I am on the look out for a full awning but, just like caravans and tow cars, there are so many to choose from!!
The van we are getting just has a pull out sunshade type of awning but we will need a full one to satisfy our requirements on our week holidays.
We have an extremely small budget due to not anticipating buying a van and car so soon. i know we will get what we pay for and if we buy a cheap one will more than likely be buying another one a couple of years down the line!
We need something that isn't too heavy. I believe the measurement is 999cm. I have seen the Dorema Daytona and the Outdoor Revolution New England. I assume I would need one with alloy poles as steel would be heavier.
Does anybody have any experience with either of these please, or could you recommend another one that is down the budget end?
Thanks ever so much. The closer it is getting to picking our van up, the more apprehensive I am becoming, even to the point of wondering if giving up my tent was the right thing to do!!
------------- Center Parcs April 2015
Chestnut Meadows Bexhill August 2015
Once in lifetime trip to Florida Oct 2015!!!
I have the Daytona. We have the steel poles as our van is on a seasonal pitch so the awning stays up all season. We have been very pleased with ours - easy enough to put up and still looks good after being up for six months in all that last year threw at us. We also managed to pick up an annexe to fit it off Ebay.
If your budget is tight, you could look for secondhand. Lots of people sell their awnings because they part ex their vans and need a different size. We previously bought a Dorema awning in almost new condition for our last van for £125 off Preloved.
There are some really nice awnings on ebay. People tend to sell them at this time of the year when they upsize or downsize their caravan and find their awning no longer fits.
If you type in 'awning' in the search box, then use the drop-down filter to search by 'Distance: Nearest First', you should be able to view the ones that are located nearest to you at the top of the list.
Some sellers will post awnings, but it tends to be a bit expensive because of the weight. Other sellers will state that they are 'Cash on Collection Only'.
Given a choice, I'd always rather collect an item, so I can do a visual inspection before I pay over any cash, because you never really know if one persons idea of 'very good condition' is the same as your idea' of 'pretty poor condition'.
------------- 2015 - our 1st year of caravanning with a new baby. Can't wait! :)
Google Gumtree and Preloved also and search on there. Upside of these sites is you don't get into a bidding war, downside is that people don't always update it when the item is sold. But I've successfully bought (and sold) a couple of awnings on these places with no negative experiences. Personally, I always go for the steel poles for strength- doesn't matter where you go or what season it is, the past couple of years should have taught us to always be prepared for unseasonal weather. We were in Somerset last April and were the only outfit with an awning still standing (or even present!) and which had not damaged the van. Your choice in the end though!
We have a Daytona which we bought second hand. It was in amazing condition and we have been very happy with it. If you're not happy with ebay etc some caravan dealers sell 2nd hand the ones they have taken on part ex with vans. Also there is an on line dealer,can't remember name at moment but have a good look round and hopefully you'll grab a bargain. Don't panic about changing to a van. We traded in our FC last year and have absolutely no regrets!! Have enjoyed trips in October, at Xmas and just last week in the snowy depths of Cannock Chase all of them warm, cosy and dry....great fun.
We bought one off Pre-Loved but it was 160 miles away. The simple solution was to look at several in the same area by taking the van there and travel round the locations by car, not more than 1hours drive, then spend the rest of the day at the local city.
------------- Some days you are the dog,
some days you are the tree.
Hi , I brought a ex demo outdoor revolution New England awning late last year , for the price I paid I cannot fault it.
I am now after a tall annexe for it for when we go to Devon later in the year , it has steel poles these get put in the car when we go away .
sorry it has taken so long to reply. Thanks for all of your advice. I have been keeping an eye out for a second hand awning but not much luck as yet.
I have been doing some research on poles too as my local camping store recommended steel for permanent annexes and fibre glass for touring. He said fibre glass wins over alloy every time but I am not sure if he was saying this to get the extra pennies out of me!!
If I can't find a second hand awning and we end up going for the Dorema Daytona, which we rather like the look of, would it be wise to go for fibre glass on a size 14? My husband is thinking the awning would be too big and too much weight behind it for fibre glass to hold up?
Just wondered what your thoughts on the poles are. we don't have a lot spare so don't want to go wrong if we do go down the new awning route.
thanks xx
------------- Center Parcs April 2015
Chestnut Meadows Bexhill August 2015
Once in lifetime trip to Florida Oct 2015!!!
Our last awning was a Dorema with steel poles and our current one is a trio with Fibreglass poles. The current one is 1025-1050 size and I have no worries about the poles being strong enough. They are lighter than steel poles but not by as much as I expected. They are also bulkier the fibreglass poles being thicker.
Some where else you asked the question about the size of the awning. Our last caravan had an awning rail that was 1001cm and the dorema awning was 1000-1025cm if I remember correctly. We would have been better off with the size smaller I think.
Final question do you need a full size awning? Ours only tends to go up for the summer holiday. Have you considered a large porch awning. Lighter cheaper and quicker to put up something like this in the 390cm size is quite big Porch awning The company in the link is where we got our trio awning from and we were happy with the service
I hadn't considered a big porch awning actually but that could be the way forward. We have three holidays booked this year of a week each. The awning would need to be used to store four bikes overnight and our table and chairs, so the children don't eat in the caravan, lol!!! I didn't realise quite how big the porch awnings were.
it is a bit of a pain that the van measures 999/1000cm as it is such an inbetween number.
off to investigate porch awnings now ....
thanks
------------- Center Parcs April 2015
Chestnut Meadows Bexhill August 2015
Once in lifetime trip to Florida Oct 2015!!!
I'll second eBay as I brought myself a very nice Dorema Madison awning with sunshade for £72 a couple of years ago. The great thing is I can use the sunshade on it's own or the full awning or both together if needed.