Awning choice help pls

[tdesanto]

I vote for the Fiamma. I have the Fiamma 35 and the Eezi-Awn 2m awnings. They are both similar in quality, size, weight, etc.

The Fiamma is the quickest to deploy of any awning I've seen. Easy for one person to deploy and stow. This is one of the biggest reasons for getting it, in my opinion. You'll use it more. It's so quick, you can deploy it for lunch on the trail and then put it away when you're done and ready to get moving.

The Eezi-Awn is also great, and you can get the Recvee panels for an enclosed room, but it takes more time to set up. This one is easier if you have another person to help.

 

[theMec]

Carefree Awning

I have a 8 ft Carefree Freedom III from Carefree of Colorado -> link here. This is a hard case unit which I believe is similar to Fiamma but is an American company. It opens w/ a manual crank. Total deploy and leg adjustment time is under 2 minutes. Same w/ closing it up.

A friend has one of the manual roll out & deploy models. I don't know what brand. It cost him $400 and he says he never uses it because it takes too long to setup.

Here's a shot of my Carefree awning. It's the best awning pic I have. Sorry. Click on it for a larger image.

 

[adventureduo]

I have the ARB awning (same as camping lab) and i have a Fiamma F35. If i had to choose one over the other, i'd go with Fiamma. The quality is much higher and it locks up in a durable aluminum case. The actual awning material is the same as you would find on an RV/motorhome.

 

[Jerulator]

Ordered the Fiamma F35 Pro from Adventuretrailers ! I inquired about the Fiamma unit via email with Adventuretrailers and they responded very quickly (good service), so I gave them a call today and talked with Mario. He was very informative / helpful. To me, this is a huge factor especially when your making a purchase by faith (never have seen the product). I went ahead and ordered it and now will be waiting like a kid on Christmas eve !
I will report back on the installation and performance of the Fiamma F35 Pro awning.
Thanks again to all who gave advise !
Jerry

You are probably close enough to Adventure Trailers to take a look at the Fiamma and Eezi-Awn products.

 

[tdesanto]

You're going to really like it. So fast to set up, you'll get more use out of it.

 

[Jerulator]

I received the Fiamma F35Pro from Adventuretrailers and must say I am impressed with both (Adventuretrailers and the fiamma), I have installed the unit already and have even made a 280+ mile road trip with it installed. The installation took me 1 Saturday but should have been half of that time. I had to install and remove several times because of some mods I had to do. I had to cut down the brackets because I did not have enough exposed load bar ends. I only have 4" to work with and the brackets were about 6" long. So I cut them down to 4" and drilled 2 new holes. Seems to be holding very tight, I keep checking them for security and tightness. I have deployed the awning 1 time and that was in my front yard. Easily done by myself (no need for a helping hand).
I'm on the fence as to install the included mounts that mount to the vehicle (makes it nice to be able to relocate vehicle without taking the awning down). The problem here is I have it mounted on my 89 ford clubwagon that has the sliding door on the passenger side, should I mount them for when the door is opened or closed ? Or should I order another set and be able to mount it for both conditions (open or closed) ? Probably the latter. Also I'm not sure I want to drill into the body/door of the van.
Thanks again to everyone for you input ! :wings: I will post up some pics when the weather clears up
Jerry

 

[kerry]

I have a 8 ft Carefree Freedom III from Carefree of Colorado -> link here. This is a hard case unit which I believe is similar to Fiamma but is an American company. It opens w/ a manual crank. Total deploy and leg adjustment time is under 2 minutes. Same w/ closing it up.

Looks nice but the cheapest price I saw on the 8' was $906 which seems pretty pricey.

 

[theMec]

I'm on the fence as to install the included mounts that mount to the vehicle (makes it nice to be able to relocate vehicle without taking the awning down).

I'm thinking about this too. Here's a picture of the awning legs mounted to the truck mounts. I forget whose rig this is -> http://expeditionportal.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=27318&d=1238987647

Looks nice but the cheapest price I saw on the 8' was $906 which seems pretty pricey.

I paid about $900 mounted. The mounting was $80 and took an hour. Well worth it, I think. I don't know what the Fiamma costs but Carefree is a 20 min drive from me and the RV company that did the install is next to them. Nice to support a Colorado business opposed to an Italian one. I love Italy but ...

 

[tdesanto]

I forget whose rig this is -> http://expeditionportal.com/forum/at...8&d=1238987647

That belongs to Mario of Adventure Trailers.