Choosing the Right Awning for Your Caravan

By Managing Electric Hook-Up and Power in Caravans
Comments 35
15 Jul 2026

Choosing the Right Awning for Your Caravan

Start With How You Actually Tour

A good awning can double your living space in minutes, but the wrong one becomes a bulky, heavy regret that lives in the garage. Before you look at fabrics or colours, ask yourself three honest questions: how many nights do you usually stay put, how much room do you genuinely need, and where will the thing live when it is not on the caravan?

A couple touring for long weekends has very different needs from a family pitched on a seasonal site for a fortnight. Weekend tourers generally want something light that goes up quickly and packs down small. Families and long-stayers usually want floor area, headroom and, ideally, room for an annexe or a bit of furniture. Being clear about your touring style before you spend will save you a lot of lifting and swearing on the pitch.

Porch Awnings: Quick, Compact and Brilliant for Short Stays

A porch awning covers the caravan door and a modest patch beside it, typically around 2.4m to 3.0m wide and 2.0m to 2.5m deep. It slides into a short section of the awning rail and usually takes one person 15 to 20 minutes to pitch once they know what they are doing.

Where porch awnings win:

Speed. Ideal for one, two or three-night stops when you cannot face a full pitch.
Weight. Many pack down to 10–15kg, so they are easy on payload and kind to your back.
Flexibility. They fit tight pitches, and you can often leave them up for a short trip without touching the caravan.
Storage. They take up roughly the footprint of a large suitcase at home.

The trade-off is space. Four people eating, drying towels and storing chairs in a porch awning on a wet week in the Lakes will feel cramped. Buy the widest one your caravan and budget allow, and check the rail height measurement carefully — porch awnings are often sold by rail height or by rail width rather than the traditional size numbers.

Full Awnings: Space for Longer Holidays

A full awning runs the entire length of the awning rail and is sized using the traditional A-measurement — the distance from the ground, up through the rail and back down to the ground — usually expressed as a number from roughly 8 to 18. Get this measurement wrong and the awning either strains or sags.

Full awnings give you genuine extra rooms: a dining area, a play space for children, an annexe for guests or storage. They suit anyone staying a week or more, seasonal pitchers and caravanners who effectively live outdoors from May to September. Expect 20–35kg for the awning alone, plus poles and pegs, so check your caravan's payload allowance before you commit.

They also demand more from a pitch. You need a reasonably level surface, enough width on the hardstanding or grass, and space to peg out. On a tight touring site, a full awning can be a struggle; on a generous seasonal pitch, it is hard to beat.

Inflatable Awnings: Fast Pitching Without the Poles

Inflatable awnings use air beams instead of metal or fibreglass poles. You peg out the corners, pump the beams to the recommended pressure and the structure stands up on its own, often in ten minutes or less.

Faster than poled. No threading poles through sleeves or working out which pole goes where.
Fewer arguments. They are forgiving in wind and far easier for one person to manage.
Bulkier. Air beams do not fold down as tightly, so packed size and weight can be similar to, or even more than, a poled version.
Needs care. Punctures are rare but possible, so carry a repair kit and avoid dragging the beams over gravel or thorns.

Poled awnings remain cheaper, stiffer in strong wind and easier to repair, and many experienced caravanners still prefer steel or carbon frames for long-stay pitches. If you tour often and pitch for short spells, inflatable is usually the more relaxing choice.

Matching Your Awning to Pitch, Storage and Budget

Pitch type matters more than most buyers expect. On grass, standard pegs are fine; on hardstanding you will need rock pegs, and some sites will not allow drilling. A generous grass pitch suits a full awning; a narrow hardstanding often calls for a porch.

Storage is the other limiting factor. Measure your garage shelf, your car boot and your caravan's front locker before ordering. A full awning in its bag is roughly the size of a small fridge when rolled; an inflatable is often a long, heavy sausage that needs a wheeled bag.

Budget-wise, expect poled porch awnings at the lower end, inflatable porch and poled full awnings in the middle, and large inflatable or all-season full awnings at the top. Spend more on the awning you will actually use, not the one that sounds most impressive in the showroom.

Pitching, Weather and Looking After Your Awning

Practise pitching at home on a calm day before you take it away. Learn which pegging point goes where, and mark the poles or beams with tape if they are not already labelled.

Choose a sheltered pitch with the awning door away from prevailing wind.
Use storm straps and guy lines whenever wind is forecast, and never leave an awning up unattended in a gale.
Take it down in wind rather than fighting it — a partially collapsed awning can damage the caravan rail.
Dry it thoroughly before storage. Damp fabric will mildew, and mildew does not wash out.
Clean with mild soap and water, and re-proof the fabric every season or two with a suitable spray.

Look after the pegging points, check seams after every trip, and your awning will last many seasons of British weather — which is exactly what it is designed for.

Gear

Packing Your Caravan for a Stress-Free Departure

Fill fresh water, empty waste safely and keep your pitch tidy with simple routines that protect the environment.

Previous Post At vero eos et accusamus et iusto odio dignissimos ducimus qui blanditiis praesentium.

Next Post Dignissimos ducimus qui blanditiis praesentiu deleniti atque corrupti quos dolores

5 Comments

Robert Sonny says Jul 21, 2024 at 10:00am

I must explain to you how all this mistaken idea of denouncing pleasure and praising pain was born and I will give you a complete account of the system
Reply
- John Abraham says Jul 21, 2024 at 10:00am
  
  I must explain to you how all this mistaken idea of denouncing pleasure and praising pain was born and I will give you a complete account of the system
  Reply
  - Robert Sonnysays Jul 21, 2024 at 10:00am
    
    I must explain to you how all this mistaken idea of denouncing pleasure and praising pain was born and I will give you a complete account of the system
    Reply
Robert Sonny says Jul 21, 2024 at 10:00am

I must explain to you how all this mistaken idea of denouncing pleasure and praising pain was born and I will give you a complete account of the system
Reply

Jenny Watson

Hi! beautiful people. I`m an authtor of this blog. Read our post - stay with us

Instagram

How We Can
Help You!

Check tyre pressures when cold, inspect tread depth and replace aged rubber to prevent blowouts on touring journeys.

section heading hidden

Our Latest News

Safe Water and Waste Management on Campsites

Caravan Tyre Care: Pressure, Tread and Age Checks

Great Inland Routes for a Quiet Caravan Getaway

Contact Us

Article