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We have a Kampa air awning and never had an unintentional deflation and always inflate before pegging under the van

We had a Kampa air awning a couple of years ago which has been sold on.

The awning itself was fine and has been improved since, but I would suggest looking into a couple of things.

The material makes quite a difference to the weight, we purchased the top spec material, which was a Pro360 but it proved to be a very heavy bit of kit so choose the material that suits your ability to manhandle it. The 390 if the same material will be a heavy bit of kit that all has to be dragged through the rail.

As with any awning the pegging down is still the same so is not an issue.

The other thing that we found annoying was the fitting of the curtains, which have now been improved, but do check it out.

The only thing that I never got to grips with was the folding up of the awning on leaving site, again this was probably down to the heavier grade material we chose.

But no problems with the deflating and the Kampa is pumped up in one go, maybe all are these days, but makes life easier.

One thing we found but could not fathom out why, the air awning always gave more condensation than our conventional Isabella, again perhaps the material. We always use hard standing, so not a damp grass or soil issue.

To improve fit against the van, at the time of our purchase there was an accessory of upright poles to fit in the corners to help with this, we used a couple of uprights from our Isabell instead which seemed to help.

Ok...so have taken the plunge and ordered the following:

https://www.campingandleisure.co.uk/kampa-club-air-pro-390-plus-l-h/

Hopefully give us a decent bit if space.  Couple of questions

is it necessary to purchase the Kampa roof lining?

if I need to dry it at home...can you just pump it up and lean against a wall with the corners pegged?

Many thanks and early July looks good for sites opening 

Thanks to Oneputt and Bluemalaga

A roof lining is not essential but does give a nice finish and can help with condensation problems. Condensation can occur but if you open the ventilation panels in the top corners this helps.

Well awning arrived today.  Bargain from Camping and Leisure.  Approx £300 cheaper than anywhere else.  They were on sale second hand for the same price!

However, it is certainly  weighty bit of kit!  I can see why comment is made about weight

I have had various Kampa air awnings over the last six or seven years and have been pleased with them.  Good quality - excellent back-up from Kampa on the one occasion we needed it and very sturdy.

We currently have an Air 390 Grande which is a full 3m deep and it is a heavy bit of kit to get on the awning rail - even with the side panels removed.

The other thing to think about is that - being such a heavy fabric, they are difficult to dry at home if it has to be packed away wet. That's why we bought, as well, a Sunncamp Air 390 for winter use - much lighter and very easy to dry overnight in the garage if it has been packed away wet. It was 'only' £350 in an end of season sale, so well worth the investment in my opinion.

Richardand Ros.

I have a decent outdoor space...how feasible is it to inflate in the garden against a long wall if pegged?  Have you tried?

Richardandros....also have you had any problems with leaking/condensation....I saw a lot of negative reviews although assume most reviews are given by dissatisfied customers on Trustpilot?

There seemed a lot of disagreement as to whether leaks or condensation.  I have a little Rally 260 poll awning and only ever had very minor condensation and no leaks

MDD - Before we got the Sunncamp,  I did think about inflating it in the garden to dry out but so far, haven't tried it.  I even thought about putting some awning track up on the house for this purpose - but haven't bothered.  Providing it's not too windy, I would have thought it would have been OK. 

As far as leaks are concerned, I can categorically say that in that six or seven years - and with three Kampa awnings - I have never experienced a leak of any sort. The instructions tell you that when new, it is possible to get a small leak through seams until the stitching swells up, but I haven't even experienced this.

Condensation is another matter, however. With modern impermeable fabrics - whatever the make - you are going to get condensation in certain conditions. It is just a fact of life and you have to learn to manage it.  These fabrics aren't like the 'old' cotton ones that can breathe - but then, they're much more waterproof than cotton.

The Sunncamp is actually worse than the Kampa because, being lightweight, it's more of a nylon fabric than the Kampa and more prone to condensation.

There are vents at the top of each side panel - sometimes difficult to see because they have a cover, fastened with velcro.  Make sure those are open.  But even they're not enough and in bad condensation conditions, we just make sure the doors are unzipped slightly at the top to increase air flow.

In my experience, the roof lining is worth buying.  It doesn't actually do that much to stop condensation (but it does help slightly) - but what it does do, is stop it dripping on your head!

If the condensation has been particularly bad overnight, opening both doors in the morning usually clears it fairly quickly.  As I said, it's just about managing it.

We are away (in normal circumstances!) all year round and our awnings have experienced fairly extreme circumstances, including 50 mph winds and torrential rain without any ill-effects whatsoever - and of course, you have the reassurance that however it might bend and flex in the wind, it's not going to damage your van as a poled awning might.

Richardandros. Many thanks for that.  Really helpful.

I'm hoping to inflate it soon just to check it before we are eventually allowed to go away.  Will report back but your reply has been very reassuring. 

Thanks