Awning Owner Satisfaction Awards

Our fourth Awning Owner Satisfaction Survey was conducted between 22 February and 30 October 2023. Before we started collecting the data through the surveys, there was little information about the quality of awnings available, even though it is a large market in the UK, so we felt it was time this was rectified.

There were four types of awnings covered in the survey – caravan full awning, caravan porch awning, motorhome and cassette ones – and those who completed our survey had bought a new awning since January 2020.

Best Caravan Porch Awning | Best Caravan Full Awning | Best Motorhome Awnings

Caravan porch awning

This type of awning fits along the top part of an awning rail, providing a covered entrance to the caravan door and not much more.

Caravan full awning

This category covers two types of large caravan awnings. The first is the traditional awning style, which covers one complete side of the caravan. It is fitted along the whole length of the awning rail from the ground on one side to the other and is sized to fit a specific model of caravan. The second is also known as a large porch or universal caravan awning. It connects along the majority of the top horizontal part of the awning rail and covers most of the side of the caravan.

Motorhome awning

This covers both drive-away awnings, tent-like structures that can be left on site when you take your motorhome off site, and the more traditional caravan-type awning that fits to the side of the motorhome.

Cassette awning

A cassette or roll-out awning is permanently attached to the side of your motorhome or caravan and the fabric can be unfurled on site to provide a canopy cover. There have not been enough responses in this category to make any awards so far.

2024 Awning Owner Satisfaction Awards

This year’s Owner Satisfaction Survey ran between 21 February and 30 October 2023 and garnered more than 600 responses, nearly 25% more than our previous survey, from people who had bought a new awning since January 2020.

As in previous years, the more mature campers dominated the responses, with less than a fifth of surveys being completed by those under 55 and more than 45% being 65 or over.

Four fifths of those surveyed camp as a couple with a further 16% camping with a family unit.

Our awning owners are prolific campers, with fewer than one in ten camping three times or fewer every year and 20% heading out 11 or more times.

The proportion of awnings bought online had been creeping up in recent years but we saw a slight drop this year, by 8 percentage points to 39%. Average prices have changed somewhat compared with our last survey, with the average price of a caravan porch awning dropping 8% to £717, caravan full awnings average prices rising 11% to £1,200 and motorhome awning prices also rising, though slightly less dramatically, up 4% to £648. We saw a drop in the numbers of people paying full price for their awning this time, down to 42% from 49%.

The most popular model owned by our respondents was OLPRO’s Cocoon Breeze followed by Kampa’s Cross AIR and Vango’s Agora Air VW. A full 61% of awnings had inflatable tube frames, though this has been dropping in recent years, down from 69% in our last survey and 79% in the 2022 Awards round.

Size, ease of pitching, price and precise fit to the caravan or motorhome were the main reasons given for choosing a particular awning, with price creeping up the table slightly this year. Quality of zips and other fastenings and method of pitching were the most significant influencing factors, with fabric choice coming a close third. These results were very similar to previous surveys.

Overall, 49% of owners said they were ‘extremely satisfied’ with their awning, where satisfaction was marked on a scale of 1 ‘not at all satisfied’ to 10 ‘extremely satisfied’. Only 8% gave a mark of 5 or lower on this scale.

Space, waterproofing, durability of the outer fabric and method of pitching all scored well (averaging 8.8 or higher) in terms of owner satisfaction, but the quality of pegs is still at the bottom of the table (averaging 7.2), though this has crept up from just 7 last year. Pitching instructions also scored a relatively low 7.9.

More than three quarters of owners didn’t have any defects in their awnings, though 8% had problems with the awning frame and 5% had damaged fabric.

Overall, 84% of owners would buy the same make of awning again, a number that has not changed over the last three surveys, with only 7% saying they would not.

2023 Awning Owner Satisfaction Awards

The proportion of awnings bought online has been creeping up over the years, reaching 47% this time. Average prices have also risen, with the average price of a caravan porch awning rising 10% to £783, caravan full awning rising 15% to £1,084 (topping £1,000 for the first time) and motorhome awning rising 10% to £625. Around half of buyers paid full price for their awning.

