Will Kyham tourer fit my Topaz?

Getting ready for longer trips in our Topaz and looking for a drive-away awning.
Quite fancy the Khyam because it looks so easy and quick to put up and with moving about every 2/3 days it seems less hassle than the others but I'm confused as to size.

Our Topaz has a Fiamma awning so would need fixing to that so looked at the Kyham 'Will this awning fit' page which gives the range of fits. The Fiamma is 198 cm above the floor and 245 wide (approx as I was measuring it on my own today) but according to the website the max width for that height is 185, far short.

Am sure I've seen on various sites that it fits a T5 so if any of you can help. particularly if you have one yourself then any advice will be welcome.

Thanks

Hi Ann
From the measurements you give, it would not be ideal. It all depends how you intend to fix the tunnel to the Fiamma Awning. There are two way, you can use a guide that fits into the front slot on the Fiamma awning and attach it to the tent using a thing called a figure of eight strip. The disadvantage of this is that the awning will sit several inches away from the side of the van, so wind / rain will get between van & tent.

The better method is to find an awning with a long enough tunnel that will stretch over the Fiamma, see pic below. I have found this the most reliable of all methods, capable of remaining in place in force 8 winds! Having stretched the tent fabric over the Fiamma, peg down the bungee cord that is attached to the tunnel, near to the wheels. Hope that make a little sense?
Regards
John

Perfectly clear, thanks John. Looks like I need to do a bit more browsing before we buy.

The Khyam Excelsior will fit quite comfortably (same as the Tourer but with taller tent and a larger opening). The Tourer will not have a large enough tunnel opening for the sliding door. I have a high-top Trident with Fiamma cassette awning and use Kador strip and figure of eight to attach the Khyam to the secondary slot on the Fiamma casing. The issue we have is that the Kador strip forms a kind of gutter where it naturally sags a bit, particularly in heavy rain. This 'gutter' begins to leak in the most inconvenient location right over our open sliding door.
We love the Khyam Motordome for the speed of putting it up, a bit like a giant umbrella. However, we still need to work on waterproofing the join to the van. The Khyams are good value, particularly with the 10% discount code from the T4/T5 website (if it's still current).

Thanks for that TattyB, not looked at that version so will do a bit of research.
Ann B

Hi,

We have a Kyham motordome sleeper, and use the bedroom section to store gear from the van which proves very useful and this awning fits our Topaz. I have no problems with the tunnel as long as the van is positioned correctly in relation to the awning. If the weather is dry the van can be positioned so as to maximise the tunnel opening and the sliding door, this would result in a small section of the door being exposed at the rear of the van. If wet the van position can be adjusted so that the tunnel covers the sliding door more effectively. You will become more experienced as you use it. Our van does not have a Fiamma awning so I have fitted some aluminium channel to the black gutter rail and use figure of 8 kador strip to attach to the figure of 8 channel which is on the awning tunnel, it is important to make sure that the tunnel is not sagging when attached to the van. I would certainly recommend the Kyham range very good quality but not cheap.

Tattybogle wrote:The Khyam Excelsior will fit quite comfortably (same as the Tourer but with taller tent and a larger opening). The Tourer will not have a large enough tunnel opening for the sliding door. I have a high-top Trident with Fiamma cassette awning and use Kador strip and figure of eight to attach the Khyam to the secondary slot on the Fiamma casing. The issue we have is that the Kador strip forms a kind of gutter where it naturally sags a bit, particularly in heavy rain. This 'gutter' begins to leak in the most inconvenient location right over our open sliding door.
We love the Khyam Motordome for the speed of putting it up, a bit like a giant umbrella. However, we still need to work on waterproofing the join to the van. The Khyams are good value, particularly with the 10% discount code from the T4/T5 website (if it's still current).

Have you tried spay-on Nikwax for the Kador strip? I've used it on tents, gazebos and even walking boots and it seems to do the job on all types of fabrics, man-made or natural. I'll be squirting some our new Kador... when I can find the aerosol!

Cheers,
Pete.

Thanks everyone for your replies. We didn't want a big awning so we are now looking at a Movelite Midi, that has a wider cowl and so should give a better fit. Doesn't look too bad to erect as well.

I have a Topaz, have just bought the Kampa Midi Pod drive away awning, it is for T4 /T5 it is 3 mtrs wide , so covers the sliding door , Included was a 2 berth inner tent also a Kampa awning, I haven`t tried it yet as I have to put awning channel on my van, was told it was very quick to put up, only 3 poles plus roof poles, my husband bought a Kampa Rally awning for our caravan, was so pleased with it he said I would be better to go for the Kampa brand again, it stood up to gales, if you want to see a video of one it is on youtube.

Marg