Bag Awnings Vs Fiamma

[Vtec]

The awnings usually found on Scamps & Casita's are really expensive add-ons if the trailer didn't come with it. I have considered getting one to install many times but just cannot justify the cost. Besides that it bothers me that in most cases they do not seal out rain at the base of the camper and it is a big scary job of installing one yourself so we have not gotten one.

Our old popups came with bag awnings and they worked just fine. The question is are these that bad an option to just mount a rail, buy a bag awning, and when it goes bad, chuck and get another for about 1/3 the price of one good Fiamma? The bag awnings sealed out the rain great and we really hate the way the roll up ones are held away from the roof. And another question, rather than drilling and riveting a rail, glue it or use an adhesive tape? would that not be strong enough, and even if it wasn't, just reattach? Without riveting you could pull the C channel and just buff out like nothing happened.

Curious to hear what others think. Should we just bite the cost and get a Fiamma?

[DEBBIEC]

I was looking into that myself. My casita ha eze rv rubber gutter in place under the Fiamma and it works great! Instead of getting a new awning I have decided to list my casita for sale. I love it but honestly, at my age, the camping experience is more a chore than a pleasure. Now I need to figure a way to post a listing.

[trilliumdon]

I'll be keeping an eye on this post. In the process of abandoning the pop tent for a good awning. Trillium 13, any suggestions?

[Island Claire]

We have a bag awning. There are times it would be nice to just pull an awning down instead of getting out the awing and putting it up and all the poles. We are seriously thinking of mounting a permanent one cause there are times we did not put it up and wished we did.

Then there was the recent occasion when we had to drop it due to high winds and lightening. It was a little scary hanging onto the metal poles while the lightening flashed around us.

When we were reinstalling our rail, there was a sealant that the boat place said would seal and permanently anchor the rail to the trailer. We decided we wanted the option of removal. Sorry I do not remember the name of it.

[thrifty bill]

Had a bag awning on our Casita, it was really flimsy. I'd save up and get s good awning instead. The slightest of wind and the bag awning was down, twisting legs and supports along the way. We really had to be careful!

[Wayne Collins]

We are learning how to use our new Parkliner with Fiamma Awning, after 16 years of struggling with the Dometic on our Scamp. The convenience of the crank out/in design is much nicer. But, as you say, the awning case is straight while the trailer shell is curved. so it does not keep rain from getting under.
Curiously, the Fiamma manual says to put the awning away when it rains, or gets too windy. They intend it to be used only as a Sun Shade. .... WELL, that will be challenged by yours truly!
we know how to add guy ropes and stakes to secure the outer edge against winds. And, if I can find the right "gutter" I'll close the gap between awning and trailer shell.

[floyd]

Originally Posted by Wayne Collins

We are learning how to use our new Parkliner with Fiamma Awning, after 16 years of struggling with the Dometic on our Scamp. The convenience of the crank out/in design is much nicer. But, as you say, the awning case is straight while the trailer shell is curved. so it does not keep rain from getting under.
Curiously, the Fiamma manual says to put the awning away when it rains, or gets too windy. They intend it to be used only as a Sun Shade. .... WELL, that will be challenged by yours truly!
we know how to add guy ropes and stakes to secure the outer edge against winds. And, if I can find the right "gutter" I'll close the gap between awning and trailer shell.

I like the Catalina 2500 so much that I have stored a spare in case something ever happens to my factory awning.
Of course I still have the $500 I saved by buying the Catalina to put toward the Fiamma in case I ever want to switch.

Did you know that you can buy a kit to convert your Fiamma to remote 12V electric operation? Talk about convenience!!
Fiamma Inc. - Products

[Tom 72]

I'm still shopping, but I always figured I'd get a Clam Screen Room to take the place of the living room I'm not towing around with most fiberglass rvs. I appreciate it is not exactly an awning, but it would appear to offer a little more utility, including keeping insects out. They can be set up adjacent to a trailer, or over a picnic table if desired. They have optional wind panels, and let you cook and spend more of your time outside your trailer. To me it seems to be no contest. I sure welcome other views. Here's a quick set-up model that is almost 12' x 12'.
https://www.amazon.com/Clam-Corporat...FK/ref=sr_1_1?

[mary and bob]

For anyone buying a Shademaker bag awning, get the better "Supreme" model, not the cheaper "Classic". A few owners, us included, have found that water gets in the bag when the awning is rolled in. Since ours is on the Uhaul and is only 7' long, I can easily slide it off when not using the trailer. We have had the bag flip up when traveling, so it's upside down laying above the rail, not hanging down.

[floyd]

Originally Posted by mary and bob

For anyone buying a Shademaker bag awning, get the better "Supreme" model, not the cheaper "Classic". A few owners, us included, have found that water gets in the bag when the awning is rolled in. Since ours is on the Uhaul and is only 7' long, I can easily slide it off when not using the trailer. We have had the bag flip up when traveling, so it's upside down laying above the rail, not hanging down.

