Your browser is out-of-date!

Update your browser to view this website correctly. Update my browser now

×

Best motorhome awning 2024

If you're looking for the best motorhome awning for the upcoming touring season, we have just the suggestion for you...

Picking the best motorhome awning for your travels can be a great way to give yourself some valuable extra living or sleeping space when you’re staying at a motorhome site. It can even provide some useful extra room for storage if required.

Coming in a variety of styles, a motorhome awning is a particularly useful option for anyone who has a smaller ‘van, helping you achieve a bit of extra space by either attaching it to or sitting it beside your ‘van.

The Practical Motorhome Awards 2024 are here to help you choose the best motorhome awning for you, as we reveal our top pick, as well as the other standout awnings on the market, including products from some of the biggest names in the industry, including Cinch, Vango and more. You can also see the products we picked out at last year’s awards, featuring Isabella, Quest Leisure and more as well.

Interested in an air awning instead? Our guide to the best air awnings for a motorhome will help you find the one for you.

The best motorhome awning is:

Cinch Hub and van connector

Cinch Hub and van connector
The Cinch Hub and van connector

Reason to buy:

  • A lightweight, space saving awning for a campervan

Reason to avoid:

  • Probably too small for any larger vehicle

Awnings for campervans seem a great idea – in theory. Yes, they considerably expand the amount of space you could have available. And that’s no mean feat when you would otherwise have to make do with the relatively cramped inside of a campervan.

In reality, however, once you pack them away you have to find somewhere in that same confined space to put all that possibly wet and dirty fabric. The weight could also eat into your payload.

The Cinch could be the answer. On its own, it is a pop-up tent made of ripstop polyester that you can erect in minutes using patented Quickfold technology with colour codes to guide you, ideal for easy setup when you’re at your campervan campsite. The resulting tent (which comes with an optional inner) has a hydrostatic head of 3000mm – perfectly adequate if you are only going to be around for a day or two. It packs down into a circular bag that measures just 86cm across and is only 10cm deep.

And this year as an optional extra you can opt for the Camper Van Connector. This comes in two heights – 180-220cm and 220-260cm – and has dual 4mm and 6mm beading. It also has throw over straps and gutter rail attachments so it should attach to pretty much any motorhome. All told, the tent and connector weigh just 10kg. You’re not going to complain about that, are you?

Price: £299 (tent), £179 (connector) at Cinch

The motorhome awnings we shortlisted are:

Vango Airhub Hexaway Pro

Reason to buy:

  • A really watertight awning that will stay looking great for years

Reason to avoid:

  • Single point inflation awnings can take time to deflate

This hexagonal driveaway awning is part of Vango’s Eco Pro awning range, made using the company’s Sentinel Eco fabric. Made from recycled single-use plastic, Sentinel has 420 double ripstop threads and has an impressive hydrostatic head of 6000mm. It also features Vango’s Colourlok technology, designed to reduce fading caused by UV rays.

The awning itself is made with Vango’s All-in-One inflation system, which lets you inflate and deflate from one single valve.

Price: £965 at Vango

Sunncamp Swift Motor Air

Sunncamp Swift Motor Air
The Sunncamp Swift Motor Air

Reason to buy:

  • A really watertight awning

Reason to avoid:

  • You’ll need to check that your chosen site allows groundsheets

New from Sunncamp for 2024 is this driveaway awning made of 150D Ace-Tech fabric with an impressive 6000m hydrostatic head measurement – you would need a tropical monsoon to arrive before you felt any wet inside here.

It also comes with a two-berth inner tent as standard as well as sewn in groundsheet. A driveaway pole and clamp kit should make leaving the awning behind when you go off for the day a doddle, and should the weather look as if it might turn nasty there are two air storm bars complete with LED light pockets. Adjustable ladder pegging makes fixing the awning to the ground easy too.

Price: TBC at Sunncamp

Telta Pure Driveaway 330

Telta Pure Driveaway 330
The Telta Pure Driveaway 330

Reason to buy:

  • A versatile awning that quickly becomes a canopy

Reason to avoid:

  • Still a relative newcomer in the market

Telta may be a new name in awnings, but the people behind it worked for Kampa before it was taken over by Dometic.

This driveaway awning differs from other Telta awnings by being made of rip-stop polyester rather than nylon, to bring the awning pack size down. It still features a front panel that can easily be rolled up to convert the awning into a sun canopy. Alternatively, you can just roll the front panel into the centre.

