Hi

New to to the world or Eriba (And indeed that of caravanning) and have been looking at getting a simple to erect awning for our first tentative trips out! Looking at a Sunncamp Swift deluxe or air, but get confused with the rail heights needed for it. Should I be looking at ones for a camper van due to the low rail height on our van? Other than the fully open Isabella Shadow, what are the affordable, sensible and easy to erect options which would fit the van?

Your help is much appreciated, and I have looked at many threads, but it is making sure I purchase the right one which is concerning me!

Ben

Thanks Colin. Need to head on line and get shopping! Hoping first weekend away starts on 10th July... Will be getting to know our ‘new’ Eriba. Very excited to be joining the Eriba family.

hi Ben

We have the 540GT as well and we love it - I'm sure that you will too.

I'm sure that you have seen already on threads on the Forum that awnings are all about personal choice and a lot depends on what you are using it for.I can only give you our view.

We have three. The first is an AL Porch Awning with metal poles that was our first one. I have problems crouching down to put tent pegs in the ground and this had loads of pegs. We also found it quite heavy to lift up onto the awning rail. We used this three times and then decided to look for something else.

We then got the new Kampa Pop Air 365 (like Colin). This is both brilliant and awful at the same time. Ours was one of the first models and the newer model seems to have sorted out lots of the niggly faults. We use this in Autumn & winter and it gives you a great space to use if the weather isn't great. It can be heavy to get into the awning rail at the end as you have to hold most of the weight as you slide the final bit of the thread into the rail but it is quick and easy to blow up and then deflate. There are lots of tips on the forum to help. We always spray the rail with silicone to help ease the thread in. We take a couple of steps to stand on and now always start from the front of the van, as this seems to be easier for us. We also use the Isabella rail stops (not sure that is official name) to prevent the thread slipping out of the rail ( a bigger problem with the first models). We do our cooking in the awning in a Ramoska and it is a great place for a glass or two of wine.

Our biggest problem with it was trying to erect it on grass pitches that were very uneven. We now never book a grass pitch anyway for other reasons and so that is not an issue anymore. The original models looked better on the older lower railed Trolls, as on ours from the side they often appear sloping - just an aesthetic issue that doesn't effect how they perform. For us a big bonus has been how well our Kampa has performed in very strong winds. We camped on Walney Island when we had two days of storms wierdly from the Irish sea the first day and Morecambe Bay the next. We ended up putting the pop top down in the middle of the night but the Kampa awning held up. when there were other awnings blown all over the site.

Then following some comments on the Forum we bought an Isabella Shadow Sun canopy. We have become real advocates of this as it goes up so quickly and is so light. Also it only has three pegs to hammer into the ground. We bought it for sunny weather but have been through some shocking Lake District and Yorkshire Dales rain and it has worked well. We have always managed to find somewhere to sit under it where we have have kept fairly dry. Once we get out again on the road we will be experimenting with the judicious placing of a windbreak and are looking to follow Randa's example of making our own side to match the Shadow.

But this is just our tale. There are examples of some other awnings that look great on the Troll. We were very tempted with the Walker and the Isabella Coal but length of time putting them up put us off. It really is pay your money and take your choice. If you do go for a Kampa Pop Air I would strongly suggest that you get one of the later models (2019? I think) even if you see much cheaper second hand original ones.

Good luck and enjoy

MikeT

Hi, We are the same as Colin...have an Isabella Shadow for sunny weather and a Sunncamp Swift 260, for all other weather. Easy to put up and very good in windy weather due to the gap at the bottom of the sides. Also, we have not had problems with water pooling on the top.
Chris