What Should I Look for When Buying A Canopy
When you have an RV and want to extend the amount of usable floor space you have, so that you can get the benefit of those warm days in summer when you don’t want to be stuck inside, a canopy is a great addition to your tourer. Canopies can give you the cover you need from rainfall and help shield you from winds while allowing for a greater amount of fresh air to flow and stop you feeling as warm as you would on the inside.
There is no shortage of great RV canopies out there. However, if you are looking to get the best value possible, the last thing you should do is just buy the first one you come to. To help you make a sensible buying decision, therefore, and more easily navigate through the dizzying number of canopies out there to find the right one, we have provided a few helpful tips below.
Identify the Best Type of Canopy You Need for Your Vehicle’s Size
This should be the main consideration you make when choosing a canopy for your RV. They can either be fitted onto the sidewall or the roof and several factors will help you determine which style is right for you.
These factors are:
- How much room there is above the windows and doors of the vehicle
- The vehicle’s shape, particularly where the side walls meet the roof
- The type of mounting brackets that came with the vehicle.
On that last point, if your vehicle has squared-off edges and enough room above the door, a wall-mounted canopy will be best. Whereas, if it has more curved edges, a roof-mounted option is what you will be best investing in. Needless to say, if mounting brackets are not already included in your vehicle, you will need to invest in some. The canopy size will be determined by the length of the vehicle.
Do you Want Manual or an Electric, Powered Canopy?
The next factor will very much depend on your own personal preference and the budget you have to play around with. To help understand the differences, we’ve outlined the key benefits and downsides of each.
Electric Canopy Benefits and Downsides
As they are powered by electricity, these are a little pricier than their manual cousins. They also have the downside of requiring a 12-volt power supply. The biggest benefit is that they are easy to install and use and work very quickly. You can open and close most models of this kind within just a few seconds.
Manual Canopy Benefits and Downsides
With a manual canopy, you are always going to have the major downside that it can take anything from 10 to 12 minutes to fully deploy it. This may not necessarily be a problem if you are only going to use it once every few months. On the other hand, if you anticipate that you are going to be using it at regular intervals throughout the year, it could get very annoying, very quickly. Also, if the weather has been nice for most of your trip and then suddenly takes a turn for the worst, you may not want to fuss around when trying to have adequate protection for wind and rain.
The biggest benefit of a manual canopy is the fact that it offers you the freedom of not requiring a power supply. That means you have great flexibility with where you choose to travel to and stay in your RV.
There you have it, some thoughts to ponder over and consider when you are choosing a canopy for your RV.
