VW wind-out awning, can it be removed?

[Smiffy4bikes]

Morning all

First post in a while, been browsing for several weeks! Massively informative and friendly forum, well done!

Ok, so, bit of history, I'm a well-seasoned VW camper 'person', having had several air-cooled bays and splits in the past, followed by a T4 California (very nice), and then a lovely T25. Currently driving around in a very nice Mazda Bongo camper, which is perfect as a daily (reliable) driver and weekend day van/camper, however my circumstances have changed and I now find myself possibly being able to finally get myself a proper California, which is insanely exciting!

My budget most likely won't stretch to a new T6 Ocean, however that said I love the look of the T5 SE's, so thats not a major issue. Whatever you buy/drive, it soon becomes a part of the family in my experience

An awning question, many of the T5 SE's I've looked at being sold by the VW dealers have the factory fitted wind-out awning fitted, which a) I probably won't need and b) in my humble opinion slightly spoils the look of the vehicle. Is this something that can be easily removed? Would the dealers be happy to remove it if I didn't want it?

Many thanks, Carole

 

[snowy55]

The wind out awning is held on by 2 brackets underneath the raising roof, so no problem to remove and leaves no visible holes.
The removed awning is also saleable.

 

[2CV67]

We bought our Cali with awning but never used it.
We thought it was a give-away when trying to hide-camp in car parks & it was also (a bit) noisy.
So we decided to take it off & have not regretted it (so far).
Removal was easy.
Remove awning from brackets, then brackets from roof rails.
People warned us we would need to find & use some shorter bolts to block the holes afterwards, but in the end we re-used the original bolts with some plastic washers to simulate the thickness of the brackets removed.

 

[kave]

Might be a good idea to remove it winter time when no camping is taking place for a longer period?

 

[hirsty]

One of the best things about a California (compared to some conversions) is the multirail & being able to take things on & off relatively easily - though you'd not want to do it every weekend, and definitely a two person job as they're very heavy above your head / hanging off an expensive vehicle.

To me it's an essential part of the van experience, but you're right that it marks you out as a Camper rather than a van / MPV.

You could easily sell it on here or via eBay etc, I'm not sure a dealer would knock anything off the asking price of a used one? Maybe negotiate a trade for something more useful to you?

 

[Smiffy4bikes]

Thank you for all your replies, very useful!

I think my best option will be to negotiate with the dealer against something else that I know I will use/need. I don't have anywhere to store it at home and I don't fancy having to fit it and remove it on my own for fear of damaging the van.

Certainly the idea that the van will be less obvious as a camper is an interesting one....

I'm guessing that the awning rail on the van can be used for other things such as a drive-away awning or sunshade. Has anyone on here used the Fiamma 'Caravan Store' blind on their van?

 

[Hotel California]

I think the dealer would not give you a discount compared the value of the awning ,
you would make more money buying the Cali as it is and sell it youself.
Think it would not take long if it is advertised on here....specialy when it's a black awning they will line-up to buy it from you...

 

[bvddobb]

We originally thought we would remove it in autumn/winter and put it back on in the spring, but actually we use it a lot more in winter and spring, but then as a rain/snow shade to get in and out of the van dry when it is raining/snowing, rather than as a sun shade in spring/summer...

 

[2into1]

Buy one with the awning, then store it in the loft once removed. It will help resale value when it comes to sell. I should remove mine for the amount I use it!

 

[ian210]

If you do end up buying a Cali with an awning, I would be happy to help you take it off for you to sell, depending on your location. I take mine off for the winter. I can do it on my own, but it is easier with two people.

 

[Sp0_0k]

So the roof should be fully opened in order to remove it, right?
I can't open the roof in my garage.

 

[Hotel California]

So the roof should be fully opened in order to remove it, right?
I can't open the roof in my garage.

Don't think nesecary "fully" open but at least a bit so you have acces to the bolts...

 

[Sp0_0k]

Can the awning fit inside? If I remove it somewhere outside and drive home with it.

 

[Hotel California]

Can the awning fit inside? If I remove it somewhere outside and drive home with it.

If you wind it in...yes why not

 

[Erbster]

Before I had my Cali lowered, I could only get it in the garage with the awning removed. You have to open the awning fully and remove the bolt at each end. You then (carefully) roll the awning away again. It then just lifts off the clips. Be careful, the lacquer scratches easily.


Charles

 

[Sp0_0k]

So it should be unrolled in order to remove the bolts? Anybody can confirm it please?

 

[Hotel California]

So it should be unrolled in order to remove the bolts? Anybody can confirm it please?

@Sp0_0k , seems you have no starting point at all ? I was thinking you had a general idea of how is goes..

I never actually removed a awning myself but :

There is the possibility to take off the awning by unwinding the awning a bit , then unscrew the awning from the brackets , the screws are visible inside the awning house (don't know out the head witch doh) , the awning stays in place ....
Wind the awning back in fully and lift it off from the bracktes (2-person job )

Then your awning is of but the two brackets are still on ....they are bolted under the roof and therefore the roof needs to be up.

Reminder , if you take the brackets off you need to put the bolts back in place or there's risk of water getting in the holes....
There is mention of shorter bolts as the bracket is missing so the bolts needs to be schorter but i guess putting a rondell inbetween the same size as the bracket would work.


Now i think there is a tread with pictures on how to remove the awning....
Did you look for it , do i need to look it up for you....? That is IF i can find it

 

[Hotel California]

@Sp0_0k ,
Check this out

https://vwcaliforniaclub.com/thread...e-awning-model-7h7-067-801.18051/#post-206585

Have fun!

 

[marchugo]

So it should be unrolled in order to remove the bolts? Anybody can confirm it please?

When you read my howto for mounting an awning "backwards", from the end to the beginning, you can see how unmounting works:

https://vwcaliforniaclub.com/thread...e-awning-model-7h7-067-801.18051/#post-206585

Regards from Amsterdam,

Marc.

 

[Sp0_0k]

@Sp0_0k
Then your awning is of but the two brackets are still on ....they are bolted under the roof and therefore the roof needs to be up.

Ok was just sure it is possible to simply get it off with brackets. Just didn't understand why I need to roll out the awning when unbolting the brackets with raised roof.

 

[Erbster]

It takes less than 5 mins. As per my previous post:
1. Fully open owning
2. Remove the two retaining bolts revealed.
3. Wind awning back in.
4. Lift whole unit vertically upwards (best done by two persons)
5. I left the brackets in place but you could remove them too


Charles