Has anyone here had an awning altered to fit their caravan? I've phoned our local repairers but they can't quote without seeing the awning. I have my eye on a secondhand one which is the next size up to what I need so I'd like a rough idea before buying it.
Increasing an awining size works quite well but reducing it poses problems. Try Canvas Repair Centre, Burton on Trent, they have done several for me without problems.
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About £80 - £100 depending on the material used for the roof and the amount needed to make the new 'Triangles'
However beware that some awnings have been altered previously and new tags sown in (even if the seller has not realised it). This is probably why the your local repairer would like to see the awning first. Once the 'Triangle' goes over a certain size the roof will look baggy and cause water to lay on it.
As Michael says it is probably cheaper to get the correct size in the first place once you have factored in the running back and forwards to the repairer and the cost of the alterations. Alterations make sense if you already have an awning that needs tweaking to fit a new 'van.
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Our awning is a size too big for the van we have now & someone on here (think it was Tango55?) came up with a very simple, very cheap solution - put the caravan up on levellers. Raising the van by 9cm will increase the size of awning you need by 18cm (9cm each side). We'll be trying it at the end of May.
Theresa, Paul and Dawn had theirs done in Shirley, I'm sure they said it was £150, so quite expensive if you are buying it then paying out on top. They had two triangular inserts put on both top corners.
My parents had their awning extended too, cost £120, I would presume downsizing would be cheaper as you're not having to pay for extra material.
I'm suprised your repairers need to see the awning before quoting, surely if you know the size it is & the size you want then it's a standard price?
You can get some real bargains with 2nd hand awnings, they're a fortune new yet lose so much value considering how little use they have, we bought an "as new" Isabella Awning & groundsheet yesterday off Preloved for £200.
So, worthwhile if I can get one really cheaply, otherwise it'll be best to get the right size. I suppose alterations are more suited to people who already have their awning & just want to re-size it if they change their caravan.
Chris, who in Shirley did Paul & Dawn use? I was recommended a Ringwood Company who gave me a price via email which was the same as other people have mentioned.
Vanessa, let us know how that works out for you. Presumably you'll need blocks under the ccrner steadies too?
Yes it was probably me that suggested the idea of using ramps to gain the extra height as I had to do it myself with a 780 cm. awning as no manufacturer I could find actually made a 770 cm. which I needed.
The advice is not to go by sizes as these can vary between manufacturers and although a Dorema 925-950 is actually a size 12, a Bradcot, Trio, Ventura or Isabella etc. 940 cms. could be a different size so the advice is to always use the awning rail size then you can't go wrong. This is why some people end up buying the wrong size awning on Ebay because they have bought by a specific size number rather than a specific measurement.