Drive Away Awning Buying Guide

Drive Away Awning Buying Guide

A campervan and motorhome accessory favourite, the drive away awning, from inflatable to poled, can transform your pitch on your campervan holiday. Of course, there’s a bit to know before you decide. Our drive away awning buying guide highlights some of the most common questions we receive from customers, and everything you need to know before you choose your awning.


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What is a drive away awning?

What is a drive away

A drive away is awning is a tent that will attach to your motorhome or caravan. The drive away element means you can disconnect and reattach from your camper and leave it pitched. That way, you can take a spin in the car or go out for the day and keep the awning in your space.

Why get a drive away awning?

Primarily, you would get a drive away awning to extend your pitch (and you can literally double your pitch!) in your motorhome. It’s a great accessory solution to enhance your camping experience, giving you additional living and storage space. However, there’s a few more uses & benefits including:
  • Adding a bedroom
  • Shade from the sun, shelter from the rain
  • Family hang out space & kids playing area
  • Reduce campervan clutter
And that’s just a few of many!

How does it connect?

connection jpg

One of the most common questions is how to attach this to your motorhome. You can do this several ways:

  1. Wind Out Awning

Nearly all wind out awnings come with a channel to slide the beading strip into. You may need 4mm- 6mm figure of 8 strip to fit this to your awning as channels are often smaller.

2. Connecting to a vehicle gutter or pre attached kador rail (recommended)

Some vehicles have a rail or a pre sunk channel which you can slide the 6mm beading from the edge of your awning directly into. If your vehicle does not have this, you can usually find something suitable online. We offer rails for VW T4/T5/T6, Renault Trafic and Mercedes Vito. If you don’t already own a wind out awning, a rail or channel is the simplest way to attach a drive away awning your vehicle. (Remember to slide this into your vehicle gutter or rail before you pitch the tent.) Camperco Top Tip: If you want to drive away after pitching, you’ll also need a drive away awning kit available here. This includes a double edged kador strip and figure of 8 strip and enables you to slide the strip away when you are planning on driving away.

3. Pole & Clamp

If your camper has a shallow gutter rail, you can use a pole and clamp kit, this can also be used with roof bars. The pole slides into the sleeve at the rear of the awning, and then it fastens into the gutter. You can then secure the awning with clamps at the centre and sides

4. Storm straps

While not being the most secure, many prefer to use storm straps to fasten this to your camper. These buckle to the awning and go over the vehicle and are pegged down. Vango awnings come with these included as standard but you can also get these separately as well.

What will suit my vehicle? Which will fit my camper?

Connection height

Drive away awnings come in 3 different sizes which should be measured against where the connection is taking place. When you are searching for your awning, it will state on the listing exact fitting height, but generally it should follow this guideline:

  • Low Awnings: 180cm - 210cm (Berlingo, Vito, VW T4/T5/T6 campervans)
  • Standard Awnings: 205cm - 245cm
  • Tall Awnings: 245cm - 295cm. (Sprinter, Transit)
Make sure to measure this on your vehicle before you purchase.

What do we recommend?

There are a huge range of styles & options to choose from. So, make sure to choose a recognisable and reputable brand known for quality. Our range of drive away awnings come from some of the leading brands, so what’s best for you, will largely depend on personal preference.

Here are some of our top sellers:

Reimo Tour Compact Free-Standing Drive Away Mini Campervan Awning suitable for vans with a sliding door and vehicle height up to 190cm

Tour Compact

Suitable for VW Caddy |Citroen Berlingo |Mercedes Citan | Renault Kangoo |Peugeot Partner | Ford Connect
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Reimo Tour Easy 3 Free-Standing Drive Away Campervan Awning for campervans with a sliding door and fixing/mounting height of 180-210cm.
Tour easy 3
Suitable for VW Transporter, Renault Trafic, Mercedes Vito, Vauxhall/Opel Vivaro and other campervans
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Vango Kela-An excellent space to spend time with friends and family, the Vango Kela V drive away inflatable awning inflates in a few minutes leaving you with more time to enjoy your break.

VW Driveway awnings
Available in Low, Standard & Tall | Suitable for most vehicles
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Vango Hexaway- The perfect place to spend time with family and friends, the Vango AirHub offering living room style space for your motorhome.

Vango heaxaway drive away awning
Available in Low, Standard & Tall | Suitable for most vehicles
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Vango Galli- The Vango Galli III Compact drive away awning is easy to pitch, inflates in a matter of minutes and creates a great space for you to unwind.

Vango Galli drive away awning
Vango Galli Drive away awning
Available in Low, Standard & Tall | Suitable for most vehicles
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