Drive away awnings research

[Borris]

Exactly - haha ...... a stand alone tent would do the same job - each to their own eh Borris

I agree, a stand alone tent would do exactly the same job. In its defence though, Vango airbeam awnings are so easy to put up that I'd be reluctant to go for any other type now.

We went camping with seven of our grandchildren last month and our youngest daughter used her tent. What a beast! It was the size of a small bungalow and took what seemed like hours to put up. It was all rip stop nylon and carbon poles with elastic through them. Having struggled for over an hour with the beast we then pumped up the airbeam. It took ten minutes tops before we were inside with the kettle on.The look on her face was a picture.

 

[Taff Tenor]

Looks great. We're looking at buying a drive away air awning that's also pretty compact and down to Vango Tolga or Kampa Dometic Motion Air VW. We can't decide though whether a clip in ground sheet or permanent sewn in is best. Any tips?

 

[Taff Tenor]

I agree, a stand alone tent would do exactly the same job. In its defence though, Vango airbeam awnings are so easy to put up that I'd be reluctant to go for any other type now.

We went camping with seven of our grandchildren last month and our youngest daughter used her tent. What a beast! It was the size of a small bungalow and took what seemed like hours to put up. It was all rip stop nylon and carbon poles with elastic through them. Having struggled for over an hour with the beast we then pumped up the airbeam. It took ten minutes tops before we were inside with the kettle on.The look on her face was a picture.

Sewn in or clip in removable ground sheet Borris? Liking the flexibility of a clip in but is it likely to be as effective as a permanent one? This'll be our first awning foray... it'll be an air beam type but as it's only for 2 of us we'd like it to be quick to put up and compact. Vango Tolga or Kampa Dometic Motion Air VW... can't decide.

Cheers

Taff T.

 

[Borris]

Sewn in or clip in removable ground sheet Borris? Liking the flexibility of a clip in but is it likely to be as effective as a permanent one? This'll be our first awning foray... it'll be an air beam type but as it's only for 2 of us we'd like it to be quick to put up and compact. Vango Tolga or Kampa Dometic Motion Air VW... can't decide.

Cheers

Taff T.

Hello Taff,
Our Vango Galli Low Airbeam has a built in ground sheet as I believe all Vango Airbeam awnings do. They would have to have in order to maintain their integrity. The built in ground sheet/floor stops the feet of the airbeams from moving apart when inflated. The whole thing forms a sort of sealed bag. Here's a tip: you must zip up the doorways before you deflate and pack away otherwise it's a right sod to erect the next time round.
There is also a footprint that you pin down first before you erect the airbeam awning so there are in fact two layers above the grass. Add a fitted Vango carpet and it's a very cosy setup.

 

[calidog]

Sewn in or clip in removable ground sheet Borris? Liking the flexibility of a clip in but is it likely to be as effective as a permanent one? This'll be our first awning foray... it'll be an air beam type but as it's only for 2 of us we'd like it to be quick to put up and compact. Vango Tolga or Kampa Dometic Motion Air VW... can't decide.

Cheers

Taff T.

There are 2 of us plus dog, so didn't need a mahoosive awning. We bought the Vango air cove. It has a removeable ground sheet.

 

[PaulMilton]

That’s thing with awnings- we watched people struggling with big awnings and settled for looking at a maximum size, rather than a minimum size. And it seemed obvious, at least to us, that the air beam type tents were much easier to erect And take down.

By ‘accident’ we bought awning sides which with our outdoor revolution movelite seems to cover all the bases.
=One night stop - awning sides (some people call it the safari room)
= Two nights or more - drive away awning.
= More space or it’s going to rain like mad - use both.

I’ve had too many friends buy big drive away awnings and regret the time of setup and the size Of the tent when packed away.

As always it is a case of what compromises one is happy to make.

 

[Taff Tenor]

There are 2 of us plus dog, so didn't need a mahoosive awning. We bought the Vango air cove. It has a removeable ground sheet.
View attachment 63588

Thanks Calidog... that one also had the weather shield at the front which I’d want so I’ll be having a closer look at it

 

[Taff Tenor]

That’s thing with awnings- we watched people struggling with big awnings and settled for looking at a maximum size, rather than a minimum size. And it seemed obvious, at least to us, that the air beam type tents were much easier to erect And take down.

By ‘accident’ we bought awning sides which with our outdoor revolution movelite seems to cover all the bases.
=One night stop - awning sides (some people call it the safari room)
= Two nights or more - drive away awning.
= More space or it’s going to rain like mad - use both.

I’ve had too many friends buy big drive away awnings and regret the time of setup and the size Of the tent when packed away.

As always it is a case of what compromises one is happy to make.

