Drive away Awning

Hi Guys,
I am new to this Forum and I must say it is very good thanks for having me.

My Question is what would be the best drive away Awning for my Ford Duetto  or can I buy side and a front for the roll out Awning that is on the van already I understand it will not be drive away if I go down that avenue.

Thanks guys I look forward to your replies.

stay safe and all the best 
Malcolm Currie.

Hi Malcolm 
Welcome to the forum from Bridington,lots of ideas should be coming shortly.
Boaby

Hi Boaby,
Thanks !!!

Hi Malcolm, we too have a Duetto '99 vintage and I've been looking at drive away awnings as well so look forward to seeing the options.
Graham

Why not consider a free standing awning like a tent, 2.5m x 2.5m, height generally over 2.0m. Some complete with ground sheet. Very useful as an extra room, without having to disconnect and reconnect. Can be placed in the most convenient position. Many options available.

We have a Vango kela lll driveaway and it’s brilliant! Now I know our vans are different, but it comes in different sizes depending on how tall your van is. It attaches to an awning rail, it’s easy to our up and take down but it is heavy to transport. It’s worth having a wee look at them online and similar models.  

If you don’t have an awning rail they come with throw over straps to secure to the ground over roof of van.

They stand up well in stormy conditions.

I guess you have to think about how you would use your awning first .
For me they provide extra space for dogs and family and friends. You can stick a pop up inside if you have folk coming for a visit when your parked up. It’s a great space for cooking and eating food.

It opens fully on 3 sides, built in ground sheet, insect screens and is also a good place to hang up wetstuff lol

If you driveaway from it, it does take some practise to re align it all back up again, but it doesn’t need to be perfect. With practise one person can put it up and take it down 

On the downside they are pricey and heavy to transport. The ‘joining’ section can be noisy and flappy in the wind.

So have a good think about what you need your awning to do and how you will use it.  I’ve read of people buying one only to find they rarely use it.

There is so much choice, you just need to think about what suits you

I agree with Lorfai's points - the many uses an awning can be put to make them very useful indeed. But also Lorfai is right about thinking about what you want one for before getting one as well as how you'll be using your ' van - if you're m going to be mainly touring and mostly staying only one night in any location then you're not going to be wanting to be putting an awning up and down that often.
We have a Vango Hexaway that we use with our 2000 Duetto and find it invaluable with our dogs when on site for a few days: we use the windout awning if only stopping overnight. We carry the packed awning on the third passenger seat in the back - secured by the seatbelt!

A lot of the drive away awnings we've looked at seem to be little more than a very expensive sitting area whereas we need sleeping space for our son who at 6'6" would need something more to sleep in so maybe a tent would be a better option?
Graham

Hi, and welcome,
I bought an inflateable Starcamp 260 and used it for the 1st time last week. The inflation bit and pegging oiy was ok but threading the connection into my Fiamma channel was very difficult because of accumulated moss etc. A clean out and a bit od washing up liquid will help next time.
I had some difficulty in disconnecting and will try a kador strip to see if unhooking will be easier. Lining for reconnection is helped by position one of the pegs level with the nearside front wheel hub.
Unfortunately the awning section of our pitch at Looe CMC site was very muddy as previous campers across the site were draining their waste water direct on the ground and it was running down the site grrrr ! It took me 2 hours to deflate, fold and wash the base before it got bagged up. Btw, I bought a 40" holdall on wheels to move from it van to and from my garage at home.
Terry
Terry

With regards to sleeping in awning.....I’ve slept in mine, in August on an inflatable mattress with a heater too.....it  wasn’t terribly warm!  Over the last few weeks some family slept in it with a pop up inside and it was very cosy.

Now considering buying the actual inner bedroom for our model when it comes for sale in a few months