Quote: Originally posted by Pyramid Product on 23/4/2006
Hi
My name is Bruce Hunter and I am the chap shown in the pdq awning video and the product was basically my design and I am the MD of Pyramid Products
I would like to answer some or all of the points made if I can
Firstly if anyone has had problems with the pdq or any of our products then you have my sincere appologies and if you would care to contact our customer services on the following address then we will see what we can do about each individual problem
cs at pyramid-products.co.uk
we pride ourselves on a first class customer service record and generally we have a good reputation for our level of customer service (I was searching earlier under 'pyramid' on the '' forum and found several compliments for our previous actions)
However back to the PDQ
The product is primarily designed to be a quick erect weekender type awning
The 2 minute claim is something I firmly stand by in fact if we were just talking about the 'erection' only of the awning then I would probably claim 1 minute as most of the time is spent pegging it down once it has been erected. The key point to all this is that the product remains on the caravan and so to unzip it and spread it out can be done in 30 seconds, the rest of the erection takes place on the inside- ideal if its raining. The video was not meant to be any way misleading and I hope gives a true reflection of the time taken to erect the product. The speedy 'puting down' bit was made to make the video fun and not boring so that you would quickly get to the important bit of showing it always on the side of the caravan.
The material used is lightweight rip stop lightweight nylon, it has to be a lightweight material as it was essential that it didnt add a lot of weight to the awning rail and top of the caravan (only 11 kilos) thats also the reason why we opted for a more expensive alloy frame as apposed to steel. The material is tried and tested and is the same as used on most of the new range of mini awnings and the vast majority of tents sold throughout the world. This particular version is 2000mmhh which means it can technically withstand 2 metres of water on it without permutation.
Price
The product is offered for around £170 which does not include an awning skirt, we didnt include one as we assumed that most customers would be buying the pdq as an addition to their canvas awning and would therefore have one.
I might be opening a can of worms here but please dont forget with the price that out of the £170 you will have paid, £25 goes to the government in VAT, around £55 goes to the dealer that sold it to you around £45 goes to the supplier in china and £10 in duty and carraige not leaving a lot for us as inventors and distributors.
INSTRUCTIONS
We appreciate that the original instructions were not too detailed, on the last batch we have amended them into a two page document, we will be posting the extra page on our website very soon for anyone who has only got the one page version. The folding up operation is very simple, its not shown too clear on the video but the two corners are folded into a square and there are clips or velcro or something on the corners to aid this, it was over a year ago when I designed this and I cant remember the detail, only to say that it can be formed into a square prior to rolling back up.
Incidently we were asked why the product is tapered ie 3.5m at rear and 2.5m at the front - thats to aid the rolling up process and to stop a situation fo having two bumps in the bag where the sides are rolled in which woudl happen if it was square.
Rip on side
One of the problems which we picked up very quickly and we added to the second page of instructions is that there is a tendancy for a customer to pull the nylon awning material along the awning rail instead of the leathercloth bag. This particulary happens if the customer isnt 6 foot+ tall as most of us are not. PLEASE only pull the leather cloth bag when putting onto the rail and never pull the awning material as you may cause a tear, it helps to use a pair of steps and move them along as you go. Dont forget you only need to do this once if you are leaving the product on the caravan. ALSO it is important to use an awning skirt to stop wind getting under the caravan. As mentioned before we didnt supply and awnign skirt with the product and this would have put the price up but we can supply one direct to anyone that wants one for £10 inc carraige
ZIPs
We have had a lot of complaints about the zips being on the wrong way around which we will amend on future products but those wont be available for some time. It was designed like this to stop 'riding up' caused by wind but we have now realised that it is more important to open from the bottom. A simple solution for getting into the awning is to tie a lanyard on the zip toggle so it can be pulled from lower down. Alternatively we can sell a 2foot long metal handle for the zip toggle price of this is £10 a pair incl carriage.
We are offereing both the awning skirt and handle as a service at cost and not for making any profit, we do not normally sell to the public.
Water in the storage bag
With most awnings and tents cotton is used to sew bits together, the holes in the sewing process can initially let water in but SHOULD swell up over a short time (once used) and close the holes. If this doesnt happen then an awning seal adhesive can be used to block the holes. If anyone has this problem we will gladly send a tube FREE OF CHARGE to any PDQ awning owner just contact our cs department at the address above.
Central Roof Pole
Yes the product has one central roof pole, this was found to be quite adequate in all the tests we did AS LONG AS the two heavy duty storm straps (supplied with the product) are used. The two storm straps have a breaking strain of 250 kilos and are essential for the products stability.
I hope this covers all the points and PLEASE appreciate this isnt a canvas full size awning and is not meant to be a replacement for those products. I see this as an ideal weekend product and to stop those arguements that happend when the wife wants the awning putting up NOW.
Incidently I am working on a auxilary awning rail which will attach below the caravans own awning rail so that the PDQ can be kept on the van at all times but if you are wanting to put up your full size awning then you would still be able to do so without removing the pdq.
One final point to anyone is that if you do have a problem with our company or any of our products then PLEASE be cival and not snotty, yes I know we have had some of your money and you deserve a quality product and service but if we can work on any problem together then it makes for a much quieter and relaxed life.
regards
Bruce Hunter
Hi Bruce,
well bought ours just two months ago, went to Hereford in all that bad weather rain and strong wind, the only thing was it did leak at first on the seams relating to the rail,and at the front,but after a couple of days everything was fine suppose this is weathering same as a nornal tent, to cure the storm problem being ex campers for extra strength we put a storm pole either side from the front going down towards the van and anchored them down with pegs, they only get used in bad weather. other than that we are as pleased as punch with it, also someone said there are no tie backs for the entrance but there are!! what do some people want i.e for the money and weight. Just one other thing why is there no pole to attach to the centre pole to enable the front canopy to hold it taught? although it's not a major prob. it would be cosmetically nice. had no probs with towing and banging about either even on the motorway
Cheers yvonne
Topic: Got my PDQ
