Thule Residence G3

[Amarillo]

After a year's near continuous use, our wonderful Kela III is looking tired. We have no intention to replace it just yet, but we are looking for an alternative for times when we do not need a marquee size space.

We have Comfortz awning panels, but find the Comfortz safari room a little too small for a kitchen area and a dining area for four in wet or cold weather. It also is not weather proof.

This has led us to look at the very expensive Thule Residence G3 for weekend trips away, when the Kela is just too big to be convenient.

Clearly the initial set up takes some time, but once the initial once only set up is complete, how long does it take to put up and to pack away?

What are the packed dimensions?

Compared to the Comfortz Safari Room, it looks like the G3 footprint is about 60cm wider (~15cm at the stern and ~45cm at the bow). 5.2m^2 compared to 4m^2, that is 30% larger. Is this correct?

Is the G3 weather proof?

With the sliding door open, will the diesel heater warm the G3 with any significant effect?


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[CampervanBits]

I am sure someone will be along soon to give some feedback on these, we have sold a fair few this year, proving quite popular and looks really neat

 

[andyinluton]

Amarillo

If you are seriously interested, I will have an as new one for sale shortly once I've cleared a path to it in the garage, complete with a full set of curtains etc. Not sure when you are back in the uk but I'm not in a hurry to shift it.


Used it once last year & probably won't use it this year. To give an accurate indication of size, the side walls fit on the extreme edge of the fabric of the roll out awning & the walls are vertical.

The initial set up includes trimming the aluminium rafters to length etc after that initial set up it is a 10 minute job to put up & down, although you can save time by not putting up the curtains, only using a couple of pegs etc.

You can use just the front panel on its own if you want, & that slides in exactly the same as the comfort one.

The awning comes with aluminium arms that span from the van to the front edge of awning & have a full length clamp to grip the fabric of the roll out & provide a seal on that edge. These Arms have a kador type slot on the bottom into which the side panels slot. This makes a fully waterproof set up with a sealed joint between the roll out awning & the sides. The only water leakage we got was down the front of the seal between the van awning & the van.
With the side arms locked in & ideally a centre rafter (not provided) it makes a very rigid strong structure. Which if pegged down properly should be fine in strong winds.

As you don't need to use all the panels if you don't want to, just putting the sides on & using a drive away awning on the front makes a huge dry useable space.

As to using the heater if you use a fiamma skirt down that side of the van it will keep out the fumes as well as the draughts from under the van. We've never tried heating the awning using the van heater but it cant hurt.

I have seen someone use one to sleep in but they used a pop up tent inside.

For us, although it makes a really nice attached room, its as much of a pain to put up as a driveway awning without the benefit of being able to drive away.
Absolutely great for sites where you park up & don't intend to move, but we tend to go out in the van even if we end up back at the same site at night.

 

[Iron Van]

After a year's near continuous use, our wonderful Kela III is looking tired. We have no intention to replace it just yet, but we are looking for an alternative for times when we do not need a marquee size space.

We have Comfortz awning panels, but find the Comfortz safari room a little too small for a kitchen area and a dining area for four in wet or cold weather. It also is not weather proof.

This has led us to look at the very expensive Thule Residence G3 for weekend trips away, when the Kela is just too big to be convenient.

Clearly the initial set up takes some time, but once the initial once only set up is complete, how long does it take to put up and to pack away?

What are the packed dimensions?

Compared to the Comfortz Safari Room, it looks like the G3 footprint is about 60cm wider (~15cm at the stern and ~45cm at the bow). 5.2m^2 compared to 4m^2, that is 30% larger. Is this correct?

Is the G3 weather proof?

With the sliding door open, will the diesel heater warm the G3 with any significant effect?


Follow my blog: www.au-revoir.eu

I have also been looking at these, please let us know how you get on if you do go for it.

 

[Kmann]

Have you considered the Gybe? It packs quite small, is up in a few minutes and gives some nice extra space. You can even leave it as a drive away awning … I think it is a nice in-between solution, that gives you the best of two worlds.

http://www.gybe-design.com/lifestyle

 

[Amarillo]

Amarillo

If you are seriously interested, I will have an as new one for sale shortly once I've cleared a path to it in the garage, complete with a full set of curtains etc. Not sure when you are back in the uk but I'm not in a hurry to shift it.


Used it once last year & probably won't use it this year. To give an accurate indication of size, the side walls fit on the extreme edge of the fabric of the roll out awning & the walls are vertical.

The initial set up includes trimming the aluminium rafters to length etc after that initial set up it is a 10 minute job to put up & down, although you can save time by not putting up the curtains, only using a couple of pegs etc.

You can use just the front panel on its own if you want, & that slides in exactly the same as the comfort one.

