Awnings - winch out or drive away?

We have a vw trident autosleeper 57 plate and want to buy an awning for it. The dilemma is do we get a winch out one that has to be put away if we want to go off site or a drive away version that takes longer to put up and needs precision driving when returning to site for re-connection? Your comments as to your preferred type of awning would be much appreciated and models you recommend would be gratefully received as there seems to be a lot to choose from. Thanks a lot. Jo and Jon S.

Wind out awning are really only sunshades. If you start fitting Safari room wall to them they cost a fortune and are a hassle to put away if you want to go somewhere.
If you must have an awning, the drive away ones make more sense, cheaper too! Use the tent pegs & string trick to align yourself up to it when you return and Robert is your Mothers brother

Frank

well i prefer the windout. Its quick and you have all your interior space.
For short stays that is.
I find a couple of chairs on your pitch is enough to mark your spot However many of my proper sites allocate you a pitch number.
Where did Bobs your uncle come from?
regards
mike

mikethebike wrote:
Where did Bobs your uncle come from?
regards
mike

I believe it relates to an American statesman (presumably called Robert?) who was big on nepotism

Frank

Ask yourself why you want one. If it's to secure your pitch, could a small tent do or what is known as a utility tent such as the Outdoor Revolution Outhouse XL, you can store chairs etc in either. Do you want to use it as additional living and sleeping space, then the drive away is a good idea. If it's just to sit outside with some shade, then the wind-out would suit but as it's not something already fitted, then they are very expensive. Then there is the removable sunshade, such as I've got (shown in my avatar) eg the Isabella Shadow that provides shade is very lightweight and can be put on or taken down in a couple of minutes.

Don't worry about the time putting up a drive-away we have a Movelite midi and although we have only put it up twice so far it took us around 15 mins the second time.

Make your own choice - this is my experience:

Our '99 Duetto came with a Fiamma wind out that we used right from the start to give cover from the rain as we entered the side door. Later a windbreak and then a small open fronted 'beach tent' were added to give a little extra storage.

With all that going up it seemed a drive away awning would be more appropriate. I got an excellent tunnel type that gave us plenty outside space. It took a bit of putting up in the wind but was happy with it. It took up a LOT of space in the van so decided to get a back box that then needed a bike rack to accommodate it - a trip to Willersey and more expense.

It was excellent when on one site for a week or more but too much trouble for a couple of nights.

The last few times I used it, it was taken down in the rain and just dumped in the van till I got home to dry it.

If we hadn't changed the van for a coachbuilt I would have continued to use it but if I went through the loop again I would stick with the wind out and other bits.

Peter

If you can afford it go for both! They have different purposes.
Also the best method I've found to fix the tunnel on a drive away awning is over the back of the wind out (when not wound out... if you see what I mean). Stands up to a force 9 at Lands End when others are picking up bits all over the site!

Regards
John

mikethebike wrote:
Where did Bobs your uncle come from?
regards
mike

Possibly Lord Salisbury (Robert Cecil) or possibly not: http://www.worldwidewords.org/qa/qa-bob1.htm

Thanks for all the feedback. We think we are going to go for a winch out as we will mainly be going away for one or two nights at a time and want something quick and easy. The panels that are compatible with it to turn it into a room look pretty quick to put up and down as well so if we are going for longer we can add those to get the extra storage space.

We've got a Kayham Motordome with the poles permanently on the outside and it's erected in 10 minutes but we've never used it as an attachment to the van (although it's supposed to be used that way. Once attached to the van side door it blocks out light/vision and every time you want to go in/out the van you have to go through the awning. So, we erect the awning near the van and use the Omnistor wind out as a rain/sun shade - Robert is then your mother -in-law's great nephew.

We've have used a kyham motordome (classic) for 3 years on another van. With practice and some patience it's ok to align the van with the awning. Just trying to figure out how to attach a J rail to our Trident now ! We've also got a Quechua base seconds, which, although not an awning (it fits up closely to the van), is good for shorter stays.

When we bought our Camelot, it came with a tunnel-type awning that fitted over the rear doors. However we quickly gave up using it that way and simply used it free standing. When our daughter was younger and we were usually staying on one site for a week or more, it meant we could leave the bikes, barbecue, inflatable boat, etc when we went out for the day.

However since moving to a bigger van and touring more, just the two of us with far less gubbins, we no longer bother with it. It's sitting on a shelf in the garage, if you were a bit nearer to us you'd be welcome to collect it for nothing!