Thule Omnistor 1200

It’s taken a while for its first outing, but at the end of last season we bought a second-hand Thule Omnistor 1200 awning. I mentioned it in a blog entry at the beginning of February, when we fitted it, albeit not without a struggle!

We’ve had two trips in the caravan since then. On the first we confidently started to deploy the awning, only to find that what we thought was a moderate breeze overwhelmed us when trying to tension a 4 metre by 2.5 metre awning, turning it into a sail every time we tried to extend it. We thought ourselves lucky to get it back in the bag.

On the second trip, it was blowing a hooley, and we didn’t even think about it.

Well, we finally did it. And, like so many of these things, it’s fairly easy when you know how. I should add that it’s no thanks to Thule’s instructions. They favour diagrams rather than words, which would be fine if only the diagrams showed how the various catches and connectors actually functioned. When I tell you that the leg assembly and the rafter assembly feature identical looking catches, but the open position on one is the closed position on the other, you’ll have an idea of the challenges involved.

Anyway, here it is. There are side panels too, but sufficient unto the day and all that!

Oh, and the difference in height from front to back is deliberate. It’s to allow the rain to drain away and not form a huge and heavy puddle in the middle.