In your honest opinion which awning best suits the T2. We only have a tin top with rock n roll bed so a little more living room is required.
If you want quick erect and stable then you can't go wrong with a Kyam quick erect. They really do go up as quickly as their video shows, and down almost as quickly. Had traditional caravan awnings in a previous life and they are as far removed from a "divorce in a bag" as you could possibly get.
I rate Vango Kela Airbeam awnings. They are quick to pitch and sewn in groundsheet so no drafts. Decent size and withstand dreadful weather very well. You need the "low" one as the height relates to the gutter height of the vehicle you are attaching it to not the awning which is the same in each case. I used to have a Khyam quick erect one which are pretty decent too. https://www.vango.co.uk/gb/awnings/191-kela-v-low.html Here is my Kela attached to my bus to give you the idea
Depends if you dont want to sleep in it .... for quickness a 3x2 dome sun awning like NLA VW ones with a tall windbreak. Light, keeps the rain out but doesnt like wind. Good for sitting and cooking. Other awnings - can all be knackered by facing up to a Force 7 as it stretches stitching and the fabric itself.
The best awning is no awning. Buy yourself a cheap pop up tent and when you get on site, chuck everything into the tent leaving yourself plenty of room inside the bay. That apparently simple bit of advice has taken me the thick end of twenty years & four awnings to learn.
Depends if weight is an issue, I did try and lift a packaged air beam one in an accessory shop and I was surprised how heavy it was.
Simple cheap awning if it’s just for a bit more space have a look at the Khyam drive away compact 200
I got the just kampers retro awning from there eBay shop as new 200 with alloy poles, great awning light enough and looks good too.
this If you have a awning you then fill the van up with stuff to put in it. A sunshade is useful for taking your wet coats off
If you have kids you need an awning. Otherwise these are quite good, live outside the van and provide some shelter.
@Ian Starbuck The best awning completely depends on your needs - as Baysearcher says. How do you camp? Kids? Stay the same place for a week+? Lots of day trips in the bus from the campsite? I bought the best awning for what I thought were my needs: Khyam Quick Erect Sleeper. It went up quick and was great, but it just meant we took a load of extra rubbish with us. Didn't really need the extra 'sleeper' space. Went to Scotland first stop was for three nights, awning up with big fridge full of beer and some chairs in it. Then we stayed at loads of different places for a night each, no point putting an awning up... which meant the massive awning bag got in the way of us camping. On the Isle of Wight we put up the awning and got 'thanked for the entertainment' by a German fella. My partner had 'helped' me put it up that time - they are called divorce in a bag for a reason! We were there for a week, but went out in the bay every day and reconnecting it was a pain for no real gain. So we stopped connecting the awning to the bus. Eventually I just decided that the awning didn't suit my preferred style of camping, which is pull up, pop the roof and have a drink. I got a camper van because I can't be bothered putting a tent up. @Bernard Fishtrousers is probably right. Did a week in Scotland and just chucked stuff in a pop up tent when out on day trips. I still regularly lookout for the perfect awning/tent for our needs. Quick erect. About the size of @Gooders one above but with two horizontally opening doors opposite each other. Then i could loosely connect one to the van (bit like a sun awning), and have the opposite one open as well. I could chuck stuff in it if out for the day & use it as a shower/toilet/utility tent. Still haven't found what im looking for. Best awning depends on how you like to camp, size of family, how patient you are etc. Consider all that before spending a load of cash
The new air beam ones are great once they're up, but they're phenomenally heavy to lug around. In their YouTube video for the one I got, it shows the guy nonchalantly pulling it out of the back of his T4, and chucking the strap over his shoulder. If you could throw it over your shoulder, (which I think even Jeff Capes would have struggled with), it'd rip your arm off. Did I mention they're heavy?
That's my strategy, I use an awning simply to chuck stuff in so it's dry in the morning but the things a real pain to put up and take down. I've now bought a simply pop up that can sit next to the bus, job done
We do have an Outwell Country Road. An excellent awning and it did a good job on the few occasions we bothered to lug its bulk around , but once the kids stopped coming with us the bus is big enough. But it was knackered by a Force 7 on the Isle of Wight. It stayed up but stretched. Took a lot of seam glue and reproofing, after we camped in a thunderstorm later and discovered it pouring inside.
I've had a few and sold all but one which gets pressed into service for a communal get together and kitchen maybe twice a year . It folds up into a duffle bag sized carry bag and weighs about 10 kilos all in . Nothing flash but then again I hardly use it .. Size and weight are the criteria for my awning choice , I've had a khyam but found it too bulky and heavy , as were most to be honest - pointless dragging it around on the off chance it'll get used whereas I use my sun awning almost every trip - it's ace and folds up small enough to fit in a carrier bag ... Sent from my SM-G960F using Tapatalk
This will probably be off spec, but we use a Coleman Event tent that we part own with my brother. Vans either side, solid panel on one side, door panels on the other... or room for two other vans if we had more friends!! They don’t attach to the gutter like a proper awning (and Coleman have stopped selling the link panels which I wanted to adapt into a link ) So they Will let rain fall into the space between the slider and the awning. however, for a communal camp with more than one van it serves its purpose well and is big enough to use a Coleman grill inside safely. as for divorce in a bag.... me and my brother can put it up in 10 minutes, whilst me and the misses would probably not be talking after 10 minutes!! last pro... it’s not just used for camping! My brother wanted to use it to cover his buggy if he ever took it to Santa Pod, but the buggy isn’t leaving the garage anytime soon
