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.
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