Another Porch awning.

[HarryM1BYT]

When I bought the current van, only used to full awnings, I then bought a used full awning to go with it - a 925 Bradcot Sport. With a then ill partner, I found it increasingly difficult to erect it on my own. Using steel poles for the frame it was also quite heavy to put up and transport. I even converted the frame to a mostly (home made) carbon fibre one, to make it less of a struggle.

I spotted a small porch awning being offered free on Freegle, needing some 'fettling' so I grabbed it, fixed it up and it has served us well the past 2 years, until my last trip out a couple of weeks ago, when I managed to rip it taking it down. It was already suffering UV issues when I got it, so it was on borrowed time.

I've just acquired a used Dorema Starcamp Magnum 260 porch awning, from a dealer 'sold as seen', but unseen from Ebay. The fabric was fine, as new, but the frame was a mess, a mix of poles from I know not where and I couldn't make any sense of it at all. After few exchanges, the dealer eventually delivered a complete used frame set to me FOC.

This week I have had the caravan in the far end of the back garden, so I could set up and test the 'new' awning. I must say I am very impressed with it, compared to both the full awning and the earlier cheapo small awning. We have had some quite heavy rain and wind and it is very stable indeed. The first one would flap and move about in the wind, but despite this being more than twice the area, it remains steady as a rock.

My new partner had never been in a touring caravan before, so the one week in spring and our recent two weeks away were a completely new experience for her with a lot to learn. The first trip out I drove off with the jockey wheel down and wrecked its tyre. My mind was rather over loaded looking after her, the two dogs, plus trying to get everything else organised and I missed doing my usual checks before driving off .

She absolutely loved it, at least that is what she said.

We will have another week, once the kids are back at school plus maybe an odd couple of days or so.

[Si-monogram]

We haven't tried our awning yet. Hopefully it'll go up well. It looked good in the advert when we bought the van. Our next trip away is north Wales on we'll try it then.

[HarryM1BYT]

Originally Posted by Si-monogram

We haven't tried our awning yet. Hopefully it'll go up well. It looked good in the advert when we bought the van. Our next trip away is north Wales on we'll try it then.

They can be a bit daunting, trying to work out which bits of frame goes where, the first time out. I'm rather lucky, I have space for the caravan at home and even lashings of space to set it up with an awning. I'm just waiting for the rain and wind to stop, then the grass to dry enough to take it down and pack it up. Once the caravan is moved back onto my drive, I can get the the tractor out and the grass mowed.

A couple of women once came to me on a site once, asking if I could help them set their awning up. It turned out to be a mix of several different awnings and bits of frame, so I couldn't really help at all.

[Darcydog]

Whilst our full awning was fantastic in giving us all that extra space - it was not that practical to use when the weather was cooler. It lost heat in the evenings very quickly.

So we found our Porch Awning very much more "cozy" in that it seemed to warm up quicker with the slightest bit of sun and with a far smaller space the evenings were easier to keep warm as we cooked out in the awning with a Halogen Oven or George Forman and they kept us warm

And after that a small fan heater easily kept the chill off in our Porch awing but was obviously useless in the full awning.

If we ever go back to touring i do not think I would bother with a full awning.

[macafee2]

we got a second hand porch awning from ebay. No instructions of how to fold when putting away, manufacturer says they don't do fold up instructions as they expect owners to know as they unpacked it, fine when new. Not helpful second hand so we guessed. I used insulation tape and colour coded the poles. Try to work as a team. once caravan is pitched the wife deals with the inside jobs and I deal with the outside jobs but we do the awning together. By the time I have done the outside jobs she has sorted out the inside and made a sandwich and drink for me


macafee2

[Jim Jamieson]

When I purchased our Coachman the previous owner also sold us his porch and full sized awning both Isabella.

They're very good quality awnings and have the carbon poles but I must admit it was quite daunting erecting them on site for the first time even though I did a trial at home first.

George (the previous owner) was very meticulous and had marked the poles with tape but I didn't quite understand his markings so I re did both awnings so that colours were the same on both awnings.

I used green (go forward) at the front, black (to the back) and white in the centre. I have every pole marked so that when fitted together the coloured tape line up with each other.
Even though I only use the awnings a couple of times a year on our longer stays I can now get the awning up in jig time

[HarryM1BYT]

Originally Posted by macafee2

Try to work as a team. once caravan is pitched the wife deals with the inside jobs and I deal with the outside jobs but we do the awning together. By the time I have done the outside jobs she has sorted out the inside and made a sandwich and drink for me


macafee2

That is the way we do things. She mostly stays inside and just passes things out to me - awning, chairs, table, Waterhog, pump, sat dish etc., in the meantime she gets the kettle on, sees to the dogs and reorganises the interior. We tow with all the weight moved down to the floor, so there is a bit of reorganising for her to do. She is absolutely great....

She treats me like I were an invalid - wont let me near any job she can do like the cooking, washing up and cleaning - maybe part of the female Geordie make up. What ever I try to do domestically to help, she just says 'leave it I'll do it'.

Mine has a fold over cantilevered table at the front, designed for light usage, but it is more than big enough for the two of us to have a full meal on. Then there is a proper stand alone table which goes onto to the end of that, making it big enough for six/ eight at a pinch to dine at. So I added a support leg to make the cantilevered one more solid. Then the stand alone table can be used in the awning.

She is beginning to get the hang of things now, knows where things are stashed away, after our second trip out and can muck in a bit. She is only 5 foot tall, so not much help for putting the awning up , but she carries the bag of pegs and passes the pegs as I peg it out.

When leaving, she stows things away inside, closes the windows, maybe helps to fold the awning if its windy, as I pack the outside up.

I always used to struggle with full awnings, trying to get them threaded around the rail - then I realised I was doing it the wrong way. I had always thought going round the more gentle curve (front to back) first was the obvious way to do it, but no - round the sharpest angle first is the easiest way.

Which reminds me...

I installed a piezo sounder, so I would know when the water pump was running. It runs continuously if it runs dry, which would eventually burn it out - the sounder lets me know if it does. Its under a seat and she cannot hear it, due to the upholstery muffling it and she is a bit deaf. I need to move that sounder to where she can hear it, to remind me/her to switch the pump off when out of water.