When is an awning not an awning?

CAMC doesn’t charge for any sort of awning.

The club doesn't charge extra for awnings so it won't save or cost you anything. Have you thought of using grass pitches where they are available? Its much easier to drive pegs in to grass than the hard standings.

If you keep to awning pitches there will be no issues at all. 

I think the first question you need to ask yourself is do you need the enclosed space that an awning offers or do you just need a covered area.

If it is the later then make life for yourself easier and get a canopy. The bonus you may not have considered is the faff that hauling something as heavy as the Kampa into and along the awning track can be.

The majority of the time we use a shade. Although we liked our Kampa Pop-Air we got rid of it and now have a lightweight Vango blow up at less than 1/2 the weight, very similar in footprint and use it only when we have to due to poor weather.

Colin

I have a Kampa/Dometec 390 and often erect it without the panels and leave them out unless the weather turns bad, it is so much easier, I also have been through serious heart problems and would not advise having a Fiamma bag canopy as you need at least a 4 meter length to be of any use, I had one before this Kampa and found you need 2 to unroll and erect and the same in reverse they are not light, for your Kampa awning Dometec/Kampa do a pulley system to aid pulling the awning onto the van I use it all the time, I guide the awning into the rail and the wife uses the pulley to pull it through I also use a long handle peg extractor for pulling the pegs out, there are gadgets out there that make life easier.

Geoff - I have similar problems and we always opt for a grass pitch in the summer where we can - and only use hard standings in winter when, I have to concede, they are almost a necessity. I was beginning to struggle with our heavy Kampa 390 Grande, getting it on the awning rail - so we sold it and went for a Thule Omnistor with the Veduta room.  An expensive alternative, I accept, but slightly easier to erect.  What I have found a great help is using 'Peggy Pegs' which go in with a drill and are so easy.  They're supposed to be OK for HS as well but I haven't had chance to try them on that surface, yet. Just using the Omnistor as a sunshade is so easy and takes very little effort.

Any traditional type awning, be it pole or blow up will require some pegging out, obviously less if the sides aren’t in use. Something like this will also require an awning pitch, although currently with CAMC, there is no extra charge.

Fiamma’s, used without sides, are very easy to use, roll out, peg in two support poles, that’s it. Without sides in, and pegged all around, they can be subject to weather damage, so any wind and it will need rolling back in, but that takes around a minute to do, provided it isn’t stuffed with furniture etc underneath. Put in sides and it becomes a fixed awning, so will require an awning pitch, without you can use a Club non awning pitch but have to roll it out only to size of your pitch. It mustn’t impinge into the safety gap. 

I think it will all depend on exactly what you need an awning for as to what might be best for you. We stopped using an awning with our caravan, we just took a small waterproof beach type tent to throw fold up chairs in, a few other bits in if it rained. We preferred a lightweight plastic table with a parasol. Easy and light to take with us, easy to put up, take down, store. 

I bought some drill in pegs but had no success on a hard standing also I found that sometimes the steel peg shaft would pickup on the plastic head causing it to spin and if you where holding it resulted in very bruised fingers.

I've tried those as well - with the same experience as you have had.  Peggy Pegs are nothing like that and although an expensive solution, are well worth it in my opinion. 

thanks for all your replies, sorry about my confusion re charges - derrr!  I think I have peggy-pegs but I only thought the bolt head was for easy removal rather than drilling in, I shall try it next time out.  All good stuff, thanks again.