Drive Away Awning - advice please!

[Pippa]

Hello all - this is my first post on here!
We've just got back from our first big trip (2 weeks in France & Switzerland). We thought we'd got most of what we needed, but as a lot of people say, you only really find out what you need once you've spent some time in the van.
We didn't take our bikes so felt a bit "stuck" in the campsites as couldn't be bothered with the faff of packing everything up if we wanted to get out. So, we've realised that a drive away awning is something that we would need.
We've had a look at some options but I'd be grateful to hear about people's experiences and any advice.
Thank you!

 

[Lorri]

Hi. We are quite newbies too. Just had our first trip - only a week - we purchased the Vango Cruz. We only take two adult bikes. Only thing we have decided is if we are away for more than a night then we will forgo the sun awning as drive away porch looks to possibly fit more snug into side of van without it.
Question for you, how do you find the bottom bed for comfort. We purchased the comfort mattress but I still unhappy.

 

[Hotel California]

Welcome , lots to read regarding drive away awnings on the forum.
Those awnings are realy a UK thing as we on the mainland don't use it much.
I myself find it much hassle , bought one to try out , sold it within' two weeks .
Love the fact a Cali has everything you need inside , don't feel the need for more work at arrivial ...

 

[Highflyer]

There is plenty of discussion on this site about drive-away awnings. We asked ourselves ‘do we really need to attach an awning to the van?’. We decided ‘No, it’s too much faff to detach and re-attach when going out for the day’ We prefer to use a tent for storage, but each to his own. If you insert each of the following into the ‘search’ field at top right of the page you will find lots to consider.

‘queshua air seconds base’

‘vango kela 3’

‘outwell’

‘kyam’


Good luck

 

[Amarillo]

I myself find it much hassle , bought one to try out , sold it within' two weeks .
Love the fact a Cali has everything you need inside , don't feel the need for more work at arrivial ...

I don't know how we'd have managed these last few weeks without our driveway awning. It takes me 15 minutes to put up or pack down single handed.

Preparing the van for driveaway from the awning is more involved than just detaching the awning which takes just 2 minutes:
1. Roll up duvet and pillows
2. Roll up bed topper
3. Put seat up
4. Remove child seats from boot and put in place
5. Remove roof topper
6. Put down roof
7. Remove kador strip and figure of eight
8. Tie up awning flaps.

Detaching the awning is the easy bit, all the rest needs doing without an awning.

I'd say a driveway awning is essential for four or five people sleeping in a California for two or more nights.


Follow my blog at www.au-revoir.eu

 

[Alex p]

So clear as mud Pippa!! Haha I'm looking too. Got 3 seats in the back of my Cali. Plus all kids are in car seats so where ever I go I must stow these away.. thought I would by a cheap pop up tent to start with!! Happy hunting!

 

[MrP]

Anything more than 2 nights and they are really worth it. It is not a faff to connect them. It takes me less than five minutes to connect and disconnect.
We have a bedroom in ours which we store clothes and a portable loo. Time it takes to attach awning is less than walking to loo in the rain, wind, freezing cold at night = worth it!

 

[Amarillo]

It takes me less than five minutes to connect and disconnect.

It took me 10 minutes 17 seconds to disconnect, pack and load into boot today, including groundsheet and carpet, and counting all the pegs. Some initial prep before the timing started included emptying the tent and sweeping out.

I am now well practiced.



Follow my blog at www.au-revoir.eu

 

[Moakesy]

Hi Pippa, and welcome....

After a couple of trips without an awning, we decided we'd like one. Ended up buying an Outwell Darlington Air Awning off someone on this site (so 2nd hand, but hardly used). It's this one...

http://www.outwell.com/en/Products/drive-away-awnings/air-cruising-tent-collection/darlington-air

The first time we put it up, it was comical...took us ages, but now it's less than 15 mins to assemble / disassemble and we will very often put it up even if we're doing a single night stay. We just like the extra space, ability to sit outside if the weather is a bit dodgy and also keeps us from getting grass in the van as we keep the shoes in the awning.

Downsides are that it takes up a fair bit of boot space, but we travel quite light and don't really miss that space. Potentially we will have to pack it wet and then dry once home, although we've been lucky so far and not happened yet.

Personally I wouldn't be without one....the guy I bought it from didn't like it and only used it twice in 6 months. Really depends on what's right for you...

 

[MattBW]

I have an outdoor revolution cayman tail and I've been very impressed with it. Easy to put up, light and small, plus very versatile in the configuration. Mine is the tailgate version but they do a side version too. The light version are advertised as not for strong weather but when pegged out properly its very sturdy and was solid at the Brean meet which was quite windy.

https://vwcaliforniaclub.com/shop/product/outdoor-revolution-movelite-cayman-drive-away-awning

 

[hirsty]

We need a much better forum layout - categories? sticks? pinned threads? - to deal with these repeating questions. I'd not read this thread till today as I'd assumed it was the really long running Quechua comparo, which is starting to eat it's own tail already too.

I always open the site on 'New Posts' and have set it to ignore headings I'm not interested in, but you can only filter so far.

