09
Dec
The perfect time to relax and make memories that you won’t ever forget is during a holiday. One perfect example of a holiday that allows you to bond with family and friends and create wonderful memories together is a caravan holiday. Caravanning, whether you’re going camping or travelling across the country, is an affordable way to take your family on an adventure and bond.
Although it may be you who needs to do the entire planning, at least you’ll know exactly what you’re getting. You don’t need to pay for expensive hotels or search for Airbnb’s as you already have a place to spend the night in. If you are planning to go caravanning, it’s probably a good idea to do it when the weather is warmer. In that case, you’ll need something to shield you from the sun and a caravan awning is a perfect solution for that.
Before you go on a caravan awning shopping spree, you should know the dimensions of your caravan. All caravan awnings on the market require you to know the A, B and C measurements of your caravan since not all of them are made the same. The A measurement is the height of the awning rail from the ground – this includes the height of your caravan from the ground to the roof.
The B measurement is the straight section of the awning rail which is determined by the length of the roof. The C measurement is the distance between where the straight section of the awning rail ends and the edge of your caravan door. This needs to be measured beforehand so there’s enough space for the rear sealing pad.
When you’ve taken every measurement and got your awning in one piece, it’s time to put it up. Before you start though, you’ll need to make sure the awning rail is open all the way and that there’s nothing in its way. You also need to identify the poles and mark them with coloured tape so they are easily distinguishable and spray the awning rail with silicone lubricant.
Start off by threading the awning through the rail/channel. Have someone help you feed it through and ensure the awning is all the way through and in the centre too. Next, fit the front centre vertical pole across the roof canvas and make sure you do so at an angle so the pole is able to support the roof.
After you’ve set up the centre vertical pole into, fit a roof pole into the middle bracket pad, then extend it and connect it to the centre vertical pole. Make sure to tension the roof pole. When the roof pole is square with your caravan, lock it into place and leave the vertical pole at an angle.
Next, fit the corner vertical poles to the extended front connect pole before you extend the vertical poles to the ground. Then, insert the roof poles in the bracket pads by fitting them to the corner poles. Tension the awning in small steps to ensure that it’s secured into position. Lastly, add the guy ropes, peg out the skirt starting at the nearest point to the caravan, insert the pegs in at an angle and add the draught skirt and curtains.
To properly secure your awning, you need to loop one ratchet strap over the awning’s barrel. Then, you need to either peg or bolt the ratchet strap to the ground and add in a second ratchet strap for a backup and to provide an alternative hold angle too. Then, tighten the ratchet strap or straps and secure any loose ends you might have missed previously. Add deflappers to both ends and pull the awning so it’s tight. This way, even strong winds won’t stand a chance against any of your caravan privacy screens.
As we all know, condensation forms when there is not enough space for water to evaporate easily in the air. There could be moisture in the ground, from people sleeping or from nearby heaters. There are multiple factors that can cause condensation in caravan awnings but there are also multiple ways to stop this.
You can reduce condensation by avoiding parking on wet ground, not storing wet items inside the awning and by turning off heaters. You should also maintain good ventilation and use a non-breathable waterproof groundsheet. Avoid cooking near or in the awning and wipe down condensation as soon as you notice it. If you want to rest assured there won’t be any condensation, park in a spot where there’s a natural soft breeze.