The most popular model was Kela followed by Galli (both from Vango) and Touring AIR by Kampa. A full 69% of awnings had inflatable tube frames, though this was down from 79% in our last survey.

Space, durability and waterproofing all scored well (averaging 8.9 or higher) in terms of owner satisfaction, but the quality of pegs is still at the bottom of the table (averaging 7). Pitching instructions also scored a relatively low 7.8.

2022 Awning Owner Satisfaction Awards

Respondents to our Awning Survey were generally slightly older than those who answered our Tent and Folding Camper surveys, with nearly 80% being over 50.

A large majority camp as a couple (77%) with only 12% travelling as a family unit. Again we see awning owners camping several times a year, with 89% camping at least four times in 12 months.

We saw more online purchases this time, rising nine percentage points, with retail stores and shows seeing the biggest falls to compensate. More than a quarter bought from a specialist caravan or motorhome dealer, which matched the last survey.

Nearly half of sales were in the £500-£999 bracket, with the average price paid for a caravan porch awning being £714, for a full awning £944 and motorhome awnings were somewhat cheaper at £545. The number of responses was fairly evenly split between the three categories.

Bucking the trend of our tent survey results, this survey saw fewer people paying full price for their awning (down from 39% to 32%). The overwhelming majority of awnings had inflatable tubes 79%, with just 17% having traditional pole frames.

People generally selected their awning because of its size (32%) but ease of pitching (24%) and price (21%) were also important.

Three quarters of owners didn’t have any problems with their awning, with broken poles or failing tubes (8% of respondents) being the most common issues for those who did. Leaks (7%) and damaged fabric (4%) were the next most common defects.

On a scale of 1 to 10 where 10 is ‘extremely satisfied’, almost half of owners rated their awning’s performance at 10. The number who were at the other end of the scale (scoring at 1, 2 or 3) was just 5%, down three percentage points on our previous survey, which is good news.

Once again, the quality of pegs was the least satisfying aspect of the purchase, along with the durability of the sleeping cabin and pitching instructions.

A full 84% of owners would buy the same make of awning again, but a fairly significant number (7%) would like their awnings to fit better to their camping unit and be of a lighter material.

Winner: Isabella 96%
Highly commended: SunnCamp and Kampa 94%

Previous winners

2023 SunnCamp

2022 Isabella

2020 Vango

This type of awning fits along the top part of an awning rail, providing a covered entrance to the caravan door and not much more.

Isabella has regained its place at the top of the table, replacing Suffolk-based SunnCamp. Danish company Isabella has been producing awnings since 1957 when its founder Søren Odgaard created his first awning in his basement.

Winner: Isabella 91%
High commended: Dometic 89%

Previous winners

2023 Isabella

2022 Isabella

2020 Isabella

This category covers two types of large caravan awnings. The first is the traditional awning style, which covers one complete side of the caravan. It is fitted along the whole length of the awning rail from the ground on one side to the other and is sized to fit a specific model of caravan. The second is also known as a large porch or universal caravan awning. It connects along most of the top horizontal part of the awning rail and covers most of the side of the caravan.

Isabella continues to dominate this category, as it has since the awards began, though its satisfaction rating has dropped slightly from its initial peak of 99% to 91% this time. Dometic has returned in the Highly Commended position for the second year running, following its acquisition of Kampa.

Winner: OLPRO 87%
Highly commended: Kampa and Outdoor Revolution 86%

Previous winners

2023 Vango

2022 Outdoor Revolution

2020 Vango

Our motorhome awning category covers drive-away awnings, tent-like structures that can be left on site when you take your motorhome off site, and the more traditional caravan-type that fits to the side of the motorhome.

Our winner this year is OLPRO, a relative newcomer to the camping industry but OLPRO’s awnings are now a familiar sight on the campsite and they are clearly proving popular with their owners.