I have one of Lisas porch awnings I think its the one that came after Lobeys type. Its great once its up and isn't as much grief as the Pathfinder awning but it is a pain to put up on your own and near impossible on your own in a breeze. The steel tube of the frame has to be assembled into a big hoop and passed through the fabric of the awning, even with two of us a certain amount of swearing ensues ;o)
So, the prospect of an awning that has no frame work to deal with is very enticing! Ok. so it still has to be attached to the canvas but to be honest as I am over 6 foot I don't find it too difficult.
John - I would be really interested in seeing some photos of your conversion, especially how you have made the transition from a flat topped awning to the pent roof line of the cameper and still managed to keep the awnings sides a close fit to the sides of the camper.
Arthur
I think the trick was to cut the canvas so it had a slight pent on it this means that the canvas takes on the shape of the pent roof leaving the awning straight.
you would probably have to get a zip from tvs and maybe some canvas from them.
you can see from the 3rd picture on my gallery how the top of the awning remains straight.
Hopefully have some better photos when I come back from Devon early May.
Regards
John
Arthur, sounds like you have the Kampa Fiesta one we also had from Lisa and have been using on our caravan until very recently also (now sold to friends who bought our Pathfinder!)
Couple of things to consider:-
1. The Fiesta has the large metal hoop at the front as you mention which can be slid through and the held by the three guys ropes at front whilst you do the rest
2. The Kampa Fiesta is a 350 wide awning and 260 Rally Air will give you much less space. The 390 will be too long I would suggest
3. Kampa now do the Fiesta Air which is same size as your current one at 350cm wide and may be the perfect conversion
I would consider the weight however if leaving zipped on when folding down, the air awnings are heavy - they are also pretty expensive!
For my money I think you will struggle to find something better overall than you have now space and size and weight wise.
PS the Kampa rear poles definitely help keep gaps to a minimum
Kampa Fiesta thats the one! Couldn't think for the life of me what it was called!
I think you are right that the 390 may be a bit too big. That said the 260 would be big enough for us. As it is, I really only put the awning up if the weather is looking grim and having the table and chairs outside may not be an option. It also means that all the wet clothes and muddy boots have somewhere to go.
I see that Vango are also doing an inflatable - might be better suited? Unfortunately I couln't get to any of the shows this spring and so didn't get a chance to see any new arrivals on the inflatable scene.
I realise that the inflatables are expensive but if I'd happily sell the Fiesta and chuck some more money at an inflatable - I really can't face that steel hoop agin :o(
You will certainly find a porch awning easier to manage and once you remove the poles, you can just throw it over the main body roof and fold it up along with the rest of the FC. No need to unzip it when folding up.
Quote: Originally posted by macquatic on 10/4/2014
Ian, you cannot buy an "off the shelf" porch awning for a folding camper.
What needs to be done is convert a caravan porch awning to a zip fastening to fit the Pathfinder. You can also use lengths of "figure of eight" to attach.
You may find one for sale on the ads here or on ebay, preloved etc.
Loads of threads HERE to have a look at.
I converted a Sunncamp Swift 360 last summer.
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Hi
Sorry to bring up an old thread but I am currently looking at the sunncamp 260 porch awning to fit my pathfinder.
I notice you said this is a 360 but I cannot find a 360 ??
Can you confirm it is the 360?
Hi
Thanks for the quick response
I am going to try fitting with the figure 8 loop onto the zip and if that doesn't work I'll get the wife to look at it lol
Looks good set up on yours
Only want it for weekend use as we like the big on for longer stays.
I am still looking at an air type awning although have to admit that I have taken my eye off the ball this summer.
I was very interested to see the pics of your conversion. Any chance of talking me through which awning you have used and what the conversion involved. It looks like you have an extra triangular panel on the top of yourcabin canvas or is that the original cover strip pulled out?
This year has been a complete washout for me and the Pathfinder hasn't moved let alone been put up :o(
Work has been hellish this year with no chance of a let up until Oct 16th when its either all done and I am triumphant or I crash and burn! Still maybe the Indian Summer will kick in just long enough for a few days away in October.
Hi Arthur Dailey, my one isn't a blow up one as just wanted to make it as cheap as possible. I will talk you through it later as at work. But mine is all originally including pathfinder and only thing I did was buy the figure of eights.
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