I feel that many of the water ingress problems of modern caravans are caused by the stresses and strains that are put on the van by the awning being attached to the rail around the roof/side of the van.
Awnings are a big area of cloth and when it is windy, the strain tugging on that rail and consequently the van has to do some damage.
On any caravan or motor caravan that we have had in the past, the first sign of water ingress has appeared along the line of the awning rail.
On investigation I was surprised to see that that rail is attached to the van with no reinforcing what so ever and that both sides of the van use exactly the same sizes of frame or composite boarding.
Compare the strength of a yacht mast to that of a caravan! They both hold material that gets buffeted by the wind yet the former is far stronger and more robust than the latter.
On my caravan the awning is not attached directly to the van. There is a one meter long tunnel between the two and it is only this that causes any strain on the van, the awning being a stand alone unit in its own right. Also this tunnel is attached to the van by 50mm wide Hook & Loop, (Velcro), spreading the load and lowering any strain.
Indeed the only part of the awning that is connected to the van in the conventional way is the skirt across the bottom of the tunnel.
Reading the complaints of folks that write to UKCS pages the majority appear to be caused by water ingress, especially but not always, with second-hand vans.
I feel that this is an area where those that manufacture caravans and motorhomes should be looking at more carefully and start putting “build quality” before fancy furniture.
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Lobey.
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Topic: Attaching an Awning
