If you're thinking about adding extra living space to your vehicle, Dometic inflatable awnings have it covered - literally!
Perfect for weekend getaways and longer trips, a Dometic inflatable awning is designed for all those times where all you need is a little bit of extra space to relax and enjoy dinner and drinks, and even just spread out a bit with a roof over your head.
First, some basics: the Dometic inflatable awnings are known for their patented AirFrame technology. This means you don't have to mess around with steel or fibreglass poles, but instead enjoy the ease of interlinked inflatable air poles. This makes it super easy to inflate and deflate the awning in minutes.
If you're thinking of adding a Rally Air Dometic Inflatable Awning to your adventure gear and want to know what you're getting for your money, we've got the answers in our guide.
Let's go...
What Are Your Options?
There are four products to choose from in the Rally Air Pro Range - there are two designs (static and driveaway) in two length sizes (260 and 330). So, for example, you can choose the driveaway awning in 330 length or the static awning in 260 length.
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What's The Difference Between The Models?
Let's break it down.
The static awning has a slightly smaller width - for both the 260 and 330 static range, you get 250mm in width.
The driveaway awning is 350mm in width for both the 260 and 330 driveaway range. It's larger because there's a small area between the motorhome and awning itself, which can also be closed off.
The best thing about a driveaway awning is that you can actually drive away and explore the surroundings without worrying about packing everything up. You can simply leave the freestanding awning in your camp spot.
Pro Tip: You can't lock these awnings so don't leave your valuables inside unattended!
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Added Extras
Whichever Dometic inflatable awning you choose, there are a few things included as standard - 2.2L pump, peg pack, manual and a carry bag.
The driveaway awnings also come with 3.6 m connection straps.
Best of all, with all Dometic inflatable awnings in the range, you get a generous 3 year warranty.
Pro Tip: Dometic inflatable awnings do not come with a groundsheet or footprint, but we recommend buying one as an accessory for extra comfort.
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Which Awning Is Right For You?
The simple answer is that static awnings are best suited to caravans and motorhomes, whereas the driveaway awnings are best suited for motorhomes.
What Size Awning Do I Need?
It's really up to you. How much space do you want to add to your living area?
However, there are other considerations to weigh up, for instance:
Do you already have a box awning fitted to your RV, and what size is it?
If you already have a box awning of 2.6m - you will not fit the 260 inflatable awning as there's a small amount of overhang. You can however, install a separate sail track above your box awning and attach the inflatable awning to the track.
If you have a 4m awning, you can choose either size in the Dometic inflatable range as they fit neatly inside your box awning
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Installing Your Dometic Rally Air Pro
There's a range of kits designed to make it easy to install your Dometic inflatable awning onto your van - depending on what your setup is.
Caravan or motorhomes with existing sail tracks or box awnings:
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Install the static awning with no additional accessories. Hurrah!
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If you want to benefit from the driveaway feature (and trust us, you really do!), you'll need the driveaway kit. We recommend you buy the 3m Driveaway Kit for the 2.6m awning or the 4m Driveaway Kit for the 3.3m awning.
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Metal or aluminium caravan or motorhome without sail tracks or box awning:
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To attach the static awning, you'll need to buy the Magnetic Driveaway Kit.
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To install the driveaway awning, buy the Magnetic Driveaway Kit and use the quick disconnect feature when you want to drive away and leave the awning freestanding.
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Pro Tip: Always remove the magnetic kit and limpet suction kit from your motorhome before driving off.
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Fibreglass or composite caravan or motorhome without sail tracks or box awning:
- To attach the static or driveaway awning, buy the Limpet Suction Driveaway Kit. Use the quick disconnect feature when you want to drive away and leave the awning freestanding.
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Pro Tip: Limpet suction pieces need to be on a completely flat surface and free of any stickers.
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Setting Up Your Dometic Rally Air Pro
Follow these easy steps:
- Connect the awning to the installation kit or the sail track/box awning before inflating. When assembling the driveaway awning, there are two extra steps - peg out the awning and find the straps which you throw over the top of the motorhome and peg down.
Pro Tip: The Australian version does not come with extra straps as mentioned in the product manual.
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All the awnings feature a single point inflation. Easy!
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Both static and driveaway awnings come with a standard pump. For more grunt, you can also buy the Dometic Gale 12V Electric Pump. It takes less than 5 minutes for the driveaway awning to inflate. Simply turn on the pump, set to desired psi, click start and watch the magic!
Pro Tip: We recommend both awnings are inflated to around 9psi. Awnings will remain inflated to the given psi, however there will be a small amount of fluctuation if the temperature changes too much.
Shop our Dometic Inflatable awnings today.
DISCLAIMER* Please note, this advice is general in nature and we strongly recommend consulting the product manual and where relevant, a professional installer.