Thanks- it had to be compact and properly weatherproof given we’ll be taking mostly staycations for the foreseeable and of course easy to put up and take down so I’ll have a closer look at this one

 

[Taff Tenor]

Hello Taff,
Our Vango Galli Low Airbeam has a built in ground sheet as I believe all Vango Airbeam awnings do. They would have to have in order to maintain their integrity. The built in ground sheet/floor stops the feet of the airbeams from moving apart when inflated. The whole thing forms a sort of sealed bag. Here's a tip: you must zip up the doorways before you deflate and pack away otherwise it's a right sod to erect the next time round.
There is also a footprint that you pin down first before you erect the airbeam awning so there are in fact two layers above the grass. Add a fitted Vango carpet and it's a very cosy setup.

Cheers Borris....some great tips there

 

[Elly Swanson]

Just using the supplied groundsheet, topped with a carpet from a tent (probably won’t use that again..) Next weekend we’ll use some poles to lift the front door. Lots of options with this Palm, given the 3 doors. Main discovery this weekend are ‘rock pegs’ for hardstandings; fortunately the site we are at (Ludlow Touring Park) has a great well stocked shop..also using some rubber mats to bridge the gap between the van and the awning.

When your plastic heads eventually crack and fall off of rock pegs, which they will, you can use metal penny washers or wing nuts to hook your guylines. Just slip them up the peg shafts.

If you have a drill and a hex adapter for the chuck you can use long coach screws and drill them in and out (slide on penny washers to stop the guylines slipping off the narrow heads). Because of the screw shaft they grip really well.

If you have any pain or discomfort in your hands, wrists, arms, shoulders or back drilling coach screws in/out will avoid aggravating it.

Coach screws are often a cheaper option than actual camping pegs and can be banged in or screwed. We use a mix of camping pegs and coach screws with penny washers and wing nuts. Never had a coach screw bend on us, even banging in on really hard ground.

TurboCoach Hex Flange Self-Drilling Coach Screws M12 x 200mm 25 Pack - Screwfix

Order online at Screwfix.com. Zinc yellow-plated with hex head. Self-drilling point and turbo rifled shank provides easy driving and reduced splitting. Suitable for softwood, hardwood or masonry with a nylon plug. FREE next day delivery available, free collection in 1 minute.

www.screwfix.com

 

[Elly Swanson]

thanks for the pic, really settled on this wee awning... looks great on your van.
did you purchase the 'footprint' to protect the groundsheet or what about the 'king poles' to extend the front door to a sun shade ?

My Palm’s arriving on Monday. Ordered from the club shop with VIP discount and free postage it was only £378. Ordered around 2am Thursday morning and processed that day, could have been delivered Friday had we not have been out, super impressive turn around time by the shop.

I have poles already and have never needed a footprint for previous tents/awnings, I only use the groundsheet on grass if it’s cold/wet and not on hard standing at all.

I like to have awnings attached to the wind out awning wound out for extra space and a light airy feel.

 

[BeeBee]

We’ve had our Vango Palm out on a couple of trips now, still like the size etc for our needs but .... Need some advice.... Kador kit when it’s attached (strip and 3 section figure of 8) overlaps at both front end (drivers door ) and rear end (overhangs boot)... has anyone shortened these by cutting Kador strip by about 10 inches and one of the plastic fig 8 pieces too ???

 

[Nick.C]

We bought a Khyam Motordome Dub Hub and the footprint is 3m x 3m plus a 800mm connection tunnel.

View attachment 36195

Khyam do an XL version too, which gives a footprint of 3m x 3.8m with an 800mm tunnel.

The beauty of the dub hub is that they are modular and additional sleeping pods can be added, full panels zipped out and swapped, plus they suit left or right hand installation as there are doors on all sides.

View attachment 36196

As for material, here’s the blurb from their website:

“...150D Ripstop WeatherWeave Pro Polyester with fully taped seams, and multiple polyurethane coatings ensure an excellent hydrostatic performance in excess of 5000mm...”

We bought this awning for the ease of pitching and although I’ve only put it up twice it only takes a couple of minutes to erect...the guy ropes take much longer, but you get that with any awning or tent.

The cons of the Khyam are that as the poles are attached to the tent, so it’s a pig to get back to a packable size and I would imagine it’s difficult to dry after wet weather. Also, the packed awning is quite large and very heavy, so it takes up valuable space in the van.

I should point out that we didn’t want an awning, as instead we wanted a large pop up tent to store our kit, which seems the way to go for speed and space. That is still the long term plan especially when touring in warmer countries, but having said that the awning works really well.

I brought one of these and returned it as I found it very difficult/unstable to erect and even harder to get back in the bag. I only tried putting up and down once though, so perhaps I did not give it a fair shout.

 

[Elly Swanson]

you wont use it - get a tent if you need extra space

For me, not so. I have used all kind of tents and awnings and have used driveaway awnings as tents either disconnected from the van or when camping with one just as a tent (with the tunnel rolled up or with the tunnel pegged out to create a canopy/porch). So a driveaway is more flaxible than a tent.

 

[Elly Swanson]

Has anyone knowledge of this awning Vango Faros Low Drive Away Campervan Awning – 2019

See my evaluation of it in another thread here: https://vwcaliforniaclub.com/thread...d-one-yet-are-they-any-good.29368/post-457360