Awnings & Rails

Getting the feeling that you need a bigger van but don’t really want to part with your trusty Transit Custom? Why not look at expanding the usable space for touring with our range of Dometic Kampa and Thule awnings to give you additional storage and living space without the need to change your vehicle.

What types of awnings are there?

Typically you would find manual wind or pull out canopies attached to the roofline of your van, enabling you to quickly and neatly put up a shelter, perfect for shade or keeping the ever changing weather away. Manual awnings are often vehicle specific, even between different lengths of van, each awning is supplied with a bracket kit to fit your MK1 Transit Custom so it’s worth deliberating to make sure you choose the correct fitment, we would also recommend professional installation due to the nature of a long item needing to be fitted level without skewing or bending the body of the awning.

Awning tents can either be an add on accessory for a manual awning canopy, or even a standalone attachment to the side of your van, connecting to a roof awning rail, giving you massive amount of room with a direct entrance into and out of your vehicle for storage. Quite often awning tents have drive away options, allowing you to remove the connecting link between the van and the tent separately, giving you the option to use your vehicle without needing to dismantle and pack away the tent, perfect for those time that you go on a day excursion, or simply need to get more supplies!

With changing technology, driveaway awnings can be built up using air frames, instead of the bulky and cumbersome poles that we’ve been used to, which helps increase pitch times and pack down sizes. The awning tents are designed using inflatable tubular beams, which when pumped up will hold the structure up.

Whilst you may find your campervan set up perfectly for converting into a sleeping area, an awning tent can provide a fantastically convenient living space, allowing for full size dining and cooking areas. Some tents are setup internally for being sleeping areas, featuring darkened material to help reduce light transmission into bedrooms. Increasing the sleeping areas allows your to keep the van area free, should you need to quickly head out.

What’s the different between a wind out and pull out awning?

Wind out awnings will be matched with a cranking handle, this is used to wind out the canopy to the needed length, then the retractable legs are adjusted to suit the elevation and secured in place. Pull out awnings are typically lighter but may take a bit more work to set up, extending the side arms and rolling out the canopy over the top to create the shelter with frame, the legs are extended and secured in the same way as a wind out shelter.

The main consideration for which option to choose is how much you value the ease of use from your new awning, but we recommend two people for using either type to make pitching and adjusting a breeze.