New Awning/Tent

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We have a Thule awning fitted to our caravan.  We had it fitted at the dealers just before we picked up the caravan.  It was fitted by John Rose of Poole, butcher will fit all over the country.  He came up to the Midlands to fit ours.  I can't recommend him highly enough.  It's not cheap, but it is a good quality product - I guess thou get what you pay for.

Ours is the 6200.  It fits to the roof of the caravan and winds out.  We also have the 'room', but, to be honest, we tend not to use it as much these days - the roof alone is often enough for us.  It is more difficult to put the sides in, but I understand you can get a sort of 'tent' that clips underneath the roof, as an alternative.  Like any awning, the most difficult bit is the pegging out, IMHO.  I'll put some pictures of ours below.

Rose awning will be at the NEC in February, so if you are still interested, it might be worth going along for a chat. if you're going to the show anyway.

David

 

The user and all related content has been Deleted User

With our Thule awning if staying at a site for extended periods summer or winter(as next week)we can use our lightweight Isabella porch awning as usual, which also allows our windout roof mounted Thule to be extended over the top to give extra protection

That's one of the advantages of the roof mounted Thule.  Should you want to choose to put up a traditional awning or porch awning, a roof mounted Thule leaves the awning rail free and accessible.

David

We have a sun canopy, similar to the one shown above. It came with the sides and front when we bought our motorhome. We have had 2 attempts to out it up, very fiddly and heavy, you need steps too! In 11 years we have never used it, it lives in our loft. We have never even said it would be useful. You can buy very lightweight privacy shades, ?lilypad? Which you can buy later if you feel the need.

The canopy on the other hand is useful, shade, rain cover. We never leave it out overnight or when we go out, we have seen the damage it can cause if the wind gets up.

My advise would be to have the canopy not the sides to make a room. Reasons weight, they will eat a huge amount of a possibly very limited payload. Try it without, you can always buy later if you decide they're a must. If you intend on touring you can't drive off without taking it down 😉.

If you're buying a new motorhome get it weighed by the dealer when you are there, with you both in it, check the allowances the manufacturer has used for fuel and freshwater and work out your remaining payload. There maybe very little left over for clothes, bedding, food, outdoor table and chairs etc all essential for trips, on the latest ones! Ask the weight of the sides and that may help your decision making!

 

Is yours a Thule, Bakers2?  We frequently leave ours out over night, but not without pegging it. You can peg the bottom of each 'foot', and it has two very substantial ,'storm' straps - one at each corner.  We always use the additional roof bars too.

Like Deleted User User, we only put our sides in if we are staying for a longer period, and we always carry the awning bits and bobs in the car.  When we bought out caravan we upgraded the weight plate straight away, which covered our awning and motor mover.  Anything large/heavy, we tend to carry in the car these days.  Apart from the weight, I find it easier to fetch things out of the car than from underneath the beds.

David

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Ours is a Fiamma. We have guy ropes, pegs for the legs and storm straps, but dont use them. Ocassionally we put a peg in the feet but if its enough to warrant that we wind it in. Plus were a motorhome so like to make a quick getaway 😂😂

We did have one occasion when we took the awning down at 2am when it got very stormy, but I reckon we could have got away with it....  😀😀

David