll out the awning about 8 inches. Thread the kela through the 6mm strip. Then roll the awning back in so that the strip is just showing.
Pull the 4 corners out from the van and peg (just for an idea).
Then blow it up including the support. At this point you want to correct any positional movement. Then carry on you peg and line.
For moving away wind the awning put to 8-10 inches to take off the tension then release the figure of 8. I didn't have mine in time slow my wife slowly drove forward and repeated in reverse upon our return.
Its useful to visually mark your original position.
With the door fouling I found handy Velcro tabs used to secure in another way other than kador, already attached to the leading edge. I wrapped these within themselves to stop the door fouling.
Hope any of that helps.

 

[Geezso]

Also, it depends on what version on the vango kela you have, mines a low 3 designed for Cali size, some are regular and a little higher meaning the fit is slightly inclined

 

[Blue Beach]

Hi, we have a wind out awning and the Vango galli which is very similar in attachment to the kela. We did forget to wind the awning back in after attaching the van so we had to shuffle it over when we realised which was mistake number 1 that we made...
(Getting the van stuck in the mud was mistake 14 we made... It would have been quite funny to watch us)

 

[Blue Beach]

The galli is the low version

 

[CoboCali]

This is a useful read... https://vwcaliforniaclub.com/threads/vango-kela-fouling-on-the-sliding-door.6160/#post-54035 I was looking at post #10 onwards which document using the figure of 8 attached to the top lip of the awning - there are pics included too. I have a Kela III low on order, and a T6 on order... it will be May before I can test but I am reading, reading, reading

 

[Mark13]

I read somewhere that someone used colorful pegs as markers. Not necessary to tidy up i think ;-)

Absolutely right methinks.

 

[Blue Beach]

Wow, thanks for all the replies. Has anyone tested the figure of 8 on the top of the roll out awning as in the picture kindly linked by cobocali? It looks a good idea but wonder if it says put.

 

[briwy]

A lot of awnings also have a "tube" in the tunnel piece that attaches to the van. Not sure about the Airbeam awnings as I haven't seen one close up. Our Kyham is like this and we use a telescopic clothes line pole in it. It goes right over the top of the awning and is held down with bungie cord. A doddle to put up and take down and gives more clearance. We put the awning up in a rough location, fasten the tunnel piece and then pull the awning back until it is tight.



Just need to get the cord sorted, this was the initial trial to see if it worked.

 

[marshian70]

I think the relatively low height of the Cali is a problem for most driveaway awnings. When we had ours, I found that the figure of eight attached to the top of the roll out awning worked best, and stopped the door fouling. It also helped to add tension. In the end though we got rid of ours - we changed to a camper van for convenience, and the driveaway was not filling that brief!

 

[surfer-rich]

I think the relatively low height of the Cali is a problem for most driveaway awnings.

That'll be why vango recently bought out the 'low' version, targeted at transporters, bongos etc.

 

[marshian70]

That'll be why vango recently bought out the 'low' version, targeted at transporters, bongos etc.

As was the one we had, but they are all designed to suit a range of heights. I think the problem is the height of Cali, not the awning though. Unless you get the canopy real taught, the door is likely to foul it. As said, attaching to the top helps.

 

[mji450]

Over Easter my 2008 SE fitted with Fiamma F45S sun-awning and Vango Idris attached (with conversion strip and figure of 8s) comfortably survived Storm Katie...As with other posts, practice makes it easier to set-up, drive-away and return - I use front wheel markers for position and wind out awning for tension etc.

My only 'gripe' is the gap left between the awning and the Cali, which tapers from 0 at ground level by pegging Idris skirt under Cali sills, out to the width of the Fiamma case + attaching strip at the top. I can't think of an alternate solution to reduce this gap whilst still using the convenience of attaching to the Fiamma? (I think this is a generic characteristic regardless of windout awning (omnistor etc) or drive-away awning (not just Vangos?)

Has anyone tried to attach over the top of the Fiamma and still retain the convenience of using the front channel (I'd prefer not to add an extra pole as per Briwy's solution)?

 

[Lewis]

Hi
We have recently put up our Vango air beam awning for the first time on our new-to-us cali beach. We are really impressed with the awning so far, although I note the potential issues with the air beams, it went up really quickly and easily however.....
We really mucked up the attaching to the van thing. We have the drive away kadar kit but just couldn't get the distance right and the attachment was either baggy or too far away.
In our defence it was pouring with rain and really windy, but it felt like we are missing a trick with the attachments. Has anyone got any tips or ideas on how to get it right first time without the faff?

Thanks , h

Hi Helen - glad to hear you're impressed with the Galli and hope you get the attachment issue sorted.

Would be really grateful to hear a bit more about your thoughts on the tent and maybe even a photo of it with the Cali - it's top of our accessories list for when our van arrives but there's very little in the way of reviews online apart from a couple of YouTube videos from sellers.

 

[iDandelions]

I would also love to see a picture of the Galli on the T6. Does it work ok with the side door being on the right side?

 

[cockleshell]

I think the relatively low height of the Cali is a problem for most driveaway awnings. When we had ours, I found that the figure of eight attached to the top of the roll out awning worked best, and stopped the door fouling. It also helped to add tension. In the end though we got rid of ours - we changed to a camper van for convenience, and the driveaway was not filling that brief!

We do this too since seeing Campervantastic do it at the NEC in February. No more torn awnings. We have a sapera II standard on a factory fitted wind out awning.
Wind out the awning an inch or two and clip the figure of eight to the top of the wound out flap. Then attach the awning to that.

 

[Blue Beach]

Hi, sorry for the delay in replying.
We had much more success the second time putting it up, although we are still very much learning as we go along. This time it was probably a bit far away so it was pulling a bit, but much better. We briefly tried putting the figure of 8 on top of the roll out awning but it felt a bit wobbly, maybe we will persevere more next time.

I love the galli, the door being on the front is a good idea. We were trying to decide between the galli and the kyham and I couldn't decide, and in the end the husband chose the galli (I think he was sold on the 'ease' of the pump!). We have three young children, but think that when they get a bit older we will put them in the awning the good thing about the galli is that the living pods are at the back and don't get in the way of access to the van like in some of the others. At the moment we are using it as one big living area and play area, very helpful as the weather wasn't very kind to us over the weekend.
The awning is really big, both when up and in the bag, this of course has its positives and negatives. The material feels great, and def much better than my old tent from 5 years ago.
The link between the awning and the van is slight offset as the Cali door is on the 'wrong' side, so far this has been ok and provides a handy corner to put stuff in, shoes etc.
One thing that is less good is the groundsheet, it seems really thin and def needs an extra groundsheet or two. We got a package with groundsheet and carpet thrown in, and it kinda needs it. I'll try and load some pictures later.

 

[COAST22]

As mentioned by some owners, the tunnel height needs to be 180-205cm (low). A lot of awnings are 190/205 as minimum height. The Vango's Kela3 low is ok but Kela2 is too high. Khan motor some classic fits well. I use the lad or strip in slide out awning rail and use a yellow guy rope pegged in line with tyres as a guide to lining up on return to site.