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Fri Feb 16, 2007 1:01 pm

Hey everyone
Does anybody have a fiamma f35i?
What do you think of it?
How does it work? (putting it up taking it down)
Is this a quick process?
Any pictures of one rolled up and rolled out?

I'm leaning toward this one vs. the shade boy because it looks more durable or that it would hold up better in the wind and rain of the NW and I don't have to drill into my vanagon.

any feed back would be great!

Thanks, Kyle

Fri Feb 16, 2007 7:13 pm

I bought a Shady Boy, weighs 15 pounds, I like the design and it doesn't bend the gutter rail down like I've seen on the Fiamma on a couple of friends vanagons. I also didn't like the stripey designs on the canvas of the Fiamma but that is just my personal taste, or lack thereof.
Paul.

Fri Feb 16, 2007 8:40 pm

Just to throw another option at you; I went with a Dometic awning and it's great. When I was shopping for an awning, I was looking at the Fiamma as well. I wanted something easy to use since I would be setting it up, for the most part, on my own as my wife would be taking care of the boys. This Dometic I bought is very well built but about $400 less than the Fiamma.
- I can set it up by myself in a few minutes
- It's very solid and adjustable for uneven ground or to allow rain run off.
- It comes with a mounting kit to attach the support poles to the body rather then setting them on the ground. Great for us so our dog doesn't get wrapped up around them. We usually staked it down to the ground since is more stable but it's nice having the option.
- Gutter mount means no holes to drill.
- Quiet while driving.
http://www.dometicusa.com/awnings.php?product=38

Fri Feb 16, 2007 10:11 pm

I can't say anything about the Fiamma because I haven't seen one, though I too have the Shady Boy and love it. It's light weight, easily set up, and very simple as there are no rollers or mechanical parts. It merely contains the fabric (I recommend the silver for heat reflection) and a few lightweight "tent poles". You simply pop the poles into place and you're done. If it gets windy, you can use the provided guy lines to attach to the bumpers, or if it is really blowing you can use the provided support poles that clip into place. All of it folds up nicely into the carrying case that is mounted permanently to the side of your van. Definitely check them out, but you absolutely can't go wrong with an awning of any type. I don't know how we could survive without one!

Lundy

Sat Feb 17, 2007 12:32 pm

i liked the shady boy BUT i didn't like the way it is mounted with screws into the roof. ,the one thing that i was wondering is....

what if you use the mounts from fiamma or A&E to mont the shady boy??
they clamp on the rain gutter ??

Mon Feb 19, 2007 12:45 am

Hey thanks for all the great info guys.

Envious, where did you get your dometic awning?
What size is it?
How does it hold up in heavy rain and winds?
is it mold and mildew resistant?
How does it set up?

Anybody else, with any other awning feedback; all information is helpfull. i.e. diffrence between the diffrent models, pros and cons, and aesthetics

Thanks, Kyle

Mon Feb 19, 2007 6:21 am

khoyer01 wrote: Hey thanks for all the great info guys.

Envious, where did you get your dometic awning?
What size is it?
How does it hold up in heavy rain and winds?
is it mold and mildew resistant?
How does it set up?
I bought the awning from a local RV dealership and my local VW dealership also sold it but charged more. They had to order the mounting kit for the Vanagon which consists of three machined aluminum brackets that clamp onto the rain gutter without any drilling.
The awning comes in various lengths but I went with the 9' model.
Their vinyl claims mould and mildew resistance. It's very heavy material and cleaned up nicely with a hose at the end of the season or when we camped in areas with lots of tree debris.
The setup is really simple. Everything folds into the case and to set it up you just open the case, pivot the support legs down and extend them, roll out the awning. It's very sturdy.

Mon Jan 17, 2011 12:23 am

Envious,
Is your awning the Catalina model or the Horizon II?
Also curious how much extra $$ for the gutter brackets? Are they vanagon specific or general gutter mounts?

Thanks!

Mon Jan 17, 2011 12:36 pm

I have the Fiamma F35, it's much lighter weight than the crank out Fiamma's sold by GW these days. I have two of the gutter mounts, no need for the third mount that GW recommends for the f45 model.

