First Bank Holiday Out

[Lloydfred]

So I picked up my old bus 6 months ago and other than one night trial ouuting, this Bank Holiday will be our first outing. I guess the weather will be rubbish as it always is at Easter.

Over the last 6 months I've gathered everything I think I'll need. I'm looking forward to sticking up my Kampa Travel Pod Air Touring awning sitting back in the pouring rain and sipping a cold one. So here we come New Forest please be kind lol

 

[Sad]

 

[Lloydfred]

Think I need a Cali topper in the south east by Thursday. Anybody know a retailer

 

[Heiney]

If you get one from the club shop, there is an option to do express delivery. We ordered some bits on Friday morning, they were dispatched by the lunchtime and arrived yesterday. Fab service!

 

[CampervanTime]

Ditto that - the club shop can do very quick delivery if you ask them to

 

[Lloydfred]

I called the club shop at 9am When I asked if I could have next day I was told everyone wants next day I can't garanguar it.

I've spoken to him again and placed the order hope it gets here for Thursday

 

[CampervanBits]

Sorry to hear that all i can do is apologise. The shop is running flat out at the moment after one of our busiest weekends so far everyone wants deliveries before easter. Having 2 short weeks doesn't help. We will try our best for everyone who has requested next day delivery

 

[Lloydfred]

Sorry to hear that all i can do is apologise. The shop is running flat out at the moment after one of our busiest weekends so far everyone wants deliveries before easter. Having 2 short weeks doesn't help. We will try our best for everyone who has requested next day delivery

It's fine you guys are great I'm just in a bit of a panic as I don't actually know if my bellows leak and with a 6 year old I'm just trying to cover all the bases.

Ordering the product now if I can find the discount code lol

 

[CampervanBits]

https://vwcaliforniaclub.com/threads/club-shop-everything-vw-california-vip-discount-code.16239/

 

[Lloydfred]

https://vwcaliforniaclub.com/threads/club-shop-everything-vw-california-vip-discount-code.16239/

Thanks order place and thank you

 

[Lloydfred]

Now I've just been informed by my local retailer that Kampa haven't picked the order for my travel Pod Air Touring awning that suits my cali. Kampa have had the order for just over three weeks.

This trip might turn out to be a disappointment.

 

[Lloydfred]

Update:

Yup total disappointment I now dont have an awning for the Bank holiday weekend.

 

[Iron Van]

Update:

Yup total disappointment I now dont have an awning for the Bank holiday weekend.

Why don’t you try Attwoolls, free next day delivery and price match?

https://www.attwoolls.co.uk

 

[Lloydfred]

The retailer has kindly offered me their standard show awning. Kampa say that they have received zero orders for the awning in right hand. This I find hard to beleve as I can't be the only Cali owner in the UK attempting to purchase their product for a right hand sliding door.

 

[andyinluton]

If using caravan club sites a left hand one used on the right hand side works better.

On their pitches the awning has to go to the right of the van so you would normally drive in forwards so the slider is on the right. If you then put up a RHD awning you end up with the front of it facing the trees/bushes/ hedge. Using a LHD awning with the front of the awning at the back end of the van works a lot better.

On the other hand if you don't use Caravan Club sites it probably doesn't make a difference.

 

[Lloydfred]

The Cali has a sliding door on the drivers side, due to being a converted German platform. I sleep with my head to the tailgate so would need the tailgate at the rear with noise pointing out. Then my awning would also have the front door pointing out towards the road. This means the living compartment would also be back within the pitch offering more privicy.

If I use a right hand awning my noise is always pointing out and removes the need to reverse off the pitch. This in my opinion is the safest option as kids often play on the roads.

Or have I got that wrong

 

[andyinluton]

Whether its safer or not, the Warders at Caravan Club sites are there to enforce the rules, The rules are to maintain the spacing between units to avoid the spread of fire.

The rule says if your standing in the road looking at your pitch, you park your car on the left hand 1/3 of the pitch ( tough if you didn't bring one!) your motorhome or caravan in the middle & your awning on the right.

If your accommodation door is on the passenger side, you reverse in Awning goes on the right hand side of the pitch.

If your accommodation door is on the drivers side, you go in forwards & then you can have the awning still on the right hand side of the pitch, but if you've bought the "correct" awning the awning accommodation is nearest the road & the front entrance to it is at the back of the pitch. If you get the "wrong" awning you can have the van nose in but the awning with the entrance at the road end.

Having just googled the awning you are getting, I would have thought you would be putting the van in it not next to it anyway.

 

[Lloydfred]

So if I pitch on a caravan club site with a Right hand awning my front door will be at the rear.

If I pitch on a non caravan club site noise out with right hand awning my front door would be at the road.

I probably won't camp on the caravan sites much as they don't offer anything for my son. So have I ordered the correct awning.

 

[Lloydfred]

This is the image I based my decision to order a R/H awning. If you look at the bottom left the image shows a L/H awning. However the van in the picture is a UK platform and it's slider is on the passenger side.

Our Cali's are a German platform and have the sliding door on the right behind the driver. So to achieve the same as the image shown I need to order a R/H awning. This takes me back to my point that I don't believe I'm the only person with a California or Beach that's ordered a R/H.

 

[andyinluton]

You are totally correct. I was just pointing out that some places wouldn't let you pitch that way round.


You might be the first RH order.
99% of camper vans in the uk are the other way round.

Most people that have a cali don't want a drive away awning, then deduct from the remaining people, those that already have one, then deduct everyone who thinks that particular style is too big to go in the boot etc etc
I would have thought the actual market for them is very small so you could well be the first!

 

[Lloydfred]

You might have a point there.

I purchased the biggest awning I could as I have a 6 year old son. The types of sites we will visit will have lots of activities for him. Therefore I will use my awning as an extended living room. We won't site hop much as we intend to stay a full week on each site over the summer holidays.

 

[David Bailey]

You may be in for a rude shock how large and heavy the packed inflatable awnings are when the parcel force man arrives. We found a skate board a good way to it to the house (like moving a piano), and a pulley system to get it into the van. There is a good chance you may want to send it back at that point....as I suspect many people do.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[Lloydfred]

Standard fabric = 23Kg

Classic Polly-Cotton = 27Kg

 

[David Bailey]

Oh that’s not bad considering the size.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[Skylark2.0]

That's not an awning, it's a garage!
We stay on cc sites a lot and only once have they insisted that I reversed onto a pitch. That was so they could tow us off if needed. 4motion so wasn't going to happen and even then shouldn't be towed.