 

[Brindisi]

We sold our drive away after 2 uses as we felt we lost a lot of light and our view ! It was also just a dumping ground for everything. Bought a small Quechua pop up and store things in there that we don't want in the Cali when going out for the day .
Mrs B

 

[ChrisB]

We have a Khyam motordome sleeper which we currently use with our Berlingo micro camper and will just transfer it to our new cali' when it arrives. Its not quite as simple to put up as the youtube video shows, but once you get the hang of it, it takes about 15 minutes in total. The sleeper version is a pig to repack neatly, so we just fold the legs, put the leg covers on and just stuff the rest into the bag which works fine. I made an awning rail for the Berlingo but we never attach the Khyam via the tunnel. Instead, we just back the Berlingo (tailgate up) under one of the sun canopies during the day and bungee the canopy to the vehicle. That way we can use the slide out kitchen in the rear of the Berlingo. You should also be able to do this with a Cali to access the rear or side of the vehicle from the awning. The separate (removable) inner tent/bedroom sleeps 2 in comfort. Or it can be used as an additional room for a portaloo storage etc. Not perfect, but a very versatile awning.

 

[Meoncoast]

We are in the do not need one. (only 2 in the van)

 

[Jay586]

I'm after one...but I'm not a VIP member, so no pm. (-:

 

[2into1]

I'm after one...but I'm not a VIP member, so no pm. (-:

It's only a money thing, it's not related to number of posts or general levels of brilliance

 

[Gasgas]

I'm after one...but I'm not a VIP member, so no pm. (-:

We have a 2014 Vango Kela only used twice packed away dry so should be like new £250 collect Northampton M1 J15 2mins

 

[Jay586]

It's only a money thing, it's not related to number of posts or general levels of brilliance

Ha, ha, I know but I really shouldn't be here at all, having eventually gone for my own conversion. Just like seeing how everyone is getting on.

 

[Tom Downie]

Hello all - this is my first post on here!
We've just got back from our first big trip (2 weeks in France & Switzerland). We thought we'd got most of what we needed, but as a lot of people say, you only really find out what you need once you've spent some time in the van.
We didn't take our bikes so felt a bit "stuck" in the campsites as couldn't be bothered with the faff of packing everything up if we wanted to get out. So, we've realised that a drive away awning is something that we would need.
We've had a look at some options but I'd be grateful to hear about people's experiences and any advice.
Thank you!

Not long returned from France ourselves and we found the DA Awning essential. For a start it is somewhere to keep the PortaPoti overnight, We are in our 60s so essential it is close these days ;-)
We have a Kampa Travel Pod Action Air. very easy to put up and to reconnect, but think about where yo put the guys when you put it up.

 

[Lesley54]

We have a 2014 Vango Kela only used twice packed away dry so should be like new £250 collect Northampton M1 J15 2mins

Hi we might be interested, just looking at this thread as we have decided we would like one.
I need to look at that particular one and speak to my partner.
Is it easy to put up ? That is his main consideration as he hated camping !
We have just bought a T6 Ocean and only had 3 short trips, so we are new at this .
We are trying to sell a captains chair ( I think that is what they are called) It came with our Cali , it sat in the back and you can swivel it. It has never been used as we took it out as soon as we bought it .

 

[CazzaJ]

We're a family of 4 and fairly new to cali life. We found after 2 weeks away at easter with bikes etc that we really needed an awning too. I found lots of useful info by searching the forums on here and in the end we went for a Quechua pop up tent as this seemed easier, nice and compact when folded up and most importantly a lot cheaper than a drive away awning. It was a great place to put car seats at night and all the stuff we didn't want to have to pack away every time we left the site. We're really happy with our tent, would definitely recommend especially if cost is a factor.

 

[lee morrison]

Hi Everyone ,
Being a newbie too but been non stop in my Cali since arrival using it as my work accommodation and office
Bought a New Kela low and it's been brilliant but to save the faff and cut pack time dramatically I have dispensed with the supplied bag and pack straight to a b&q tuff tub £29 which holds everything ! Lid on , chucked on bike rack ,one light ratchet strap and off you go.hope that helps Pippa. I travel with one bike and usually a sup board on my roof.
Have also been using a Thule roof bag it's the Ranger 500 again I find this helps with bedding,light weight bulky items (waterproof clothing ,wetsuits and is easy and light enough to take off if necessary for for height restrictions as still fit inside the Cali worse case.
I actually have a question for any of the members having issues with riding very low on the rear suspension.

 

[Gasgas]

Hi we might be interested, just looking at this thread as we have decided we would like one.
I need to look at that particular one and speak to my partner.
Is it easy to put up ? That is his main consideration as he hated camping !


Hi there ,yes very easy to put up ,plenty off video 's on you tube showing you how and giving instructions

 

[Hantshog]

Piggy backing onto this related thread. Anyone know what size figure 8 / kador strip diameter fits on the standard awning please. I have. Sunncamp Motobuddy 250 just to use as toilet tent as it was less than £150.

 

[Gibros]

So clear as mud Pippa!! Haha I'm looking too. Got 3 seats in the back of my Cali. Plus all kids are in car seats so where ever I go I must stow these away.. thought I would by a cheap pop up tent to start with!! Happy hunting!

Hi there, we have just bought a beach and have exactly same issue as you- 3 kids and 3 car seats. We just use a £25 2 man tent at moment and it does the job. I was tempted by a drive away awning but so far are happy with the factory fit awning and tent option. Reckon it's best to try the £25 option before diving into a £500 option.