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Hi guys,

We've just changed our van and now have loads of under-bed storage so no longer need a full awning and are considering getting a porch awning.

This is a naive question but do they stay waterproof down the sides? Reading on the website it says something about a pad which sits against the van but does the wind move it?

We did try one of the Towsure quick erect awnings last year that are made of tent material, Ultima 260 I think it was called but the sides gaped and there was no way of securing it agaist the van so we took it back.

Thanks in advance

Hi Esther1

Congrats on your new van, not sure about the pads down the side but we have an outdoor revolution porchlite square, cost £69.99 and love it, 10 mins to put up, lets no water in as you tighten it with toggles to get it to sit flush with the side of the van and we can fit our extra large fabric dog kennel in and still have space to kick our shoes off and put our chairs (folded) in.

Hi Esther

We have just got the Outdoor Revolution Compactalite 250 and we are very pleased with it.  First time up it took a while to work out but after that it goes up in 15 mins (including flooring etc) and down in 10, which is just what we wanted.  It does have a toggle system as mentioned above so the sides sit flush with the van and its pretty spacious inside, plenty of room to put table and chairs to sit in, (not just to store) as well as storage for barbeque, wellies etc

We did buy an extra pole to put across the roof on the inside to hold this really taut, as we have discovered rain collects here which isnt ideal if you are out for the day. Also, in high winds the sides do flap against the side of the van, but youre going to find that with any porch awning of this kind I  think.

As for sizing, you'd have to check the height of your awning rail first, then take a careful look at where windows and door is on that side of your van to make sure the door will open ok and windows arent half covered if you dont want them to be.

Anne xxx

Most the porch awnings are for vans height above 235cm so most modern vans they should fit.

You then just put it where you want it,

We have a 3 section porch awning - Sunncamp 390 - it has a bedroom annexe inside for that odd occassion that someone wants to stay and we do not have the full awning up or for storage / changing room (we have teenage girls!). It can be packed away with the bedroom annexe attached also.

We have found it to be versatile and quick to put up. We did have the 260 - 2 section version but found we needed the extra space. In fact the only time we use the main larger awning is when we go away for 2 weeks or more.

To minimise the flapping and gap between the van i always put the peg nearest the van in first, well just under the van really. This makes the sides fairly taught against the van.

I also used two veranda poles from my main awning , as they are adjustable, as upright supports in the two corners of the porch awning close to where the horizontal poles fit into the little pockets. I can then put coat hooks on these and it will take quite a bit of weight with no strain on the porch awning itself, I also found it gave extra stability in heavy rain / winds.

Hope this helps

Andy    

We have the Sunncamp  Ultima 260, quite impressed with it. Stood up to the wind and rain last week.

That it a good tip Andy with the verenda poles    will use that next month.

blondieandi - if it helps our Sunncamp 390 came with two horizontal roof poles one about 2 feet from the awning rail and one about head hheight at the front of the porch awning - this tends to prevent any roof sagging.

Andy