Drive away awning on Thule 929

[whistlingdogg]

Hi, I’m planning our first big trip in our Beach. We are going to explore Scotland over the Easter holidays. Now I understand it can rain quite a bit up there and so we are thinking we should take our drive away awning (vango Cruz). The problem is that it is quite bulky and there will be 4 of us (2 adults and 2 kids) and a dog. So, I thought we could carry the awning on our bike rack (Thule 929). We also plan to take a roof box to keep bulky bedding.

Anyone here done this? Or offer my recommendations.


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[Amarillo]

Anyone here done this? Or offer my recommendations.

We have been trekking around Europe for over 200 days with two boys and a dog (initially two dogs).

Everything goes in the van except bikes, including a Vango Kela and safari room panels.

Move the bench seat to the position for making the bed and leave it there, the boot space is gigantic. Decide if you want to have the multiflex when packing at the front or rear of the boot. We leave ours at the rear so we don't have to move it to make the bed, but it does make packing slightly more awkward.

You can also eek out a little more boot space by making the bed with the multiflex about 2" forward of the rearmost position and a 2" gap between the multiflex and lowered bench.

See the thread "Packing my Beach". There is a photo shoot of me packing the boot with sufficient gear for two adults, two boys and a dog for all weathers Northern and Southern Europe can throw at us over a year without using a roof box or other external luggage. See also the comments from others about securing the luggage.

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[Alibee]

Or offer my recommendations.

We're the same 2+2+dog, and we take a pop-up tent to chuck everything in when we arrive at an overnight stop. Has worked wonders in terms of keeping the van empty when in kitchen/living room/bedroom mode, and means we're not compromised when it comes to underground car parks, wind roar & fuel efficiency.

Our drive-away goes in the boot, and the bedding in a big bag on top of the back cushion. Have done multiple 2-3 week trips like this without needing to have anything on the roof.

That said, I'm just looking at getting roof bars for the first time for a snowboard trip coming up, but I'm not mad keen for all of the reasons listed above, plus the potential to accidentally damage the (hugely expensive) roof panel!

Good luck deciding, and have a great trip.