Can someone please help a newbie. We've just brought our 1st motorhome (CI Carioca 656) and after our 1st weekend away in it recently we've come to the conclusion that we need an awning to give us a little more space. The question is how do we fix the awning to the motorhome? We have no side rail so do we need to get one or is there another way of securing it. We are open minded as to type of awning, but would prefer drive away. Any help and advise would be appreciated.
There are a few ways to attach an awning depending on your van/preference. We have a Royal Traveller awning that we attach to the guttering area, it has a pole that is then attached to the guttering with clamps.
We also have a rail but tend to use this with a fiamma pull out sunshade and then attach the driveaway on the rear of the van.
If you attach a rail, you will need to get some figure 8 slides so that you can detach the awning and drive off site.
Many thanks for that. I visited towsure yesterday and they suggested screwing an awning rail to the side of my van, can anyone advise on the pro's and con's of doing this please.
if you want one to seat well then you will nead a rail, otherwise it will just flap around and not be good. Cons are holes in the vehicle, but if its done properly and the relvant sealants used then this is not a con.
Many thanks for that. I visited towsure yesterday and they suggested screwing an awning rail to the side of my van, can anyone advise on the pro's and con's of doing this please.
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Depends on the height of your van I suppose. It need to clear the door and if you have a sliding door then in a lot of cases that option isn't practical anyway.
I'd recommend fitting a tidy awning rail(..done properly,it will save you loads of messing about in the long run)...
You could just use the throwover straps,if you used a driveaway awning?..but by having a tidy,sturdy rail fitted you could use any sort of porch awning or tarp..
Personally,I'd be sourcing a one piece length(..of the type that is used on caravans,with the plastic bead insert covering the fixings and plastic end caps),rather than just using a "kit" consisting of several short sections,as is usually sold by the accessory outlets...
with a driveaway you can just throw the awning guy ropes over the roof and peg down on the other side of the van avoiding sky lights and aerials so no extra fixings needed, we use our dogs ball on a rope as a weight to do this which is what we did when first starting out with a driveaway, Although we use an awning rail now. The awning rails have double sided tape on them so you clean the area with degreaser, stick on the rail then go around with a small drill bit drilling and screwing the self tapping screws in, use a drop of sealant on the screw to help prevent water ingress, and also change the screws that come with the rail (made of cheese and rust quickly) for marine grade stainless steel ones.
------------- Regards
Johno
VP and Librarian of the Renault Trafic MK1 Owners group