Khyam Motordome tourer vs Vango Kela III Low - awning rail fitting

After 8 faultless seasons using our Khyam Motordome Tourer and one final mishap with some very strong winds, we decided to look into buying a new awning.

We loved the Khyam because it was easy to put up, although did take a while to peg down and was fairly compact.  However, last years new pup addition now meant we had to house 2 dog crates in the awning and space was getting a bit tight, we also became aware that you could only stand upright in the very centre of the dome.  Many winter hours of research later and a visit to the Scottish caravan and Camping show at the SECC, we decided to be brave and go for the Vango Kela III Low.



The Kela III Low is a new addition for 2016, dropping the van connection height to an ideal 180-210cms, which would be ideal if you didn't have a lowered van

Inside the bag you get -



storm pegs, mallet, guy lines, repair patches for the material and air beams, straps to go over the camper roof if required



and of course, the pump



We tried the awning for the first time when we stayed at Loch Ness Shores last weekend.  It was calm conditions when we put the awning up, always a bonus for the first time!  The instructions said to start by attaching to the bus, which we ignored and started by pegging out and inflating.  The awning just didn't sit right, it looked like one beam was at a funny angle and it took us a wee while to realise the 'tension band system' was still connected and too tight. Although that probably amused the people who sat by their caravan awning with glass of wine in hand obviously enjoying the entertainment

We don't think the pitching was too bad for a first time, although there is room for improvement where it attaches to the bus, probably would've helped if we had used our ramps to increase bus height.  We didn't use the doors in the connecting tunnel as we couldn't get the tension just right to use the zip easily - more practise required there (again probably a height issue!)



Although Dana is the centre of attention in this pic, the background allows you to see that amount of light the Vango lets in - particularly on such a dreich day.

Our overall thoughts of Khyam vs Vango

K - quick to put up but slow to peg fully vs V - quick to put up and peg
K - low internal standing height vs V huge head clearance giving lots of usable space
K - tight fit to the bus vs V - still seems to be a lot of material spare
K - connection tunnel sat flat and could fill with water vs V - sloped connection tunnel and water ran off no bother
K - 2 smallish windows and third side could be mesh vs V - 2 large windows and 2 wee corner windows and third side can be mesh
K - no internal groundsheet vs V - sewn-in ground sheet to help prevent small pups escaping
K - main door at the front of the bus vs V - main door at the back of the bus
K - double zip feature on doorway vs V - single zip only
K - ripstop material vs V - double ripstop in heavier weight material

So there are definite plus and minus points for each awning.  We were complete Khyam fans, and still are, but the benefits of the Vango meet our needs more at the moment.  The Khyam Motordome Tourer is still a super wee awning (and will be available to purchase in a separate thread soon ). but the Vango is impressive.

We'll try and add more pictures when it's next in use!

P.S. - Apparently 'awning' is the camping suggestion for your 13th wedding anniversary!

Interesting read - glad you have something that meets your current requirements
We still love our Kyham Motordome Sleeper

Thanks for sharing Skytiger , very informative and very impressed , enjoy it.

Here's a few more pictures of our awning in action.  Our bus was still lowered at this point and we considered adding a beading strip to the roof at the base of the pop top material so we could then use a double kador figure of 8 strip to allow better tension from the tunnel to the bus.

We'll need to try the awning again now that the bus is raised as that could make a difference.

The sewn in ground sheet definitely made our life easy as there was no chance of escape for the dogs.

I'll admit that it not as glamorous as other awnings but it is very practical.

I am considering getting a drive away awning and like the look of the Vango Idris II or KelaIII. BUT the bus has been lowered and the gutter is at around 165cm (both have a range from 180cm). So, It's a safe bet the doors in the tunnel won't be usable. I know they have the option of connecting via straps pegged down on the far side of the bus. Does anyone know if that would work either side of the pop-top (standard Danbury) ? If so is that likely to be high enough for the connecting tunnel to sit correctly ?

Long story short this awning had a fault with the material so was replaced by vango under warranty. So we now have a 2017 Vango.

Before this years summer holiday we installed an awning rail just below the poptop canvas to increase the height of the awning attachement to improve it's shape around the connection tunnel and awning roof.




Here is a pic of the difference awning rail on left and pole and clamp in the gutter on right the bus is at standard height on both.



The awning roof section does not pool with water it runs off now and the added head room is great for me. The side doors aren't perfect but very much improved and at least we can zip it down a bit one handed for more ventilation. I may just need to experiment in the pegging position for the bottom to get it close to perfect.

I had to add some pieces of wood inside to raise the roof (just temporary to go on holiday)as it doesn't quite clear the rail when closed but I plan to take a bit out the fibreglass roof and replace the trim anyway as it is looking worn.

This is me doing the final fixing of rail onto roof the blue masking tape is to give a neat line to the adhesive/sealer which is applied underneath the rail.


Pulling off the masking tape.


Close up of the awning rail attached to kombi then a double 6mm kador strip then a one piece figure of eight 2.5m long( If you use sections it tends to leak at the joins) and then the awning kador. I did purchase locks to go into the ends of either the rail or figure of 8 incase it moved side to side but it didn't once the tension was on the awning with pegging out.


View from inside looking at the rail

Looks great.

tjcbhill wrote:

I am considering getting a drive away awning and like the look of the Vango Idris II or KelaIII. BUT the bus has been lowered and the gutter is at around 165cm (both have a range from 180cm). So, It's a safe bet the doors in the tunnel won't be usable. I know they have the option of connecting via straps pegged down on the far side of the bus. Does anyone know if that would work either side of the pop-top (standard Danbury) ? If so is that likely to be high enough for the connecting tunnel to sit correctly ?

I've not used the straps, but it looks like the straps would go just around either side of the pop top. I'm not convinced that would be enough to allow the tunnel to sit tight enough so the tunnel doors could be used easily. You would still need to raise the main length of attachment higher than the gutter.

When we had the awning attached with pole and clamp it was impossible to use the doors due to bagginess of the tunnel, so we decided to get extra zip heads added to allow the door to zip from top to bottom as well, rather than just bottom to top. This allowed us to zip from the top to make windows for extra fresh air.  We could still do this attached with the pole and clamp, but needed two hands to hold material and zip. Now we use the figure of 8 at the canvas roof line, we can open the zips easily with one hand.

Vango definitely need to add extra zip heads for ease of use!

You've inspired me to have another look at the awning rail. My concern is that the poptop will come down and clear the rail and not rub. Your post suggested that you had to remove some of the fibreglass which sounds pretty hairy. Did it go ok?

Sorry for the delay @fat_pastor, in the end we didn't need to do anything to the fibreglass roof as we put two wee space blocks inside and adjusted the roof clips to fit the new resting height.

I'll try and remember to get some pictures tomorrow and post them.