Motorhome tent/lean to advice

I see you are a new MH owner and are attracted to the idea of strapping  a tent to the side of your van.....

so, a couple of questions...

what MH do you have? how many people normally travel?

what 'extra space' do you really need? what would you actually use It for?

what storage space and payload do you have to carry a large, heavy awning?

do you ever have guests to sleep (3rd bed?) 

if you had an awning attached and this prevented you from moving the MH, how would you get about....bikes, legs, busses etc?

the reason i ask is to raise your awareness of issues like space, weight, and balance of in/convenience of a fixed awning of this type.

we have a small(ish) MH and, other then a wind out canopy for hot weather, we don't have/need 'extra space' and find it more than big enough for us two to 'move about'....

i realise it's each to their own but, when the weather is fine were happy to sit outside.....when it cools (or rains) we sit in the van...or under the wind out (deployed in a few minutes.....)

an awning of the type you describe would give you an 'extra room' to sit in, but when the weather changes, would you really want to sit in a (cold?) tent on the side of your van rather than in the (warm) van itself?

our pals have one of these air porch awnings (to store bikes out of sight) but IMHO it's not a place that carries any sitting/relaxing attraction compared to sitting comfortably in the van...

sorry if this isn't what you want to hear, but many (newbie) folk jump in and buy vanning 'stuff' because 'the guy on the next pitch has one' and it then ends up in the garage at home....

awnings are great polarisers of opinion....perhaps with a family attached to a large caravan, the perfect extra...

....but for touring MHs......might need more thought.

good luck, either way.

I agree 100% with BB's post above.  We've only ever had a wind-out awning on our motorhomes and found it perfectly adequate.  In autumn/winter/early spring i wouldn't really want to sit in one, too cold.  Also, if it's wet when packing it up to leave, you'd need to store it somewhere during the journey home, then dry it once home.

You've only been away once in the motorhome, and sometimes you see what other people have and think: that looks a good idea.  But rather than jump straight in and buy whatever it is, go away a few more times to see if you really need one of those awnings.  Live with it first for a bit, then decide.

When, after many years caravanning, we switched to a motorhome we dashed out and bought quite a lot of stuff. After the first extended trip we ended up selling most of it so the advice above is very sensible. An awning (as opposed to a wind out canopy) is a big step to take because you would be sacrificing mobility which is the main advantage of a motorhome. Of course, people do end up using a motorhome like a caravan for various reasons but it is far better to make these decisions after the first season, not before.

Agree with everything that BB said above. We have a Vango Kela II air awning and haven't used it this year - would have been too hot in the summer, in fact we just sat around the van in the shade using the wind out awning or moving to the shade at the back or offside.

However, in the UK in Spring or Autumn we have found it useful. And the little covered corridor between the tent bit and the MH provides a useful storage space. We tow a small car and pop the tent in there when travelling to reduce weight in van.

One thing to consider - our awning is quite wide and doesn't always fit on the hardstanding - something to consider.

Like others we make use of our Fiamma wind out awning usually on its own but sometimes put the front sun blocker in. You probably need to think through why you would want an enclosed awning. These awnings are pretty heavy and quite bulky going by the ones I have seen in dealer accessory shops. OK they are probably better for privacy and perhaps a bit of extra security rather than leaving things like chairs and tables out in the open/under a wind out but you do have to weigh up all the pluses and minus's.

David 

Has anyone any experience of this lightweight easy fit privacy room for roll out awning? A bit expensive maybe?https://www.leisureoutlet.com/awnings/camper-van-awnings/privacy-rooms-and-panels/83602-thule-quickfit-ducato-h2-privacy-room

Earlier this year I saw an interesting set up appear on a pitch opposite. Firstly, a motor caravan arrived and was pitched with much precision right at the edge of the hard standing. An inflatable porch awning was then attached.

A little while later a car arrived at the same pitch and a tent was erected joined onto the porch awning.  Then another car arrived with a much larger tent that was added to the tine-up. So six people or so, some children, two cars to travel in. Interestingly, it was the motor caravan that made the daily trips out.

Our first van was a high-top VW T4 and we bought a drive away awning as we thought that we would need more space. We hardly used the awning, really only using it for storage. We soon got rid of it and never regretted doing so. Comments about using your van more before you decide to purchase a drive away awning are very sensible. If we need to store chairs or other smallish items we have a very small and inexpensive tent which easily packs down into a small bag.

We never found the T4 or our current medium wheelbase Boxer Symbol van conversion too small for our needs. I think that BoleroBoy's questions about why you think you need extra space and what you would use the awning for are very relevant. (We had the T4 for over 6 years and have had the Symbol for 10, have done over 140000 combined miles and over 1400 nights away, including trips of up to 11 weeks at a time, without thinking we made a mistake in getting rid of the drive away awning.)

However, what suits us may not suit you but there is no need to buy an awning until you are sure that you need one to improve your "camping experience". Remember also that if you are to use aires in mainland Europe you won't be able to erect a drive away awning on them.

I'm not sure whether Mrsljking has bought a motorhome or a campervan as she mentions both. The comment "there is really only room for one person to be up and moving about" probably applies more to a campervan than motorhome.

If the awning is for a motorhome, I would hold on to my money for a while. In time, we learned how to dance around each other in a motorhome so don't worry about the space in our 6m long motorhome. Leaving the purchase of the awning for a while also allows for developing your own style of motorhoming.

The pros of an awning are easy to see but the cons of reduced mobility tend to be greater. It is the attraction of mobility that tends to appeal to motorhomers.

How big is a campervan?

We run an Eriba Caravan with internal space 4.00m x 1.90m and wouldn't dream of putting up any sort of awning.