The operation is well........manual. To deploy, I release the two locking mechanisms, one on each end, and open up the door, the awning sits in the door, all rolled up with the legs tucked inside. You unroll the awning by hand, and then pull the legs out and extend them, locking them in place to the height you want. As they say in repair manuals, assembly is the reverse of dis-assembly.

Here's a really crappy pic of it deployed. The camera angle makes it look like it's really slanted towards the back of the van. It's not.

Here it is all closed up.

And another pic from a wider angel. The f35 is way smaller than the f45. Not nearly as bulky on the side of the van.

Mon Jan 17, 2011 12:38 pm

Another awning to think about is Hannibal (no legs) and also CampingLab supposedly makes a nice inexpensive option compared to Fiamma.

Mon Jan 17, 2011 1:15 pm

I also have an older F35 manual awning. Twice one of the arms were bent. Once in a hail storm in North Dakota and the second time in the middle crazy down pour. Both times were my fault that it wasn't tilted enough. I was able to get the parts both times and cost was under 30.00 shipped. Its great to be able to get parts for an awning that is ten years old. Plus its not as heavy and comlicated as the crank models. They make an enzyme based awning cleaner available at most larger outlet stores that cleans the awning up really nice at the end of each season.

Bill
87 Westy Zetec

Mon Jan 17, 2011 2:38 pm

I have a F35 pro,

Its great, its been in really strong wind and it cant blow over because it connects to the van and its also had six inches of snow on it and that was fine too. I couldn't recommend one highly enough through my experiance of mine over the last year or so.

jed

Fri Mar 18, 2011 9:38 pm

JED THE SPREAD wrote: I have a F35 pro,

Its great, its been in really strong wind and it cant blow over because it connects to the van and its also had six inches of snow on it and that was fine too. I couldn't recommend one highly enough through my experiance of mine over the last year or so.

jed

Hey Jed...
I just ordered the F35 Pro 8'
Do the body mounts come with the awning or did you order them separately?
Love your vids.
Cheers

Fri Mar 18, 2011 9:54 pm

I think that they are included but if not GW has them.
http://www.gowesty.com/ec_view_details.php?id=17814&category_id=253&category_parent_id=

Fri Mar 18, 2011 11:14 pm

Yep they should be included, I got them when I ordered mine.

Steve

Sat Mar 19, 2011 12:10 am

Sweet. Cant wait to put it on and get it out.
SAMBA!

Sat Mar 19, 2011 3:39 pm

I've got the 8' version Fiamma that GW sells. Deployed in 60-90 seconds and that includes getting out of the vehicle and walking around to the passenger side. That was the selling point for me. Great for quick lunch stops. Do I wish I had a bit more coverage ? Sometimes. Just couldn't justify the 10'. I'm thinking of a couple of add ons that would provide more coverage for those days when I may stay put for awhile.

Sat Mar 19, 2011 4:46 pm

We have the big daddy F45i. Got it from GoWesty. It's extremely nice, easy to use and very durable. Thumbs up here. Well worth the expense.

Lazy dog approved.

Thu Apr 19, 2012 8:40 pm

Honuak,
Wondering if you got your awning mounted? Did it include the brackets? Where did you order from?
I called my local rv dealer and they can order direct from Fiamma. Prices were cheaper than the vendor in the classifieds and shipping would probably also be cheaper, they quoted around $80.
Regardless I think I've made my mind up on a f35 unless I found a dirt cheap f45 somewhere. I prefer the sleeker lighter version plus it would be around half the price of the f45.
Any downsides besides the no "crank out" feature?

SSWesty,
Where did you order yours from?

I asked this in another thread but what's a fair price for a used 8' f35?

If Jed recommends it I'm sold! :D

Thu Apr 19, 2012 8:57 pm

fatboypaul wrote: I bought a Shady Boy, weighs 15 pounds, I like the design and it doesn't bend the gutter rail down like I've seen on the Fiamma on a couple of friends vanagons. I also didn't like the stripey designs on the canvas of the Fiamma but that is just my personal taste, or lack thereof.
Paul. :bay_blue: X2 and at half the cost! :D