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Awnings Blowup Poles What Do You Have

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Californication69

Californication69

Bill
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T6.1 Ocean 204 4 motion
Not sure if we have a thread of Awnings.
Blow up
Pole
Standalone
Drive Away.

What have you got.
What is the external dimensions. (Roughly)
Why do you like it.
What’s good & bad ? Is it Nice?

Also where would you recommend on going to look at a good selection of awnings around the UK ?
 
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Name: Vango Galli III Low RV
Type: Air Beam
Driveaway: Yes
Summary: Great for long trips, but too cumbersome for short trips (2 or less nights).

Easy to set up once you know how - can have two spare bedroms in it (ie - one for the portapotti). It has windows in areas of the roof for light, and has some pull over roof blinds for privacy and coziness. Has a porch, and a plethora of other accessories including ground sheet, mounting clips for lights etc for ceiling, a separate carpet and such.

Very happy with it, but it can be a bit cumbersome if going for a short amount of time. Also takes up a fair amount of space, which isn't always ideal. Very much a '10 day-er' awning, rather than an overnighter. For shorter trips we just use a pop up tent to throw the car seats in.

NOTE - The standard one sold in the UK will face backwards when fitted to the California. You'll likely want an RSV (Right-Sided Vehicle) version. The following link is for referencing price and appearance - this is NOT an RSV. https://amzn.to/3yO4NPk
 
Vango Palm Air, Air Beam, Drive away.

Smaller of the ‘drive aways’ , but sufficient for table and two chairs and dog bed in corner ( not for dog overnight sleeping as not secure)
No fitted groundsheet , so footprint needed but this means it can be used on sites where sewn in ground sheets aren’t allowed. ( often on grass pitches )
Once you get the hang of it, two people takes approx 30 mins to erect ( completely and we never hurry ! ) 20 mins to take down.
We carry it in the boot / tailgate, takes up about a third of our space, but that’s the trade off in any awning.

We did consider the Comfort room set up which attaches to the roll out awning, very easy to set up and smaller package, but thought it a bit flimsy, not in itself but in its dependence on the roll out awning in winds and it is even smaller internal dimensions than ours and looks pretty dark inside !
Pic just to give an idea of size.
Good luck with your research as there’s soooo much out there .

IMG_5164.jpeg
 
Vango Tolga Sport
Link here:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B081P5BWWT/?tag=eliteelect-21

Tried for first time this week.
3.2m square 2m tall.
Like the smallish one room for getting ready, watching iPad, keeps warm.

Blow up two parts, then the other two blow up parts puts across.
Goes up in 15 minutes.
Portapotti sits in the driveway part.
Sewn in groundsheet.
Good for 7 days or more when just two people.

Like:
the front awning to keep rain off windows.
Carpet separate inside which is nice and soft on bare feet.
Skyway to stop wet roof inside.
Driveway really easy to attach and remove.
Hole for plug to put through for the Cali.
Nice air vents to create air flow.

Dislike:
The door has no window.
Not enough room.
Would like 3 doors inside so could choose which way we set up the door to look out and entry / exit on site.
Windows not very transparent.
Dont like the one massive zipped panel between awning and driveway part.
Need one zip in middle to nip out to loo whilst watching iPad.
Need somewhere to hang shower towels up.
 
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Saw a nice standalone Berghaus Air Shelter
 
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Vango Hexaway airhub 2
 
I continue to recommend the Cinch hub tent - best of all worlds imho - folds flat, withstands all weathers, height for standing, can open/close all sides and is simple to put up and down. On longer trips it’s great, we dont bother with extra space for 3 days or less.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Not sure if we have a thread of Awnings.
Blow up
Pole
Standalone
Drive Away.

What have you got.
What is the external dimensions. (Roughly)
Why do you like it.
What’s good & bad ? Is it Nice?

What would also be really useful, along with a picture of awnings in situ, is a picture of the awning packed away and if possible in the back of the van for size reference.
 
Khyam Screenhub, optional front porch adds 2m and optional rear bed pod, or can use like a gazebo on its own
Not my photos but you get the idea
I always liked the Khyam tents so seemed logical getting the same for the Cali. Main awning 3x3 metres

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AC82BE21-ECA1-471C-A988-B4824DD8A54C.jpeg
 
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Vango calli low airbeam for 5 days +
Thule residents room for 1 night.(bars clamp down onto roll out awning so a little sturdier in winds than the confortz room we had before).
 
Vango Galli III TC fabric.
Pro’s : Nice and big, and it has a decent sized porch, and good side tunnel. It’s very stable even in high wind. Nice bedroom zone, so you can get a double bed plus baby cot, and still room for table and chairs.
Cons : Takes two people to erect, lots of pegging, heavy, and apart from the tunnel doors, only the front opens up. The pitch needs to be big, and at least 6m x 8m (better if 8m x 10m).

Vango Kela V TC fabric.
Pro’s : Good size for 2 people, the front section opens to make a canopy (with additional king pole kit) and side opens out too. One person can erect. Fits under the multi panel shelf. Makes a good hub to store stuff in. It will fit with your van on a standard sized CAMC or CCC pitch “with awning”.
Cons : Too small to both sleep in and ‘live in’ . If windy you need to attach the storm straps especially when in stand alone mode (not an issue really).

Both awnings - The TC fabric (cotton based) allows the awning to breath so no condensation issues, and it remains relatively cool in summer. There’s range of Vango kits to make bedrooms, shading, lighting etc. We use the Kela for two of us, when camping for at least 3 nights. We use the Galli when we have family staying, or if we’re on a site for at least 7 nights.
 
I bought the Outdoor Revolution Cayman Combo Air PC. Used it for the first time on our second ever trip which was a 2 nighter and wanted to give it a go. It looked fairly simple with one guy putting up within 15 minutes on a youtube video. My other half reckons it took me 3 hours :embarrased

353E001B-30DD-4DCC-9BB5-0E9B2B8F4945.jpg530ECD6C-9596-45A8-B144-B8C2D5357BD5.jpg
 
Khyam Screenhub, optional front porch adds 2m and optional rear bed pod, or can use like a gazebo on its own
Not my photos but you get the idea
I always liked the Khyam tents so seemed logical getting the same for the Cali. Main awning 3x3 metres

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I agree about the Khyams. We started off years ago with a Khyam but then got lured into the supposed easiness of an air awning. Didn't like it all, a lot of stuff to cart about and took a lot longer than the Khyam to erect/take down so back to a Khyam. The poles are all integral with the awning so all you have to do is take it out of the bag, spread it out, lift it up and slide the connectors over the pole joints. Taking down is a reversal. It takes up less space in the van than the Vango Airbeam as well.
 
I bought the Outdoor Revolution Cayman Combo Air PC. Used it for the first time on our second ever trip which was a 2 nighter and wanted to give it a go. It looked fairly simple with one guy putting up within 15 minutes on a youtube video. My other half reckons it took me 3 hours :embarrased

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Often wondered if that guy from Attwools on YouTube did lessons! He erects every awning in about 15 minutes. :D
 
Does anyone know of a polycotton poled awning currently in production? I’ve searched extensively and can only find polycotton air awnings or poled nylon.
 
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