Outdoor Revolution Driveaway Awning

CalNicRen · May 16, 2023

Hi folk looking for some advice please.

I have a VW California with a factory fitted awning. I recently bought an outdoor Revolution move light T4E PC which I love. My issue is I could only connect it using the straps looped around the awning and it was not tight and kept slipping off. I know there is a 4mm channel but it is under the awning and so if I use this the door hits it when opening. Not sure the cador strip would help this.
Any advice/pictures from anyone that has solved this and managed to fit it properly. I’ve looked at every video I can find on YouTube. I know about cador strips etc but just want to make sure I buy the right stuff and that it will work.

Any help appreciated, thanks all. Callum

GrahamB · May 16, 2023

We have the same awning with cador strip. The big advantage of this is being able to use the wind out awning slightly extended by about 6” to connect, and then take up any slack in the tunnel roof by winding back in. But yes it still hits the driver door (so we don't use that) and the cador is very tight to the top edge of the sliding door as well. Its not perfect, but we live with it because its very good otherwise, especially in hot weather. Even with the tunnel tensioned correctly its hard to avoid water pooling in heavy rain but lifting it in the right spot at each end clears it with a big splash! It stays bone dry inside though. Hope this helps.

yossarian · May 16, 2023

It's a bit of a hack but it works: See the first photo here: https://vwcaliforniaclub.com/threads/connecting-a-drive-away-awning.9435/post-87061

GrahamB · May 16, 2023

yossarian said:
It's a bit of a hack but it works: See the first photo here: https://vwcaliforniaclub.com/threads/connecting-a-drive-away-awning.9435/post-87061

Yeah that is a horrible hack and puts scratches in the awning casing! Also the comment in that thread about making it more ‘driveaway’ is misleading, because you lose the advantage of using the wind-out to tension the tunnel. So its a poor solution imho.

CalNicRen · May 16, 2023

yossarian said:
It's a bit of a hack but it works: See the first photo here: https://vwcaliforniaclub.com/threads/connecting-a-drive-away-awning.9435/post-87061

Hi Mark thanks for reply. I think your second picture is ideal and the intended use but does it not rub on the sliding door? This would definitely be my preference but just worried about it damaging the tent. I suppose the first option guarantees no rubbing.
Thanks for taking time to reply.
Cal

CalNicRen · May 16, 2023

GrahamB said:
We have the same awning with cador strip. The big advantage of this is being able to use the wind out awning slightly extended by about 6” to connect, and then take up any slack in the tunnel roof by winding back in. But yes it still hits the driver door (so we don't use that) and the cador is very tight to the top edge of the sliding door as well. Its not perfect, but we live with it because its very good otherwise, especially in hot weather. Even with the tunnel tensioned correctly its hard to avoid water pooling in heavy rain but lifting it in the right spot at each end clears it with a big splash! It stays bone dry inside though. Hope this helps.

View attachment 108562

Hi Graham, thanks for reply. Does extending the awning by 6” avoid the sliding door rubbing on the tent as my awning drops down significantly once opened. Thanks for taking time to reply. Cal

GrahamB · May 16, 2023

Yes you can do that and it would clear the door but I don’t because of banging my head against it. As you say it drops down. You could use the awning legs to prop it up, but you would end up with a gap at each end by the van sides. Winding the awning back in tightens it to the van and that’s how the door ends are meant to fit. With a kador and fig 8, where there is a bit of contact between the slider and the kador it has not been enough to concern me and no scratch damage.

GrahamB · May 16, 2023

GrahamB said:
Yes you can do that and it would clear the door but I don’t because of banging my head against it. As you say it drops down. You could use the awning legs to prop it up, but you would end up with a gap at each end by the van sides. Winding the awning back in tightens it to the van and that’s how the door ends are meant to fit. With a kador and fig 8, where there is a bit of contact between the slider and the kador it has not been enough to concern me and no scratch damage.

Having said that you can if space allows wind out the van awning fully using the legs - leaving a porch space and then attach the kador/fig8 to the driveaway. This gives a really big shelter in addition to the tent part and has worked well for us in hot conditions. But the downside is losing the side doors and an element of privacy.

GrahamB · May 16, 2023

GrahamB said:
Having said that you can if space allows wind out the van awning fully using the legs - leaving a porch space and then attach the kador/fig8 to the driveaway. This gives a really big shelter in addition to the tent part and has worked well for us in hot conditions. But the downside is losing the side doors and an element of privacy.

This method completely avoids issues with driver and slider doors btw