The awning comes with aluminium arms that span from the van to the front edge of awning & have a full length clamp to grip the fabric of the roll out & provide a seal on that edge. These Arms have a kador type slot on the bottom into which the side panels slot. This makes a fully waterproof set up with a sealed joint between the roll out awning & the sides. The only water leakage we got was down the front of the seal between the van awning & the van.
With the side arms locked in & ideally a centre rafter (not provided) it makes a very rigid strong structure. Which if pegged down properly should be fine in strong winds.

As you don't need to use all the panels if you don't want to, just putting the sides on & using a drive away awning on the front makes a huge dry useable space.

As to using the heater if you use a fiamma skirt down that side of the van it will keep out the fumes as well as the draughts from under the van. We've never tried heating the awning using the van heater but it cant hurt.

I have seen someone use one to sleep in but they used a pop up tent inside.

For us, although it makes a really nice attached room, its as much of a pain to put up as a driveway awning without the benefit of being able to drive away.
Absolutely great for sites where you park up & don't intend to move, but we tend to go out in the van even if we end up back at the same site at night.

That is really useful information. I've watched the Thule videos of how the once only setup works and how to put it up. It does look like a really neat design. I was under the impression that the footprint is slightly wider than the awning canopy due to the width of the side arms - is that correct?

We certainly would be interested in a nearly new G3. We are back home, in southeast London, on 15 June and are booked onto the Tenby Meet at the end of June.

I'd be interested to know the pack size. I'm hoping to get weekend packing reduced so that everything fits under the made up Beach bed at night, including the awning room but not bedding. That way we could pack up Saturday night for a quick exit for a Sunday excursion on the way home.




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[andyinluton]

if the footprint is wider than the roll out canopy it could only be a better of millimetres, as the front panel is the width of the awning casing.

The pack size is huge & heavy, I can't get to it at present to measure, Ive got everything in a zip up bag, I know that due to the length of the side arms it won't fit across an SE/Ocean boot but would go in a beach, so in ours we have to move the bench forward to put it in lengthways. at a guess the bags got to be something like 500mm wide & 400 high but I think thats got the awning mat & a bag of decent tent pegs in there as well.

I'll have a look over the weekend & take some measurements.

I know it fits into our Portilo tow bar box if needed & thats 117x60x45 - theres an idea for you? fits onto a special westfalia tow bar bike rack under the vw bike rack.
Its great for carrying wet awnings, wet suits, muddy boots etc that you wouldn't want inside the van.

 

[Amarillo]

if the footprint is wider than the roll out canopy it could only be a better of millimetres, as the front panel is the width of the awning casing.

The pack size is huge & heavy, I can't get to it at present to measure, Ive got everything in a zip up bag, I know that due to the length of the side arms it won't fit across an SE/Ocean boot but would go in a beach, so in ours we have to move the bench forward to put it in lengthways. at a guess the bags got to be something like 500mm wide & 400 high but I think thats got the awning mat & a bag of decent tent pegs in there as well.

I'll have a look over the weekend & take some measurements.

I know it fits into our Portilo tow bar box if needed & thats 117x60x45 - theres an idea for you? fits onto a special westfalia tow bar bike rack under the vw bike rack.
Its great for carrying wet awnings, wet suits, muddy boots etc that you wouldn't want inside the van.

Thanks again.

I've emailed Thule with a request for the pack size - I'm staggered that they don't include this basic information on their website or the PDF instruction manual. The pack size might be a deal breaker for us. The Kela is 780 long with a diameter of 340, and the tent + groundsheet + carpet fit in that. The pump and pegs are in a separate bag.

We have an unused tow bar rack and bag. Carrying luggage externally would be a retrograde step: we have managed to carry all the kit we need for a year (except bikes) internally. The aim now is to fit everything for a weekend, except mattress, bedding, clothing and fridge below the made up bed.


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[VWDrooper]

Have you considered the Gybe? It packs quite small, is up in a few minutes and gives some nice extra space. You can even leave it as a drive away awning … I think it is a nice in-between solution, that gives you the best of two worlds.

http://www.gybe-design.com/lifestyle

Not sure this fits a vehicle with a roll out awning

 

[fozzybear]

Anyone have one of these - saw one in the South of France last year. Looks really good but I am guessing very expensive.

 

[Amarillo]

Anyone have one of these - saw one in the South of France last year. Looks really good but I am guessing very expensive.

At £1,100 it is the most expensive item in the club shop. But if it doubles the living area of our van, at 2.5% of the price we paid for the van, and the intensity we intend to use our van over the coming years, we can justify the price.

My main concern now is the pack size. When I hear back from Thule I'll post the packed dimensions.


