| Author | Message | ||
| Peter Broadribb (Madbrit)
Rating: N/A |
Guys and Gals, Does anyone have any comments on which awning is better? I am looking at the WeatherPro electric or the Elite 9000/Imperial 8500. Any experiences, horror stories, etc? I have to put in my order in the next few days. Thanks. Peter. | ||
| Tom Caffrey (Pvcces)
Rating: N/A |
Peter, Girard had some wild brags when we attended the 2004 Bus'n USA rally. They might be perfectly true; I have no idea. Among their claims was that their awning would automatically retract if the weather turned bad. I remember a claim that they had an always available support person to deal with any problems. Other than seeing ads, I have no experience with them. Tom Caffrey PD4106-2576 Suncatcher | ||
| James Maxwell (Jmaxwell)
Rating: N/A |
Peter: Have u also considered the Carefree Mirage Lateral Arm? Every bit as good as the Girard with all the same features. Carefree makes the very same identical awning under their residential line called the SunDial, which can be purchased for abt. 25% less than the RV Line version. Within the context of what they are claiming, the awnings do respond automatically to changes in the weather. They can be equipped with rain and wind sensors, consumer adjustable for sensitivity. I believe that all 3 companies use the same sensor equipment, made by the same source. Probably a little bias here, but A&E awnings are probably the lesser quality of the 3 while the most competitively priced. I personally question the quality and reliability of anything that Dometic makes. | ||
| Peter Broadribb (Madbrit)
Rating: N/A |
The reason I was going for these awnings was the offers at Camping World especially made the electric one more appealing, about 1/3 the cost of the Carefree Mirage Lateral Arm. However, I do share the same feeling about Dometic products, but hope that A&E may still be somewhat independant from the mother company. I travelled with a guy who had an electric awning which looked similar to the WeatherPro with the knee action arms, wish I had asked him about it then. He put it in and out many times without problems. | ||
| James Maxwell (Jmaxwell)
Rating: N/A |
Peter: Just as a added comment or two. I have a 15'Mirage and a 15' Sundial, 1 with wind sensor, 1 without. I love them and so does wife. Hit a button on the remote (both) and I have shade in less than a minute, hit another button and I'm ready for the road. I bought the Mirage a year ago; no problems whatsoever. The Sun Dial has only been on for about 3 months and have only used a few times so far. Zip Dee also makes a lateral arm but if u are not happy with the price of a Mirage you certainly ain't going to like Zip Dee. Just my opinion, and I hope to never have to shop awnings again in my life, but if I have the money, I will go with a lateral arm and anything but an A&E. I also use Camping World as a source of last resort. My sources were Scotties Canvas for the Sundial ($2k) and RV Ad Ons for the Mirage ($2700), both are in Fl and on the Net. | ||
| Peter Broadribb (Madbrit)
Rating: N/A |
Our use of an awning will be rather limited, such as the odd weekend away mainly in the race track pits and the occassional long weekend at a rally and not like some who are basically fulltimers. Are your problems with Camping World anything to do with their installations or just what they stock? It was rather tempting to get a 21ft WeatherPro for $1372 installed, which allowed for a $500 trade in on an old awning I happened to have lying about. Peter. | ||
| James Maxwell (Jmaxwell)
Rating: N/A |
I just don't like Camping World. Also, I have never found anything at Camping World that I could not find elsewhere for less money, including locally. I also would not consider allowing those clowns they call "RV technicians" to even touch my bus. Your choices are not as limited as mine, since you have flat, straight sides and relatively square roof transition. My bus is very rounded at the transition of the side and roof and the windows wrap into the roof line, similar to the LeMirage but more curve and setback. I therefore could not use strait armed awnings, and nobody made a curved arm set with enough off set back, so I had to order custom awning arms if I wanted a conventional awning of any type. The "custom" part added considerably to the cost, so I chose to go lateral arm. Am I correct abt. the Weather Pro, is that the one that uses the multi-segment scissor mechanism instead of arms. I could not use that. | ||
| Peter Broadribb (Madbrit)
Rating: N/A |
James, Looking at your profile pic, I see your predicament, especially with the curved windows going so far up into the roof curve. Yes, the WeatherPro does use the scissor arm style arms. I have read more on the pros and cons of Carefree and A&E and on the WeatherPro and the results are very mixed. Seems they are all loved or hated by someone. Some think the problem with the WeatherPro seems to be installation and setting the extended length to make the water dump feature work. Others seem to think that because it is considered automatic and can dump water, it should be able to sustain torrential rain and hurricanes, which it is not designed to do. Like a lot of things, it should work fine within its limitations. Peter. | ||
| john w. roan (Chessie4905)
Rating: N/A |
JAMES...Sharp looking coach in your sig..When did they start putting tag axles on the RTS'S?  | ||
| James Maxwell (Jmaxwell)
Rating: N/A |
John: Thank U. They started using tags when Neoplan starting making them. (I don't know how to use Smileys) | ||
| Chuck Newman (Chuck_newman)
Rating: N/A |
Pete, Nice looking rig. If I had had the money I would have bought a Kingsley shell (if they exist). I think I must have been a truck driver in a past life. Chuck Newman Oroville, CA | ||
| John MC9 Rating: N/A |
Or maybe just a carton of something, Chuck. (Ahhhhh har har har) |