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Anyone else got one of these?

Along with friends we bought two from a well known and previously reliable dealer.

We set off for our Easter break and got set up, setting out our usual awning interior stuff, and friends set up theirs to accommodate family who were due to arrive next day to stay, sleeping on camp beds in their awning. It rained on and off that evening quite late while we were having a late supper and a dram, and when we opened the caravan door we found that everything in the awning was soaked. The awnings leaked at the seams around the awning rail tape and the seams above the windows and had dripped in so many places we didn't have enough basins to catch it all.  

Luckily it wasn't windy, as both awning skirts were almost a foot too short, but we'd blocked off the gaps with folded up plastic tables.

We moved everything out into the boot of the car, then noticed that the roof was sagging and pooling water really badly at each side of the centre pole, and despite trying to stretch the awning tape (narrower by 75mm than the rest of the material) and numerous attempts at re pegging we couldn't get the awning to sit properly. I rose twice during the night to shove the water away from the sagging roof, as did our friend and luckily the rain wasn't too heavy and by 4am had stopped and we had some rest. In the morning we managed to get some of our kit dried out, but the flooring mats we use on top of our groundsheet carpet were sodden.

Our friend called his guests and told them that their stay would have to be called off, then called the dealer who insisted that “All awnings have to go through a process of weathering, this means that the awning has to get wet 2-3 times on order for the fibres to fuse together to create a waterproof seal. Because of this we would be unable to accept them back as they are not faulty….” this despite the claim on their advertisement that the awning was "made from 185T RIPSTOP polyester fabric and is fully waterproof".

Day two was the same; whenever the rain came we had the basins out again to catch the drips, and the dealer's suggestion now was that they would send out repair tape to patch the leaks, a repair solution to a new item! But they did state “If the problems persist after this, please do not hesitate to contact us”.

So, we took on board their comments and gave them the benefit of the doubt, and by day five we were still getting water in when it rained, and still having the pooling water on the roof, and decided that rather than waste the rest of our holiday we'd buy something to replace the Horizons and put them up. 

Neither of our replacements (two different brands) gave any problems over the next few days and nights, despite a typically Scottish downpour which lasted for most of 24 hours. Others on the site were quite surprised at the amount of water getting through as their awnings were fine, and one or two suggested contacting the suppliers, and when we told them what replies we’d had were equally surprised as they had used the same supplier with very few quality or service issues in the past.

Over the years we've probably had nearly a dozen each of differing types and sizes with the various caravans we've both had, and none have given us as much hassle as the Horizon.

 We use our awnings quite a bit when we're away and have had no problems at all in the past despite being away in thunderstorms, snow and wind, all things you'll find in any Scottish summer!

I emailed 22 photos to the company who supplied the awnings and suggested that the manufacturer had really let them down on quality and that we didn't blame them as we didn't think they had had time to test them as they were on back order and despatched to us whenever they came into the country from Asia.

I was assured that Customer Services would look at the photographs and that their representative would “personally look into it myself on Tuesday and contact you as soon as I can with information regarding this problem”.

 I’ve heard nothing whatsoever since, and so far the company's only reply has been those we had repeating that a wetting and drying period is required, and that as far as they are concerned the awnings are fit for purpose despite the obvious problems that the material has been tailored wrong, hence the pooling of water in the roof, and the inadequate length of the awning skirt.

I notice that the dealer's website now shows that both the Horizon 260 and it's bigger 390 version are 'Sold Out' until mid May.

I wonder if they've just been withdrawn from sale until they sort out the quality control problem, or if they have actually sold all of their stock are we the only two to have these issues?

I’d be interested to hear from anyone else who has had issues with their Riviera Horizon awnings.

........and another late this afternoon, with an offer of repair tape and sealant and pitching advice. I explained that we'd tried re-pitching and adjustments to no avail and that we were forced to buy alternatives to see us through the rest of our hoiliday and that one awning is fine, but two are unneccesary.

Hopefully they'll see sense and reimburse us and have their manufacturers make amendments to the design and improve their quality control.

I pulled our caravan out of the drive and parked it on the grassy area across the way and put our awning up this morning as we were forecast rain and did as the dealer suggested, and got soaked doing so of course! They asked that I try this; 

".. the nylon strips that go along the ring and pull section for the poles to go into, if you make sure these are as short as possible so you can peg the poles down closer to the caravan, this should solve the problem of the material dipping at the top."

