Oh no, not someone needed awning advice again!

There was a thread recently about air v pole. I wouldn't go back to poles ever again but as you say opinions are are very divided but they are certainly popular on sites. 

Just to help on another point you raised, we had a similar point with daughter and OH. They just wanted the occasional week/weekend so we just bought a simple pop up tall double inner tent that lived in the awning. It collapsed easy enough each morning and evening and even though we bought a small oil filled radiator it wasn't needed and the air bed could either be propped up or deflated during the day. It worked quite well.

Post edit it was similar to this one https://www.caravan-megastore.com/product-page/sunncamp-universal-pop-up-awning-inner-tent

Double post edit, we also used the camping pods once at Coniston, not the cabins but the simple wooden huts. No bathroom or anything but two camping beds, a heater and power sockets. They used it for just sleeping and they then joined us for eating.

Before you dismiss the idea of buying an awning at the show remember you'll probably get a good discount if you do! We bought one of our previous caravan awnings at the NEC, we could see what was on offer and have a good look at what would suit us at the time and take on board any advice needed. Lightweight awnings are handy but if you're thinking of good weather protection and night time use you might need to get a more substantial awning.

Thank you so much @Cornersteady - that's really useful.  I hadn't thought about the idea of a pop up inner tent, but that might work.  I'll click on the link you sent and have a look!  We tried the camping pod at Brighton and that was OK, we did the same as you, but as we mostly go to CLs, that's not really an ongoing option for us.

My pleasure

There's even a three berth version, have a search on google.

https://www.awnings.co.uk/sunncamp-pop-up-3-berth-inner-tent.html

Have a look HERE, this section of CT covers awnings etc. I've given a link to a recent query.

I think we'll be going substantial as we really do hope to buy one that will last a few years and see us through many holidays.  We certainly haven't discounted the idea of buying at the NEC, in fact we're definitely going there, but we feel that (as we've been to these shows many times before) we'll do best if we go there with our preparation already done and already pretty sure of what we want.

Thanks for your advice though - good advice is always welcome

 I've got to say that, I'd never even heard of these pop up tents before, and having followed your link, I can see what a brilliant thing they are!  Obviously you've got to buy your awning first and make sure that it's both tall enough for a pop up to fit inside, and also that it's large enough as in reality, I wouldn't want to keep on putting the pop up, up and taking it down again (especially as they'd probably want to leave some clothes etc inside it).

So this is definitely an option, but we still need to get our awning first.

Thanks @Brue - just read through the discussion on the link and that was really useful.  Particularly I noticed that people with air awnings struggled on sloping/uneven ground to get them up well.

As we usually stay on CLs, which are often all kinds of sloping, I don't think an air awning will work for us.  I think we'll be much better off with a pole awning.

Air awnings can be heavy too so look at the weights involved. Have you looked at the classified section, member ads for awnings, quite a few good secondhand ones on offer. Hope others can offer some suggestions. Remember you can also put up a small tent alongside your van as long as it fits of your pitch, our daughter did this when she visited us on a site but we had a bad storm and she ended up in the van! ....Be prepared. 

Hi Reedit, Not got a van like yours but if you think that you may, at some point, change it then that is something to consider before deciding.

Whilst the NEC is a great place to window shop you need to be pretty sure of what you want before you arrive or it may just cause confusion and uncertainty-a seeming bargain can cause many plans to be thrown out!

I would suggest getting as much info as you can to be certain of the full awning size you need and then checking manufacturers sites to be clear on how their 'sizing' works-it can be very misleading at times.

Everything considered you may be best looking bat all the various selling sites, from the club classifieds and  specialist awning dealers to the likes of ebay etc.

One site i was made aware of was Facebook Marketplace, I don't use Facebook, and we bought a secondhand porch awning there last year.

I would advise that, as for most things, get the best you can afford and with an eye for how you will be using it-like inner tents etc.