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[fozzybear]

I was refrying to the Gype as I can see no down side , although it does not have a groundsheet,

 

[Martin]

I was refrying to the Gype as I can see no down side , although it does not have a groundsheet,

Old thread here about the Gybe, I think it is around £1,400 https://vwcaliforniaclub.com/threads/gybe-awning.4216/

 

[Iron Van]

if the footprint is wider than the roll out canopy it could only be a better of millimetres, as the front panel is the width of the awning casing.

The pack size is huge & heavy, I can't get to it at present to measure, Ive got everything in a zip up bag, I know that due to the length of the side arms it won't fit across an SE/Ocean boot but would go in a beach, so in ours we have to move the bench forward to put it in lengthways. at a guess the bags got to be something like 500mm wide & 400 high but I think thats got the awning mat & a bag of decent tent pegs in there as well.

I'll have a look over the weekend & take some measurements.

I know it fits into our Portilo tow bar box if needed & thats 117x60x45 - theres an idea for you? fits onto a special westfalia tow bar bike rack under the vw bike rack.
Its great for carrying wet awnings, wet suits, muddy boots etc that you wouldn't want inside the van.

Andy,

If Tom doesn’t take you up on your offer, I wouldn’t mind being next in line.

Cheers

Steve

 

[andyinluton]

Andy,

If Tom doesn’t take you up on your offer, I wouldn’t mind being next in line.

Cheers

Steve

Steve
There is already someone else that PM me last night. So you are nr 3 in the queue.
Andy

 

[andyinluton]

Thanks again.

I've emailed Thule with a request for the pack size - I'm staggered that they don't include this basic information on their website or the PDF instruction manual. The pack size might be a deal breaker for us. The Kela is 780 long with a diameter of 340, and the tent + groundsheet + carpet fit in that. The pump and pegs are in a separate bag.


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Simple laws of physics I'm afraid, the beams for the side of the awning are 2m long when made up & are something like 130mm x 100mm , chop them in half & allow a bit for the jointing mechanism & the length of each piece is about 1.15m. you've then got a pile of 4 bits that size.

The fabric is nothing like the comfort awning, its an extremely heavy duty material like used on on the biggest caravan awnings & each panel weighs a fair bit. At a guess the whole lot has to be getting on for 35KG

 

[Amarillo]

Simple laws of physics I'm afraid, the beams for the side of the awning are 2m long when made up & are something like 130mm x 100mm , chop them in half & allow a bit for the jointing mechanism & the length of each piece is about 1.15m. you've then got a pile of 4 bits that size.

The fabric is nothing like the comfort awning, its an extremely heavy duty material like used on on the biggest caravan awnings & each panel weighs a fair bit. At a guess the whole lot has to be getting on for 35KG

Length and weight are not an issue - so long as it fits in the boot, between the wheel arches would be good. But overall bulk does matter.

The user manual shows a picture of the carry bag, which is a nice shape to pack into the van.
https://cdn1.static-tgdp.com/assetl...ence-G3&id=574610&brand=Thule&market=GB&att=1

Still waiting on a reply from Thule. It will probably be Monday now.

Would you want a cash offer, or do you have a price in mind?


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[Iron Van]

Steve
There is already someone else that PM me last night. So you are nr 3 in the queue.
Andy

Thanks, Andy

 

[andyinluton]

Heres the dimensions - the bag could be squashed down little in height or width. The length is fixed due to the size of the beams.
As shown its 1.05 X .50 x .35 thats without an awning mat in the bag.
It could be carefully repacked to get it to 1.05 x .4 x .35 but as the panels are 2m long its easier to fold them in four to get .5m wide rather than faff around to get them back to .4 wide

The bag includes the beams, sides, curtains, pegs & drought skirt.

 

[Verity]

Have you considered the Gybe? It packs quite small, is up in a few minutes and gives some nice extra space. You can even leave it as a drive away awning … I think it is a nice in-between solution, that gives you the best of two worlds.

http://www.gybe-design.com/lifestyle

I just watched the video for that. God, it made me feel old. And fat and wobbly. And very pale. I want to be those kids! How do they afford that lifestyle though? Lucky s**s. When I was young and buff and tanned I couldn't afford a pop up tent, let alone a £50k leisure vehicle. Hey ho.

 

[Amarillo]

Heres the dimensions - the bag could be squashed down little in height or width. The length is fixed due to the size of the beams.
As shown its 1.05 X .50 x .35

Thank you.

I heard back from Thule who gave me all sorts of figures relating to the G3 except for the very specific figures I requested!

In future I think we will be travelling with our tandem on the roof, the G3 can go on the rack with two children's bikes.


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[Charlotterobin]

Hello does anybody happen to know whether a Thule Quickfit 2.60m Large will fit on a T6 please?

 

[Charlotterobin]

Thule have confirmed it will not; only the G3 is compatible