Sadly it's no better and pooling water on the roof sections either side of the centre rib, and still leaking badly. I've got it down and hanging in the garage to dry off again ready to repack, and the caravan parked again in the drive. 

All that work for nothing! Grrrrrrrrr.

Our friends have a bought an Ultima, and it's fine and pitches a treat with no pooling on the roof, while we got a Windsor (for the colour) which also proved to be watertight and trouble free. Both were a bit dearer. Maybe it's just a bad batch of Horizons the dealer bought in?

I'm dissapointed that the dealers seem to be dragging their feet with this problem though they are keeping in touch, but only making suggestions and don't look as if they'll take them back. General concensus of opinion among club members and others on the site at the time is that they're faulty in build, but the dealer does not seem to think so, despite seeing the photos.

We have a full awning for longer periods away, but the porch awnings seem handy for short breaks, which is why we got them to try them out.

We paid around £110 each plus postage for the Horizon awnings, and that's money wasted as we had to buy replacements, or spend the rest of the holiday with all our awning stuff in the car. I had intended to place an order with the dealers for some items for our summer holiday as we'll be in the other side of the country this year but I think I might be best shopping elsewhere if this is how they are treating customers. Trouble is that they've been fine in the past and we've bought stuff from their shop, making a point of visiting when we're on holiday to do so as they are well priced and have a good selection, and it's not far from the M6 so it's an easy stop off.  

Well, my faith in human nature, and in folks who I give my hard earned money to is restored! Apologies all round for being so pessimistic in my last posting; but I thought we were getting the brush off (like we've had before not a million miles from where I sit!), but not so.

We got an email from the dealers this afternoon confirming that they'll be having the awnings collected and issuing a refund. Just as I thought of a company who understand their customers. They'll get it back anyway in goods we're in need of.

Thank goodness there are some dealers out there who are loyal to their customers and see that giving value for money and customer service is a wee bit more than just taking our money! Let's hope their Asian manufacturers play the game and get their QC issues sorted out and apologise to the dealers for the mistakes.

Thumbs up to Alaina at Customer Services and her directors. 

I read your post and accepted that, for what I was paying, this was not going to be the best porch awning - no kiddin! Water poured through the 'fully waterproof' material which makes it more or less useless if you were planning on avoiding the mud in your caravan or storing anything in it - other than ducks. It also arrived faulty - missing rings that were needed for settup of the poles and then parts of it pulled free of the stiching on setup which lead to instant collapse which tells me that there is no quality control as these things would have been spotted.

From a design point of veiw you also will want to consider the following - it has no back poles (usually standard in porch awnings) so there is no support for the sides against the caravan ensuring they flap in the slightest wind. This means that it is very gusty in the awning and puts pressure on the setup which it is not strong enough to with stand (you only have to see it to realise this will not last long at all) and, I would guess, it will soon fray from the constant rubbing - not to mention the noise. Better quality (I am only talking about spending an extra £50) will also give you cushions that run down the sides against the caravan which stop this flapping and protect the caravan - in addition to the poles. The doors are annoying - you have to open and close the fly screen and then the door seperatly - the zips cannot be connected. Then the material is so weak that it flaps about whenever you open the door (this is in normal good conditions) and is easy to catch when stepping in and out of the awning. Both these problems will be increase significantly if you have children - and are likley to lead to the awning being ripped.

We have only been caravaning for a year (this is our 12 trip altogether) but I have learned that going cheap does not work....what can I say, I had a mad moment with this, it was just after Christmas, we were a bit skint..... DON'T DO IT. It is just so annoying when you end up having to store, in the back of the car or in the caravan, everything extra that you thought you could bring because you now had a porch awning. Not to mention dealing with the return and refund. The email has gone off to the company and, judging from the original post, I will start preparing the one for Trading Standards. In the mean time I will look for a second-hand old fashioned sort of porch awning - you know, the type that looks like a mini version of the full ones. You might also want to consider the comments from the people running the site where we were staying (so kind - they even refunded the money I paid for having an awning!) - she has never seen one of these 'new' style porch awnings that has made it.

we were away easter weekend and this is the 1st time it has leaked in maybe 4 weekends away with it and it wasnt even right heavy rain no pooling on roof but leaking once it toched the cross poles on inside and leaked down onto the curtains which were rolled up and also where any ties were attached to it,not very waterproof just as well we didnt have the interior material used for kids sleeping in the awning.