Sun Canopy
- Thread starter Dave Potts
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- awning
I think you’re looking more at an enclosed full awning rather than a sun canopy. No opensided sun canopy will stay up in a “hoodie”.
Salty, Again thanks. I hear what you say about the 'hoodie' (bloody autocorrect) but some might be better than others and I suspect the reimo is an other! Just for info, I will also be getting a full blown driveaway this weekend. Not sure what yet but it will probably be a Vango Kela or Vango Galli Compact.
Spag, Thanks also to you. I agree that an airbeam awning would work well and, probably better than one with poles but TBH their weight and bulk (even one tube) kind of goes against my aim of getting a light and not too bulky solution for a quick stop off somewhere (ie . one night).
Spag, Thanks also to you. I agree that an airbeam awning would work well and, probably better than one with poles but TBH their weight and bulk (even one tube) kind of goes against my aim of getting a light and not too bulky solution for a quick stop off somewhere (ie . one night).
It’s a fair point. Nothing at the moment, but it’s something I need to work out. I may cut the figure of 8, and stitch it to the main canopy. I need to speak to one of my wife’s friends, who’s handy with a sewing machine.
I have a stitches and steel v4 awning that is dome shaped and frequently camp on the north coast of Devon and Cornwall with the awning out in all types of nasty winds and not once have I had to take it down because of the wind speed. Excellent bit of kit but not cheap.
V4 Vision Tech Awning + Poles
Sorry to have taken so long to come back on this one but I thought that I would post an update. Thinking that I had made up my mind on buying the Debus canopy, I gave some more thought to the Vango Airbeam as mentioned by Spaghettiboy78. Although it seemed a bit bulky / heavy when reading the spec, I reasoned that once the pump had been taken out of the equation , it probably wouldn't be much more of a burden that any 'conventional' canopy with steel poles etc. and, given that I have now got a Vango Kela, I had to take a pump anyway! I therefore ordered one from Funky leisure and it arrived on Tuesday. Excited to play with a new toy, I unpacked it yesterday afternoon, slotted it into the rail and went to plug the pump into the valve only to find that although the valve 'casing' was there, it didn't't have any actual valve mechanism inside it (hope that makes sense). I therefore spoke with Funky Leisure and emailed a picture and they are trying to sort it out with a deadline of Saturday as we are off in the new van from Sunday until the following weekend.
Spaghettiboy78. Although I made the comment about what to do with the extra 40mm of awning strip on the SWB van, from my brief look before I took it off to repack, I reckon that a couple of small but strong neodymium magnets would probably hold the surplus in place towards the back of the van. As and when I get my replacement, I'll try it out and report back.
Spaghettiboy78. Although I made the comment about what to do with the extra 40mm of awning strip on the SWB van, from my brief look before I took it off to repack, I reckon that a couple of small but strong neodymium magnets would probably hold the surplus in place towards the back of the van. As and when I get my replacement, I'll try it out and report back.
That’s what I’m planning to do this weekend. I may do something more permanent going forward though. Be interested to get your impression on the canopy (when you get the valve!)
Further to my post above, a new 'airbeam' tube arrived yesterday morning and I've installed it but won't now be able to try the awning itself until we are away next week - I will report on my impressions when we get home. That said, if it's as good as the customer service that Funky Leisure and Vango gave in sorting out the problem, I'll be well satisfied. Everybody involved went out of their way to help and Rachel at FL deserves a particular mention.
Spaghettiboy78. In the bag along with the rock pegs and repair kit were two thin 7" steel pegs with a round eyelet bent at a right angle on the top. Do you (or anybody else) know what they are for please? Thanks in advance.
Spaghettiboy78. In the bag along with the rock pegs and repair kit were two thin 7" steel pegs with a round eyelet bent at a right angle on the top. Do you (or anybody else) know what they are for please? Thanks in advance.
Glad you got it sorted. I have two of those pegs and I use them for the eyelets in the strap that goes along the ground between the air beams. It stops them lifting or splaying.
Enjoy!
