Vehicle-Mounted Awnings

Why buy an awning?

When travelling in your camper vehicle you have the privilege of being free to stop at the most beautiful places. Simply turn off the ignition, get the table and chairs out, and enjoy the marvellous view. A Dometic awning gives you added pleasure: it turns the area in front of your vehicle into your personal mobile patio, which will give you many relaxing hours! With the right motorhome awning accessories, you can quickly create an extra room for your mobile home, complete with windows, doors, curtains, fly screens and lighting.

Buying a Motorhome Awning

You'll appreciate having an awning on most trips.

Ideal awnings for frequent travellers

Retractable awnings fold up into the motorhome easily and are ideal for frequent travellers. Most awnings are either fitted on the roof or side of the vehicle. The best awning installation for you and your vehicle best depends on: the amount of room above the vehicle’s doors and windows, the shape of the vehicle’s side where it converges with the roof (curved edges are suitable for roof fitted awnings), and whether there are mounting brackets available for your vehicle.

The best awning fabric!

Most awnings are made from the same fabric variations, vinyl and acrylic are two of the most common awning fabrics. The fabric is one of the most important things to consider when buying an awning since the type of awning material will affect the durability of your awning. Vinyl awnings can be washed with soap and water while acrylic should only be cleaned with water.

The right motorhome awning size?

When buying an awning, it's important to select the correct awning size for your vehicle. If you purchase the wrong size, it may not attach properly and the new awning could even end up blocking your windows and doors. An easy way to buy an awning in the correct size is to measure your old awning. However, if you are buying your first awning, try measuring the area that you would like to cover. Longer models which go along the whole length of a motorhome are rare and may be more problematic during travel. Dometic has a tailor-made solution for every need, our range includes manual awnings and electric awnings from 1.50 metres up to 6.0 metres long.

Fast and easy awning installation

Installation of a motorhome awning is straightforward, simply follow the instructions which are included with your new retractable awning. Once that’s done, all that’s left to do is relax under your new retractable motorhome awning, sheltered from the elements, yet still able to enjoy the view!

Powered awning or manual awning?

Deciding whether to buy a powered awning or manual awning is a decision which you should base on your travelling style. If you want to go to the most remote places you should consider a manual awning since you will not be reliant on power. If you choose a manual awning you can be as remote as you wish but you should account for extra time to set up the awning. Often powered awnings are able to be opened manually too, though the ease and convenience of this varies – it's not a main function of the powered awning, but rather for emergency use. A powered awning is a great option for people who are always on the move and regularly setting up camp in a new location. For some motorhome fans, it could mean setting up their awning several times and a powered awning would save them the time and effort of repeatedly setting up. Whereas others set up their awning once and leave it in position for weeks!

Still Confused? - Awning Buying Guide