Awning replacement possibilities...
Posted: Sun Jun 28, 2009 5:09 pm
This is a message I'd posted over at the old group. I wanted to post it here so I could reference it easily...
I probably wouldn't put another of the same awning on the van. Not worth the expense, especially if I needed to have special brackets made.
For reference, this Horizon II is the current version of the awnings our B190s came with, I think.
Option 1:
A friend of mine with a vintage Airstream has an awning that folds into a small box at the top. It's basically like our awnings except that there's no crank mechanism - you roll and unroll it manually - and the horizontal arms pop in more like a normal camper awning. It's pretty easy to do - I helped him set it up and take it down in wind with no problem at all. It's pretty light and easy to manage, though you might need a stepstool to pop it into the case.
I think this is the model he has.
Basically the difference between the original awning on the B190 and this model is that this is manual opening versus a mechanism.
I don't have a picture of his awning open, but you can see it above the door in this picture:
Option 2:
Fabric and poles only (I can't find it on the Dometic website now).
For that you'd just install an awning rail (if it doesn't have one) then slide the awning into the rail when you want to use it. A friend of mine has one in her 1962 Airstream Tradewinds, and it's nice, and she puts it up and takes it down alone without a problem. She uses a couple stakes and ropes to keep the poles in position, but the cool thing is that if the wind comes along and gets too strong for it, the poles just fall over - no actual damage to the awning (well, it could tear if it hits something as it falls, but that's unlikely). The awning fabric and poles store separately in a bag, which could be a downside for us given our lack of storage space.
You can see her awning here:
(The two guys were just helping - she does it alone all the time.)
Can you tell I've been thinking about this?
Ever since mine collapsed in the rain, it hasn't worked as well (actually it wasn't that great even before then), so the next time I have a problem with it, I'll probably dump it for one of the two above options. I think both of those options are cheaper than the Horizon II awning and at least as good, if you don't mind doing a bit more work to set it up. I haven't priced them out, but as I recall a new Horizon II would've been $750 installed (based on research, not on an actual cost estimate). I'm pretty sure the second option would be about half that.
Disclaimer - I may not have the correct pages for the three awning possibilities - they look right based on what I can tell in the pictures and descriptions, but I don't know the actual model numbers of what my friends have.
I probably wouldn't put another of the same awning on the van. Not worth the expense, especially if I needed to have special brackets made.
For reference, this Horizon II is the current version of the awnings our B190s came with, I think.
Option 1:
A friend of mine with a vintage Airstream has an awning that folds into a small box at the top. It's basically like our awnings except that there's no crank mechanism - you roll and unroll it manually - and the horizontal arms pop in more like a normal camper awning. It's pretty easy to do - I helped him set it up and take it down in wind with no problem at all. It's pretty light and easy to manage, though you might need a stepstool to pop it into the case.
I think this is the model he has.
Basically the difference between the original awning on the B190 and this model is that this is manual opening versus a mechanism.
I don't have a picture of his awning open, but you can see it above the door in this picture:
Option 2:
Fabric and poles only (I can't find it on the Dometic website now).
For that you'd just install an awning rail (if it doesn't have one) then slide the awning into the rail when you want to use it. A friend of mine has one in her 1962 Airstream Tradewinds, and it's nice, and she puts it up and takes it down alone without a problem. She uses a couple stakes and ropes to keep the poles in position, but the cool thing is that if the wind comes along and gets too strong for it, the poles just fall over - no actual damage to the awning (well, it could tear if it hits something as it falls, but that's unlikely). The awning fabric and poles store separately in a bag, which could be a downside for us given our lack of storage space.
You can see her awning here:
(The two guys were just helping - she does it alone all the time.)
Can you tell I've been thinking about this?
Ever since mine collapsed in the rain, it hasn't worked as well (actually it wasn't that great even before then), so the next time I have a problem with it, I'll probably dump it for one of the two above options. I think both of those options are cheaper than the Horizon II awning and at least as good, if you don't mind doing a bit more work to set it up. I haven't priced them out, but as I recall a new Horizon II would've been $750 installed (based on research, not on an actual cost estimate). I'm pretty sure the second option would be about half that.Disclaimer - I may not have the correct pages for the three awning possibilities - they look right based on what I can tell in the pictures and descriptions, but I don't know the actual model numbers of what my friends have.