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i am after a awning for my van, but dont want to spend the earth on the canvas ones as only plan to have this van for this year and sell and get a new one, i am looking at the lightweight awnings made out of tent material, i like the outdoor revolution ones, have got a outdoor revolution utility tent and that stood up to horrific weather last year,

also need to have a inner sleeping tent for 2 people when my niece and sis come to vist, we will be staying on site for 4 weeks in aug, so will be up all that time, plan to use it to cook in and for the kids to mingle when the weather is wet, so has to fit 3 kids aged between 6-9 and the clutter they take with them, ie table for putting tv on, wardrobe for their clothes.

not asking to much am i?? any one got any good recommendations.

sorry about the ??'s i am a single mum so money is tight.

I guess if you use search you'll throw up all of the usual options which seems to break down too:-

2nd hand established/canvas awnings - sound like you're not after these OR

Modern tent style fabric with steel/fibre glass pole porch awnings.

Given you're probably after the second (as they're between £150 - £250 brand new) then these tend to come labelled as xxxxx 260 e.g. Sunncamp 260, Panama 260 etc, or xxxxxx 390 with the 260 and 390 being the respective widths. Do a search and you'll find plenty on them including all the pro's and con's.

I suspect you'll be able to pick up a second hand one very cheaply.

look on here

We have the Sunncamp 260, its 8' x 8' and suits us. It seems to stand up to wind well. The 390 version, 12' x 8',  may suit you. You can get a clip in bedroom for a double or 2 singles for about £20. They do lose headroom as you get further from the van, but I don't find it limiting and I'm 6'4"; don't forgret it's 8' high by the van.

The vertical joint between the awning and van can flap in the wind, but I find by adjusting it I can stop it, nevertheless, it may be considered draughty to sleep in as it doesn't seal to the van like a full awning does.

A full awning is a better bet if you really want to do so much in it. They seal properly and thre's no chance of rain getting in through the open joint. Dont forget, any porch awning does not seal against the van and driving rain will get in so some extent. You may get one 2nd hand, many dealers have stacks of them.

We have the sunncamp vision XL porch awning, its big but you cant sleep in it.

http://www.springfield-camping.co.uk/SunnCamp/Vision+XL/557/pc

Were not interested in a full awining, cant be bothered to put a big thing up, time and effort for us is best spent with the kids. Our awning was cheap (we managed to get it for £99 when it was on offer and the first time we put it up with no instructions (I lost them, doh!) it took 10 mins tops!

It serves our need in giving us the extra space we want but we do know that in years to come the kids will want to sleep 'outside'. If we still have this awning, we would simply buy a pop up tent and let them sleep in that.

micky, do you f ind it cold to sleep in the inner tent, the feedback i am getting is swaying me towards a full awning, but the cheapest i have found is 300.00, as i need a 910cm awning, that is a awul lot of money when i plan to buy a new van next year, will phone around dealers to see if they have 2nd hand ones in stock.

have seen some lightweight awnings that come with skirts to stop the drafts.

thanks keep the opions coming. 

just looked at the suncamp 390 looks like its perfect for what i want, anyone got one.

Hi

we were lucky enough to find a fantastic awning for our van on ebay and paid £300 which new would have cost over £1000. The guy had it all laid out for us with the poles to inspect when we came to view it and it still had the instructions in the original bag!

Its all complete, has been looked after brilliantly and looks like new

My advice - have a look at the second hand ones and you will be sure to pick up a bargain if you look hard enough.

We've just bought the Kampa Rally 390 with the extra uprights to seal it against the van.  Haven't had chance to use it yet but it came well recommended & we had a good look at one last year whilst we were away.  We've also bought the inner tent for when DS(14) wants a bit more privacy & his own space.

I'd definately go for a 390 sized awning if you want an inner tent 7 still have room for the kids etc...

We have got the Kampa Rally 260 and pleased with it. The rear poles help to make a tight fit against the van.