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Awnings and tents

How does this Kadar strip work then?
I don't understand.
If it slides from one end then something has to move.
Either the tent (no) or the van (has to be - but accurately, therefore its a two man job).
Or you have the interface to the awning loose.
Either way its got to be rubbish.
Anyone got it and like it?
 
Snapperman said:
Hi guys hope all well and safe has anyone got any suggestions or pictures of the awnings or tents that you use on a trip away starting to plan ahead for next year hopefully 🤞🤞😂
Click to expand...
I’ve had 3 diff driveaway awnings on my e50 and been honest the difference between driveaway awning and a tent is if u want to be able to enter Elgrand directly from awning , a lot of the time I didn’t attach driveaway awning to car , I used a magnetic awning strip and a couple of guy ropes to attach driveway awning but in high winds or heavy rain it used to flap about , so if I was going to use my e50 for camping I would getba tent with a side door and set it up inline the sliding door
 
Steve Thompson said:
How does this Kadar strip work then?
I don't understand.
If it slides from one end then something has to move.
Either the tent (no) or the van (has to be - but accurately, therefore its a two man job).
Or you have the interface to the awning loose.
Either way its got to be rubbish.
Anyone got it and like it?
Click to expand...
This is a clever idea if you can attach it firmly it's a standard caravan awning strip that you thread the awing into IMG_1790.jpg
 
Steve Thompson said:
How does this Kadar strip work then?
I don't understand.
If it slides from one end then something has to move.
Either the tent (no) or the van (has to be - but accurately, therefore its a two man job).
Or you have the interface to the awning loose.
Either way its got to be rubbish.
Anyone got it and like it?
The edge of the awning is in the figure 8 strip and the keder strip between that and the van rail. Most awning have adjustment to take up spare in this area so you can loosen/tighten as needed.
Click to expand...
 
This is a proper slide on awning channel for caravans which goes up and around and is fixed in place when you park up it's not a drive away set up !!!!
 
No you can drive away in minutes ... the channel is fixed to the van and drive away awnings have the fig of 8 kador strips, but it’s in 3 pieces, park up, thread the 3 strips into the rail and then either inflate or erect your poles depending upon your awning .... to drive away you simply slide out the kador strips from the rail, one at a time, role up the connection tunnel, easy!! It’s a tried and tested system for camper vans and the like, nothing like the fixed system used on caravans ... YouTube it, takes mins to disconnect.
 
Well I checked out YouTube.
As I thought - it's a faff.
Negatives:-
1.Needs a 3m long 'C' channel permanently screwed and glued onto your roof - yeah right, not on my Elgrand thanks.
2. Recognised as 'not for easy use with a driveway awning', coz it's a faff.
3. If van driven away then needs to be reparked within a few inches otherwise its a faff, and the awning will be loose or tight or twisted.
4. Long slidey bits that dangle in the muddy bits - well they need to be clean!
5.. Multiple Seperate bits to lose.
6. Drive away looks pretty straight forward but drive back looks like more of a two man job.
7. All the videos I've seen on YouTube only show small width awnings using this bit of kit, I wonder why.
8. Top corner areas do not have enough angle for the elastic to actually work and fill those gaps.
9. How much??
10. Still like to get some real world first hand feedback - anyone?
Oh how I love picking holes in stuff.
 
Oh dear, not for you then!!! im not sure how having straps and ropes lashed over the top of your van is less faff than sliding a coupling rail into place, but each to their own I guess ... I’m not too worried about parking my van as I left it, I’ve been driving quite a while and I’ve gotten quite good at this ere ’parking in a straight line’ lark ... and I believe placing a couple of tent pegs to mark your line helps 😃
 
Steve Thompson said:
Well I checked out YouTube.
As I thought - it's a faff.
Negatives:-
1.Needs a 3m long 'C' channel permanently screwed and glued onto your roof - yeah right, not on my Elgrand thanks.
2. Recognised as 'not for easy use with a driveway awning', coz it's a faff.
3. If van driven away then needs to be reparked within a few inches otherwise its a faff, and the awning will be loose or tight or twisted.
4. Long slidey bits that dangle in the muddy bits - well they need to be clean!
5.. Multiple Seperate bits to lose.
6. Drive away looks pretty straight forward but drive back looks like more of a two man job.
7. All the videos I've seen on YouTube only show small width awnings using this bit of kit, I wonder why.
8. Top corner areas do not have enough angle for the elastic to actually work and fill those gaps.
9. How much??
10. Still like to get some real world first hand feedback - anyone?
Oh how I love picking holes in stuff.
Click to expand...
I’ve used this on a magnetic awning strip , with the 3 plastic figure 8 , yes it’s abit of a faff retaching , but I used to put bits of wood to mark exactly where I had to park , and awning was easy then to refit then,
 
When we get ours set up we have a bright coloured ribbon that we peg from the front wheel to the rear a a smaller piece to go in front of the front tire. Like this |______________ use the kerb cam in the wing mirror to line it up perfect.
 
Great idea .... I guess any DA awning requires a bit of faff to re-park, regardless of how it’s attached ... I may steal your ribbon idea though, with the kerb camera it’s perfect, I forgot all about that cam, I’ve never actually used it!!

I do get the aesthetics bit to be fair, but I’m having the full NewDawn conversion, complete with pop top, so an extra rail isn’t going to make much difference to me. But I know some vans are modded to look fabulous, and I get you wouldn’t want a C rail stuck to one of those.

BTW the rail is £80 fitted or £23 on its own, the Kador strips are supplied with most awnings ... not big money in the context of my full conversion costs, I can’t quite believe I’m spending so much ... I started off just wanting a removable camping pod, but it kind of snowballed out of control .... I blame lockdown fever!
 
Cool ... exactly the same principle as the ribbon method but maybe more hardwearing ... good tip, cheers
 
Back to the OP's question.
Here is my solution.
Quechua with two cords straight over the top of my 600 litre roofbox.
Quick, cheap, easy, surprising wind & waterproof.
I can have the sunroof open all night too.
Lovely.
£200 total.
Others maybe better but this works for me.
IMG_20200725_133612.jpgIMG_20200725_133622.jpgIMG_20200725_133637.jpg
 
Snapperman said:
Hi guys hope all well and safe has anyone got any suggestions or pictures of the awnings or tents that you use on a trip away starting to plan ahead for next year hopefully 🤞🤞😂
Click to expand...
I actually ended up going with a pop top.
Once up, which only takes 10 seconds, you can open the canvas and just have fly screen or close up in cold weather.
Great option for hotter weather, or just to create air flow within the van proper.
Mostly I use the pull out bed in the van, but having the pop up, whther you use the bed or not gives you great head room and feeling of space.
I don't have pics to share, but well worth considering if you have the coin to spare.
 
As already mentioned, putting a rail on a show winning vehicle isn't an option but on a camper it doesn't look out of place. We often use a canopy in our rail if just the two of us are away, great for cooking outside and it's a dry area to have a few beers with the new found camping neighbours on an evening when the weather turns sour.
 
Paddlindazza said:
As already mentioned, putting a rail on a show winning vehicle isn't an option but on a camper it doesn't look out of place. We often use a canopy in our rail if just the two of us are away, great for cooking outside and it's a dry area to have a few beers with the new found camping neighbours on an evening when the weather turns sour.
Click to expand...
I wondered about this option for shorter stays, when the full awning might be over kill. What type of canopy do you use? Does it fit using the standard Kador rail thingies?
 
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