I thought it would be worth reporting back to close this one off. We had last week in North Devon and used the Vango Airbeam Sun Canopy on the last afternoon and night away. As soon as I put it up and pinned it down, I was impressed with the general quality of materials and it certainly seemed to be reasonably strong once up as it uses a couple of nylon webbing straps plus the usual guylines to keep it on the ground. We were in an exposed spot overlooking the beach (North Morte Farm if it means anything to anybody and also highly recommended) and whilst I can't go as far as to say that it would stand up to a Force 8 we did had some strong breezes in the afternoon and after checking that things weren't going top get much worse, I was happy to leave it up overnight. All in all, I'm very happy that I went for it and would recommend one to anybody else in the market for such a thing.
Spaghettiboy78. You might be interested to know that my idea of using a couple of strong magnets to hold the excess material on to the car worked a treat.
Thanks for all your contributions and suggestions. As a newbie to this camper van lark, they were much appreciated. All I've got to do now is sort out the bloody DVLA to get the van re-registered as a 'Motor Caravan' as I'm one of many who have been turned down in the last couple of months (there's an increasingly long thread elsewhere on the forum about that). Two words for now: DVLA & b'stards
Spaghettiboy78. You might be interested to know that my idea of using a couple of strong magnets to hold the excess material on to the car worked a treat.
Thanks for all your contributions and suggestions. As a newbie to this camper van lark, they were much appreciated. All I've got to do now is sort out the bloody DVLA to get the van re-registered as a 'Motor Caravan' as I'm one of many who have been turned down in the last couple of months (there's an increasingly long thread elsewhere on the forum about that). Two words for now: DVLA & b'stards
Glad it’s worked for you.
I’ve been using magnets on mine to fold back the excess fabric and it’s all good, ta!
I’m going to get a friend to narrow the canopy where is meets the van so it’s the correct width but until then it’s been good. Not been too bad in torrential Welsh rain too!
I’ve been using magnets on mine to fold back the excess fabric and it’s all good, ta!
I’m going to get a friend to narrow the canopy where is meets the van so it’s the correct width but until then it’s been good. Not been too bad in torrential Welsh rain too!
Resurrecting an old thread - we have a T6 SWB camper, with a Reimo rail, and would like a sun canopy, on the off-chance the sunmight shine on one of our UK trips. But it would also be handy to have something to stop the rain coming into the van, as it always seems to. It must be easily fitted and dismounted, as for us, 'less is more', and we want to be able to up sticks and leave with the minimum of faff.
Have looked at the Kiravans, and Stitch & Steel canopies, but think something simpler and smaller would do us better - and would be cheaper. So have also been considering the Debus Sun Canopy, and the Reimo Charly sun canopy. Like the look of the Debus, and the fact it comes with three adjustable poles, so can be easily set up with a central point, allowing rain run-off. But, it extends 3m out from the van, which seems a long way, particularly if one is on one of the two main Club's pitches. The Charly has two poles, but extends 2.4m out from the van.
Question - I have looked through the various threads on the Forum, and no-one has mentioned their awnings being too big for pitches. Is this just not a problem - am I overthinking things? Does it not matter if the guy ropes extend out onto the grass between pitches?
Any thoughts on Charly vs. Debus from owners?
Have looked at the Kiravans, and Stitch & Steel canopies, but think something simpler and smaller would do us better - and would be cheaper. So have also been considering the Debus Sun Canopy, and the Reimo Charly sun canopy. Like the look of the Debus, and the fact it comes with three adjustable poles, so can be easily set up with a central point, allowing rain run-off. But, it extends 3m out from the van, which seems a long way, particularly if one is on one of the two main Club's pitches. The Charly has two poles, but extends 2.4m out from the van.
Question - I have looked through the various threads on the Forum, and no-one has mentioned their awnings being too big for pitches. Is this just not a problem - am I overthinking things? Does it not matter if the guy ropes extend out onto the grass between pitches?
Any thoughts on Charly vs. Debus from owners?
No but as your willing to entertain the idea of poles, I would recommend a Kiravans Railsail - Really well made from quality material and the design is such that it can occupy a larger or smaller space as necessary. You do however need to splash out for the poles as they are not included with the awning. I should also say that I've used a Vango Airbag Sun Canopy and a Debus but in terms of quality and/or practicality neither are a patch on the Kiravans (that's just my opinion but I suspect that as usual other opinions will be forthcoming soon!).
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