Thule Omnistor wind out awning

That will be useful if you get an Omnistor.  

like Brue, we have a wind out Omnistore and a windbreak, this combination seems to work well although i have seen the Lillypad Leisure windstoppers and may get one side for the Omnistore.

as Hitch says, perhaps see how you get on 'over there'....we dont lime to be enclosed when its nice and sunny, but as AD says of ypure in one place for a long time, the extra space might help.

good luck

When we had the MH we had a fiamma Zip roll out awning, worked well in all sorts of conditions from winter force 12 storms where we fully pegged down and used storm straps, to extremely hot periods  where we used windbreaks to give privacy and ability to sleep outside under the canopy.

With the slot in the front face of the cassette we were even able to add a drive away awning and provide an under cover open area. Where pitch sizes weren't an issue.

I contacted the manufacturer and they came back with this reply; 

We would not recommend fitting the wind out awning as this is not in the specifications of this model and would not have any provisions to hold it.   

Considering they were told by myself that it was to be roof mounted I find the reply quite extraordinary?  I have seen other Buccaneers with the Omnistor awning fitted.

I would definitely suggest that you see how you get on with just the canopy to begin with.  Some years back we got past what we considered to be sensible awning age with less energy and creaking joints.  Since then we have managed with just an Isabella canopy and, as most our trips are in warm France, we have never felt the need for sides or front and it would get too hot had we used them.

We are now looking forward to the delivery of our motorhome which will have Thule Omnistore included.  The Isabell canopy is simple but I imagine the Omnistore is even easier to use.

Is the Jormax easy to erect?

Fairly easy as it needs to be hammered into the ground like any other windbreak.  If the ground is really hard like many hard standing pitches on CC sites then I use the drill with masonry bit to make the hole and then hammer in the pole which has a spike at the end.

We have 2 x 4m sections and the gate.  Not cheap but ours is now nearly 8 years old and still looks like new.

It sounds really good so will be put on our shopping list.  Do you use a mallet or a lump hammer?

As I mentioned earlier, I am not aware of any other Caravan manufacturers apart from Bailey who will warrant a Caravan when a wind-out canopy is fitted. In fact, it wouldn’t surprise me to learn that Bailey have retracted on this.

When we were considering buying another Caravan I talked to a Company who fitted Thule to caravans and they were a bit vague about how it might affect warranty. I am convinced that if you had a problem with the structure of the Caravan which could in any way be associated with a retrofit canopy, the Caravan manufacturer would wash their hands of any responsibility. This could include water ingress around the roof seal, rippling etc.

On a secondhand van out of warranty I don’t think that I would worry but on a new van it might be an issue.

are caravans really that brittle?