A Buyer’s Guide to Motorhome & Campervan Awnings

As you’ll no doubt already know as a leisure vehicle owner, life travelling the roads is fantastic – but kicking back and relaxing when you’ve reached your destination is even better! Once you’ve parked your motorhome or campervan (or, when it comes to it, your caravan too) at your favourite spot then there is a simple but clever way to enhance the quality of our stay. You can maximise the space you can usefully occupy by using an awning. This is a fabric addition to your vehicle which brings part of the pitch next to your vehicle under cover.

Motorhome awnings and campervan awnings come in a variety of shapes, sizes and layouts, but common to all is that they provide a valuable extra option for you. Whatever the awning, the owner is going to benefit. Whether the awning is a basic touring canopy, which offers shade over a couple of deckchairs, to the largest kind, which will provide shelter for several seats and perhaps even contains enclosed sleeping areas, having an awning is a cost-effective way to make the whole motorhome and campervan experience better. It’s no wonder awnings are amongst the most popular motorhome accessories and are available from camper dealers alongside the vehicles themselves.

Here, we run through some of the important things to consider about awnings.

What Size Awning Do I Need?

It’s very important to recognise that there are different options for different vehicles – and choosing the one that is appropriate for your motorhome or campervan is essential. Work from the vehicle forwards, not from the awning backwards. A strange saying, perhaps – but it means, in other words, don’t just go buy yourself an awning that you fancy the look of. You could be in the unenviable position of discovering it is totally incompatible with your vehicle. Start the journey towards getting the right awning with the vehicle itself, and by researching the awnings which are compatible.

Another important part of working out which awning is the correct one for you is to consider function, i.e.…

How the Awning Will Be Used

You might only want a small awning – essentially, this would be a sort of ‘cover’ for the area outside the door of the vehicle, in effect a porch rather than a completely social space. Or you may want something with even more potential for lifestyle. Larger awnings will provide cover for more space, meaning more use as ‘an outdoor room’ than just as a covered area around the entrance / exit of your motorhome. The difference between the two uses for the space will determine the type of awning you will decide to go for.

How Will the Awning Attach?

The most common way that awnings can be attached to vehicles is via an awning rail on the side. The awning itself will have a beading strip along the ‘top edge’ and this will slide into the rail. If it’s a driveaway awning, when you are parked up on site but want to go out for the day (say) then you can just slide it out of the rail when you want to leave.

It’s more important to consider whether you need a rail or a wind-out canopy awning (which already have a rail included) fitted to your motorhome. It’s better to get this professionally fitted as although DIY kits are available, it is. Something that you want to get absolutely right – and doing it yourself increases the risk of it being wrong. There are other awning options available – for instance some awnings are available which have straps ‘built in’, which you throw over the roof and peg down on the other side of the motorhome.

Do I Need a Driveaway or Rail Awning?

If you are away in your motorhome and move from site to site on a regular basis, or go away for weekends and leave your vehicle on site, then a fixed awning is likely to be the right choice for you. If you require the flexibility of being able to go out for the day without packing everything up (i.e. the awning) then opting for a driveaway awning is a good idea.

What about Inflatable Awnings?

There is such a thing! An inflatable awning is relatively easy to put up, and two people should be able to do so without too much fuss. Most air awnings have single inflation points and can be inflated using 12V or mains 230V pump (as opposed to the hassle of using a foot pump). Inflatable awnings are safe as they will flex in any wind and there are no solid poles to cause damage to the vehicle (or to you!) – but obviously they can be ripped or punctured, which would leave with no awning until a repair can be completed.

Motorhome & Campervan Awnings at Spinney

At Spinney, we are not just a motorhome, caravan and campervan dealer. We also stock an array of awnings suitable for different vehicles – so unless you know in advance exactly what you are looking for then it’s best to speak to us. Our team will be more than pleased to help, to ensure that you get exactly the right awning for your vehicle – and to suit your needs. We are experts on awnings by manufacturers such as Thule, Outdoor Revolution, Kampa Dometic, Fiamma and more, and you can check out these and all of our other accessories at Spinney in Cheshire, Flintshire and Staffordshire.