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The tent itself is tunnel style with 5 air poles and a fully sewn in groundsheet. It took less than 10 minutes to inflate all the poles and have the tent upright. It took probably another 5 to 10 minutes to peg out the brailings and corner and storm guys to pitch the tent perfectly. It can be used as a daily driver and car replacement at home (we only have one vehicle in the household). The Berghaus Telstar Drive Airway Awning is a very large inflatable Motorhome extension. It adds 2 bedrooms and extra living space to your camping setup. This luxurious awning is built to the same high specification used on the Berghaus range of air tents. The flysheet is fully waterproof with taped seams and the fabric has been tested to a hydro static head of 6000 mm. The groundsheet is sewn in to keep water and draughts out. Can be ready to go off on a camping trip at the drop of a hat – gear can be stored inside at all times.
We tested the 2019 model on a VW T4 and it worked extremely well. As with most drive away awnings, it works best on flat land although can be pitched on a slight slope with a bit of patience. In contrast to the Outdoor Revolution Cayman Air and the Kampa Cross Air, none of the side-walls or doors on the Kela Air will zip out, and this is the only reason we rate it slightly lower than those alternatives. The large front door on the Kela can be rolled away to give fantastic air circulation and there is also a fly mesh layer here to keep zipped in if you don’t want bugs getting in. It’s worth noting that there is always a lip at the bottom of the front door aperture and you can occasionally trip over that if you’re not observant (or if you’ve had too many single malt whiskies!). Conclusions The Telstar 8 is a traditional tunnel tent with a large front porch area that can accommodate up to eight campers and comes with four breathable Nightfall bedrooms designed to keep the early morning sunshine at bay.The ground sheet on the older models uses elasticated toggles to fit nicely to the side walls of the awning creating a really nice water tight seal around the base of the awning. Even on saturated ground, the ground sheet creates a water tight lip roughly 2 inchs high. You would have to be pitching in a lake to leak over them! As part of the facelift however it is now sewn in (which I have not yet personally seen or tested but it sounds promising!) So what’s so good about the Cross Air? Well firstly the square shape with steep walls and high head height maximizes the internal volume, but it’s really the flexible, modular design which really impresses. Removeable doors are fantastic – they help create a modular design of awning whereby you can choose how to structure the layout. For example, on hot days you can create a gazebo-like structure. You can also then add on sleeping pods if required.
Wow! What a fantastic tent! We bought this air tent as an upgrade from a Coleman Mosedale 5 with front extension. We felt that the time was right to move onto an air tent as they have been around for a while now and we wanted the ease of being able to pitch a tent without the faff of poles getting snagged in sleeves or breaking. (And we're not getting any younger!) We specifically went for this tent as it comes with a fully enclosed porch area but with the versatility to remove the doors. The porch has its own footprint and we used this area for our kitchen. The Berghaus Drive-Airway 300 Campervan Awning has a fully waterproof flysheet tested to a hydro static head of 6000 mm. The PVC plus air tubes are really strong and an air pump and repair kit are included. As you can see from the photos in this article, we’ve tested a wide range of drive away awnings for our camper van, from Vango to Kampa to Outdoor Revolution. So what are the best features to look for? Awning Size – are you after maximum floor space or just a porch extension to your campervan? Equally, do you typically just go away for a weekend or camp for weeks at a time? The answer to these questions will determine what size of awning you should buy. A massive awning will take longer to put up and use up more storage space when travelling. Our camping is typically for a weekend with the occasional week thrown in during school holidays, and so we don’t need the biggest awning on the market. If you’re interested, we currently primarily use the Kampa Cross Air with additional sleeping pod and are very pleased with it.
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Our personal preference for UK camping is to use a campervan over a tent or caravan, but it’s clear that it is a very personal choice. For us, our Mercedes Marco Polo camper works really well due to it: Better quality components that make up the fibre glass rod structures and stitching of the rod channels is generally more robust to prevent tearing. Comes with straps that can be used around the Transporter if you do not have a piping fitting kit to the side of your Transporter however this is best used when the wind is low as it does not give the best seal and wind can get under the join.. The Berghaus Drive-Airway 300 Awning also features lantern hanging points, cable access, three windows and low levels vents. A fly mesh door keeps insects at bay and the groundsheet is sewn in place. The Drive Airway 300 weighs 3.65 kg and measures 3.9 x 3.0 metres with a height of 2.2 metres. The rear cowling has awning piping that is compatible with the Transporter fitting kit here which gives a really nice seal between the Transporter and Drive away awning.
The age old controversy as to whether a caravan, campervan or motorhome is the ‘best option on wheels’ for camping trips rages on. To be honest, we’re still none the wiser as to which would win in a head to head scrap – they all have particular strengths and weaknesses. However, campervans and motorhomes have an ace up their sleeve – they can easily be expanded in size using a drive away awning.
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Uses a two pole design making it fairly straight forward to put up. Can be a little awkward to feed the poles through but once installed the pegs/guide ropes just need installing which essentially holds the structure up. Sold as a very cosy 4 person bolt on to your transporter. Definitely sleeps 3 easily, 4 people if you are small! The Cayman Air is a classic design which offers 300cm x 300cm of usable floor space with doors/windows on all three of the outward facing sides and excellent head height. The ground sheet is sewn in and cannot be removed.
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