Which Awning Dilemma

We are away on Thursday for an extended break down in the West Country.  Usually it's only herself and I, but next week we will have Nana Creaky and Grandpa Grumbles staying at a nearby B&B as well as the two boys and a girlfriend in tow for some of the time.

The dilemma now is which of our three awning to take with us.

We have a small lightweight porch awning by Riverways Leisure.

We also have a larger porch awning made by Pyramid.

And we also have the full; size awning that we used on our previous caravan made by Dorema.

Our previous caravan, a Mendip Magnum 556 had six berths, but our new van only has 4.  A few weeks ago a sleeping annexe was purchased to accommodate extra guests when we have them.

The decision now has to be made which awning to take away with us.  My favourite every time is the lightweight porch awning.  It goes up in 10 mins flat and is very light to cart around.  However, it does not have zip out sides and will not therefore accommodate a sleeping annexe, so falls at the first hurdle.







It's now a two horse race between the Pyramid and the Dorema.  They both weigh about the same and will both accommodate the sleeping annexe, but the Dorema would offer so much more living space.

As we are away for over 10 nights herself decreed that the Dorema full awning was coming with us.  One snag though.  It has never been on our new van, which although being the same shipping length has a longer awning measurement.

Will it fit?  Only one way to find out, so this morning we pushed the van out of it's hidey hole and headed in the direction of Pembrey Country Park to attempt pitching the full awning on the new van.

Son #1 lets me know that herself has given him instructions to take a picture and report directly back to her, as she does not trust me to tell the truth regarding it's fit.

The canvas was unpacked, the panels zipped in and then the awning dragged through the awning channel.  One side was duly pegged down at the back before going round the front to do likewise.

Bollocks! 9 inches too short! And that's on a perfectly level pitch. I tug at it, but to no avail, the canvas does not have 9 inches of play in it and the pegging ladders will not reach the ground on both sides at the same time.

So, that's it! Decision made for us.  The Pyramid is coming to Devon and the Dorema is going on e bay.

Anyone interested in a 2005 Dorema Sirocco Awning size 13 (950 -975)?