Newbie question on drive away awning kit length

[lohr500]

This may become obvious once I collect the Outdoor Revolution California Coast drive away awning tomorrow that I bought from Fleebay today. And we don't yet have the Cali Ocean, although we do now have a build date of week 5

Do I need to buy a specific length kit to suit the awning or will any length kit suffice?

I can see different length versions of the Kampa 4mm/6mm to 6mm kits in the CampervanBits shop, but at this stage I have no idea what length to order.

Any guidance would be much appreciated. Thanks

 

[Loz2286]

The 6mm strip is the one that fits most awnings and the Cali, but get the 4mm/6mm to 6mm kit as it will give flexibility if you end up buying something later with a 4mm.

Given the shop currently has a sale and the 4m kit is cheaper than the 3m, go for that one. You can cut the strip back and the spare Figure 8 piece is useful if you leave one on the ground and drive over it... Ask me how I know!

 

[lohr500]

The 6mm strip is the one that fits most awnings and the Cali, but get the 4mm/6mm to 6mm kit as it will give flexibility if you end up buying something later with a 4mm.

Given the shop currently has a sale and the 4m kit is cheaper than the 3m, go for that one. You can cut the strip back and the spare Figure 8 piece is useful if you leave one on the ground and drive over it... Ask me how I know!

View attachment 117995

Thanks

 

[Hawthorn37]

We eventually got both the 4/6mm and 6/6mm as awnings differ. If in future you need to connect an awning / tarp on the passenger side, you stuff the 4mm and 6mm profiles in the side rail, to hook up 6mm to your tarp - like an Outwell Fallcrest.

Also, see posts on tips to fit your driveaway so you get max height on the drivers side/ roll out awning attachment. This will explain...

Kit to connect outdoor revolution California coast awning to cali ocean with wind out awning in situ, how do I connect this please?

We have a T6cali ocean and have bought an outdoor revolution California coast drive away awning. Our cali has a wind out awning in situ so I can’t seem to attach the drive away. I’ve checked outdoor revolution website and the advice is to get a fixing kit with figure if 8 strip. However there...

vwcaliforniaclub.com

 

[Hawthorn37]

Btw if you connect the kador to the underside of the roll out awning (per convention), then it’s important to cut the Kador strip to the right length, so when you wind in the roll out awning, it doesn’t kink the kador - making it tougher to slide in and out. Junior hacksaw plus Stanley knife is best tools.

 

[lohr500]

Thanks Hawthorn37.
if you have clipped the figure 8 strip on the upper edge of the wind out awning, is it easy to lift the whole strip off vertically when you want to drive away?

 

[Hawthorn37]

Yes, take the tension off your awning tunnel (most have tension straps) then wind out the roll out awning about 30cm, and lift off the plastic strips. When you come to connect again, clip on the strips, and feed in the kador again.

A tip to get the van in exactly the right position - peg down a length of fluorescent cord between the centres of the wheels on both sides. Use dome (groundsheet) pegs. This acts as a runway when you drive back onto your pitch.

 

[lohr500]

Yes, take the tension off your awning tunnel (most have tension straps) then wind out the roll out awning about 30cm, and lift off the plastic strips. When you come to connect again, clip on the strips, and feed in the kador again.

A tip to get the van in exactly the right position - peg down a length of fluorescent cord between the centres of the wheels on both sides. Use dome (groundsheet) pegs. This acts as a runway when you drive back onto your pitch.

I'm probably being dumb, but if you have unclipped the figure of eight from the top edge of the roll out awning, then when returning, isn't it just a case of rolling out the awning by the same 30cm or so, clipping back on the figure of eight strip, and winding in the roll out awning? Or are you using two drive away kits, with the second attached to the driveaway awning?

 

[Hawthorn37]

I'm probably being dumb, but if you have unclipped the figure of eight from the top edge of the roll out awning, then when returning, isn't it just a case of rolling out the awning by the same 30cm or so, clipping back on the figure of eight strip, and winding in the roll out awning? Or are you using two drive away kits, with the second attached to the driveaway awning?

Not dumb at all. Come to think about it, that’s what we now do - sorry for the red herring. We have used two sets of fig of 8 strips this past summer, but decided that was more hassle - everything slides about too much.

 

[lohr500]

Thanks again Hawthorn37.
I've ordered a drive away kit which contains the figure of eight piece and 6mm to 6mm/4mm strip section. So we can experiment attaching to both the upper and lower edges of the roll out awning.
All we need now is the Cali!!!!!

 

[Hawthorn37]

Yay! It’s all good fun, trying stuff out. What works for you depends a bit on the awning, and the relative height of the awning beams or poles, and the fixing point on the Cali, And the slope of the ground you pitch on. Out 2 driveaways are both Vango and the tent is just slightly higher (50mm or so) than the bottom fixing. This means that, on a level pitch, the sliding door rubs onto fig of 8 strips. If the ground slopes down from the drivers side, the side door doesn’t close without lifting the strips. If the ground slopes up though, you get away with it just. The second consequence is that any rain on the awning tunnel runs towards the van, and as the fig of 8 strips aren’t continuous, water drips through the gaps - usually just where you step out of the door !!

it was @Perfectos and others who suggested trying the fixing to the top edge. This added 70mm makes a big difference to the opening of the door, and the rainwater doesn’t pool next to the fixing point.

I’d admit though, the top fixing method is a little trickier to master, especially if youre disconnecting each day. We take two kador strips and a set of fig of 8 profiles, to give us options.

One final word. Not all fig of 8 strips perform the same! We bought a second second last year (longer sections) and they were awful (Kampa Dometic). The plastic was too soft and the tent kador strip just opened up the gap when tensioned and pulled out! I guess you could test flexibility by trying the bend the strips. Our original set (Vango) are pretty well rigid with no bend.

 

[lohr500]

I think once we have collected the van we will experiment with the awning options at home and figure out which configuration works best.

It will save any embarrassment rocking up at the 1st campsite and providing that day's entertainment for the other campers!! I learned that lesson on the 1st trip out with our massive twin axle caravan and enormous full length Isabella awning

 

[flying banana]

It's est to clip the figure 8 to the top of the awning as gives better clearance for the door. No need for the kador strip then either. I wouldn't bother with an awning at all and reckon you will end up selling it as 'used once,as new' . Enjoy

 

[lohr500]

You are probably right @flying banana !!
We don't plan to stay put in any location for more than a few nights so putting up an awning would be too much hassle. But there is a chance we could end up somewhere for longer.

I spotted a brand new Outdoor Revolution drive away California Ocean air tube awning on fleebay this week, couldn't help myself and ended up winning it for £155. For that money, it seemed like a reasonable punt.

 

[flying banana]

You are probably right @flying banana !!
We don't plan to stay put in any location for more than a few nights so putting up an awning would be too much hassle. But there is a chance we could end up somewhere for longer.

I spotted a brand new Outdoor Revolution drive away California Ocean air tube awning on fleebay this week, couldn't help myself and ended up winning it for £155. For that money, it seemed like a reasonable punt.

Yeah not bad that. When I bought my van 6 years ago it came with a vango airframe 6 or whatever it was. Put it up once and thought, sod that. Sold it. The clipping to the op of the awning case was far better when set up though. Good luck with the new bus