The connecting tunnel can fit any motorhome between a height of 220 and 300cm, and a dividing wall separates the tunnel from the rest of the awning to make driving away easier.

Price: £1498.90 at Telta

The motorhome awnings we shortlisted last year are:

Isabella Buddy

The Isabella Buddy

Let’s face it, there are some valid reasons why awnings are not as popular among motorcaravanners as they are among caravanners, and it’s not just because motorcaravanning is supposed to be about getting up and going.

Awnings take up a lot of room to store, not to mention weight, and if storage space is at a premium in your motorhome, you probably don’t want to sacrifice a good part of it to something that is likely to be mucky and wet as well.

Last year’s winner of the best motorhome awning category gets around this problem by making use of the roll-out awning you might very well already have on the side of your motorhome (possibly as a standard fitting).

The system attaches two sides and a front panel that you can attach to the roll-out awning. That front is available in four different sizes, so you can choose whether what you are creating is a fully enclosed awning or something more resembling a large verandah.

Because you are relying on the roll-out awning, you probably have to watch the wind more than you would with a conventional driveaway or motorhome awning.

But you still get the same Isabella quality. The Buddy is made of the same Isacryl fabric the Danish manufacturer uses on its more conventional awnings. And you have the added reassurance that when you come to pack up, it’s just a case of removing these panels and rolling them up, and then rolling the motorhome’s awning back in.

Price: from £425 at www.isabella.net

Kampa Cross Air TC Polycotton

Kampa Cross Air TC Polycotton

New for 2023, Kampa’s Cross Air awning specially designed for campervans is now available in a Weathershield TC polycotton fabric. That means you can enjoy this awning, with its steep sides designed to provide as much internal space as possible, even in hotter climates both in the UK and, more likely, if you venture abroad. This will be useful if you have awning furniture, such as a chair – if you’re on the lookout for one, our best camping chair guide is a great place to start.

Polycotton awnings also reduce the likelihood of condensation forming on the inside of the roof because they can “breathe”.

The awning is based on Kampa’s established AIR Frame technology, designed to make inflation easy. It also includes a D-shaped door that can be rolled right back but which, thanks to the awning’s steep sides, still stays under the large canopy at the front so any rain is kept out. It comes with a clip-in groundsheet, blinds on the windows, and a mesh panel for the front door.

Price: £1,000.00 at www.kampaoutdoors.com

Quest Leisure Condor

The Quest Leisure Condor

This brand new awning made in a 150D material sits alongside your vehicle and is super versatile because its tunnel comes in two different heights – 180-210cm and 240-270cm. So if you were ever to change your vehicle (move up from a campervan to a low-profile, say) you only need to buy a new tunnel, not a whole new awning.

Optional extras include a porch extension with a front panel opening that is the same size as the one on the awning itself. So you can either have an open porch or a fully enclosed extension. As with the awning itself, this extension comes with its own groundsheet. Other optional extras include a two-berth inner tent.

Price: TBC at www.questleisure.com

Westfield Aquila Pro

The Westfield Aquila Pro

This new 2023 awning from German company Westfield is very much geared at families. Imported into this country by Quest Leisure and made of 150D ripstop material, it is designed  to fit on either side of your motorhome, with a connecting tunnel. The sun canopy at the front can also be transferred over if you choose to change sides. The awning comes with storm straps and zipped internal blinds. The tunnel is available in three sizes: 180-210cm, 210-240cm and 240-270cm.

Price: from £1760.00 at www.questleisure.com

Trigano Santa Cruz V3

The Trigano Santa Cruz V3

New for 2023 is this driveaway air awning from Trigano that comes with an adjustable gusset and a double keder to make attaching it to whatever size of motorhome you have as easy as possible. It comes with a sewn-in groundsheet (so you may need to check with the campsite owner that such awnings are allowed). You also get mosquito screens on all doors, and ventilation is improved with vents high up near the roof. There is a dividing door between the porch and the living area for extra privacy.

Options include a blind kit and a magnetic bracket.

Price: £1067.72 at www.trigano-camping.com


If you’ve enjoyed reading this article, why not get the latest news, reviews and features delivered direct to your door or inbox every month. Take advantage of our brilliant Practical Motorhome magazine SUBSCRIBERS’ OFFER and SIGN UP TO OUR NEWSLETTER for regular weekly updates on all things motorhome related.