Mine did the flip every time as soon as I hit about 40MPH. It then stayed that way until I manually flipped it back. It never hurt it though, and it stayed dry in the bag. Not sure which level it was but I tend to be frugal.

[patrick crawford]

I use a bag awning from busdepot.com. It's intended for a vw camper van but is easily adapted to a small trailer using their optional suction cup brackets for the top of the trailer. I travel solo and yes, it's a bit of a chore to erect by myself. With a helper it's a piece of cake. One of the things I like most about this awning is the roof/ceiling is domed (using shock cord supports) and there's no issue with water pooling. As with all awnings wind is not your friend, however by lowering the front mine has withstood some gusty situations. When not deployed it lives in a 5" plastic fence post mounted to the trailer's bumper. There are 2 sizes available. The smaller is perfect for a 13' trailer and the larger is great on my 16'.

p@

[mary and bob]

Originally Posted by floyd

. Not sure which level it was but I tend to be frugal.

The "Classic" model from Shademaker has the twist lock poles. The better "Supreme" model has better poles and rafters that have a lever lock. The Supreme is only available in 8' and longer lengths, although I heard it possibly can be special ordered in 7' length but projection distance out from the trailer is less than normal. I would look into one of those if we used the Uhaul for any length of time, but we no longer do, preferring the Casita with the Dometic 2500 awning. We should have got your advice on that awning Floyd when we did an overnight at Scamp Camp a couple years ago. Didn't realize then that you were so knowledgeable about them. We have finally figured out how to best operate it, but sure could have used your help back then.

[Darral T.]

I own a 13' Scamp with the Dometic "Catalina" awning and have always enjoyed the awning.

1 month ago, we bought the CLAM as shown below. We've had our Scamp for over 7 yrs now and I wish I had had the CLAM from day 1! About 2 weeks ago, we took the CLAM with us to McFarland CG in Florence, AL. It became a LARGE second "room" instantly!! NO picnic table inside. Why???? Check out the vid clip I include. It was really taken with my kids in mind to view it...so understand the "Mom" thing. I also laid a Harbor Freight tarp beneath it as a "floor" which worked REALLY well.

[J Ron]

We Used the Fiama on two VW camper vans, by the way we owned both VWs at the same time but choose to install Fiama awnings on both. We now have a Casita and we have a Fiiama on it also. The Fiama requires no storage space, can be rolled out in less than a minute and rolled back up in less than a minute. When travelling, staying in campgrounds only one night, ease of operation is very important to us. We've made three trips across the USA from eastern NC, in VW camper vans. On the first trip we didn't have a Fiama, the awning we had was not attached to the van and we didn't use it once on the cross cousntry trip. The Clam looks like I would have enjoy very much when set up for a few days. I believe it depends how you will use your camper as to what awning will work best for you.

[ruscal]

We have enjoyed the slick convenience and generous coverage provided by our Fiamma. It is a lot easier to deploy than our previous Catalina was. Our newer aluminum egg has a traditional Zipdee contraption that is much more primitive and does not cover as much area. I think the Fiamma is a real nice choice, but expensive. The gap between it and the trailer may be a deal breaker for some, but we are in So Cal where it never rains.
All awnings must be constantly monitored during rain or wind. They are all fragile against mother nature. We had some really nice corner tiedowns for our Fiamma that I ordered from Australia.
Russ

[theresa p]

When we purchased our Trillium Outback, it came with a factory-applied Carefree of Colorado pull-down awning. We love it! It is very easy to use, provides good coverage and sits snug up against the trailer so no rain runs down between. Our only complaint is that due to the length of the awning vs. the length of our trailer, the window opening isn't covered and therefore, we need to keep it closed when raining. We had considered installing a Fantastic Window Vent (which we've learned are no longer available) on that side, as we love the one we installed on the driver's side.

All in all, it works well for us. However, to supplement it, I sewed up a large tarp-like awning from ripstop nylon which we use over it, to provide much more shade and also rain protection. A win-win for us.

I'll hunt for the photo I have of it...somewhere

[YNP1]

I would highly recommend looking into the Shady Boy awning. We just put one on our 16' Scamp. Very lightweight and very easy to set up, even for one person.

[stevebaz]

I use the classic bag 8 foot awning on a 7 foot bolted on rail. I travel and store the awning inside the trailer. We are currently destination campers and not multi-stop travel campers. My trailer sits out in the California sun 24-7 so I don't really want a bag awning sitting out in the brutal sun all the time. It takes the 2 of us 5 minutes to slide it in or out of the rail so its no big deal. It stays clean and wont rot to death. If were were traveling or retired campers then the awning choice would be towards the Fiamma awning. But they are really expensive to add on. If your roaming from site to site or traveling allot then I think they would be a better choice. But for me and my cheap arse state of mind we are using the bag awning.