Bradcot Modul-Air - caravan awning review

There’s only one porch that gives you the flexibility to buy it in sections and turn it from a porch into a full caravan awning!

“Customers crave easy-build,” Bradcot's Paul Winslett tells me as we are unfurling the awning manufacturer's latest model.

"Air is fashionable; the market is saturated with the concept of air awnings. Why is because everyone wants the easiest of porches to construct…”

We chatter about the certain virtues of airframe awnings and their continuing rise in the market.

Caravan awning extensions

Modul-Air, though, is different to any other air awning. It’s an exciting, impressive concept. A system of zipped extensions allows the buyer to increase its size. And then increase it again and again, to the point where you can turn it into a full awning.

And then perhaps add an annexe. So it's a porch for weekend use. And it's also a full awning for long holidays. You just leave at home or take with you, the sections you require for each holiday.

We've got the central part of the spread out on the ground now, ready for the build. We feed its cord into the rail which is the 3.9m long centre element of the Modul-Air; the basis of the porch, you might say.

Lighter than expected

I comment on its weight, 20.5kg; it doesn't feel heavy to handle even though it's made of sturdy fabric, Ten Cate, which is woven from spun polyester and spun PVA, and then PVA coated. Ten Cate fabric is acknowledged to be synonymous with quality; Paul Winslett comments as we build:

"They’ve been making awning fabric for many years. You pay a premium for that quality material." (Yet this central section, which you can use as a porch alone, is an affordable £1099.)

The Modul-Air’s air beams are substantial, too; larger than others – they’re 150mm wide, robustly constructed with a bladder system that is 450 microns thick.

Easy building

Conversation returns to customers craving easy build.

"The concept of a full awning with an airframe is in high demand,” says Paul, “The downside to making it in one piece is that it would be tough to handle, given the size of the awning and the weight of the integral airframe…"

The Modul-Air gets around that problem; you build it in sections. We start our build on our long-term-test Bailey Unicorn Barcelona. With a body length of almost six and a half metres and an awning size of 1091cm, it's among the UK's longest caravans, so an ideal test for the concept of building a full awning in sections.

Inflatable caravan awning

It's an enjoyable day at our caravan and awning test location. A Compass Casita 866 is due to arrive for a photo shoot, and one of its duties is an awning shoot, too. We’ve only got as far as attaching the Modul-Air’s sections to the Barcelona’s rail when the Casita arrives, just a few minutes into the build. So it's a small task to switch to the Casita, the same length as the Barcelona (although a lot wider!)

You inflate the Modul-Air's frame from one point. The structure contains 70% more air than frames in comparable makes, which gives you some clue as to why Bradcot recommends buyers opt for a 12-volt, rather than manual, pump; you power it from your car or caravan battery; the power pump costs £99 and comes with 6m of cable and crocodile clips.

We position Paul’s car conveniently for the inlet. In less than four minutes the 390 section is inflated. We attach the next section's fabric using a buckle clip which takes the weight of the fabric, then zip the two parts together.

We now get the 130cm-wide extension and feed this in from the front of the Casita; it goes in smoothly and efficiently. We attach it the main 390 section using its buckle, then zip the two together. In two minutes this section is inflated.

The cross beams of each part are integral; more parts go in until the big Casita is clothed in a full awning, the curved front section completing the structure.

Because of the air frame’s giant width, Modul-Airs are so rigid that they don’t need guy lines (although storm straps come with the unit)

The advantage of an absence of the guy lines trip-hazard is evident!

Buy it as you need it

But perhaps the greatest advantage is that you can buy your Modul-Air in sections, starting with the £1099 base unit and adding on any combination of extensions to suit your caravan; each extension is £229 for the 65cm unit, and £299 for the 90cm and 130cm units and the front section is £329.

Verdict

The Modul-Air is impressively easy and quick to build, especially when considering we are using so many parts on a big caravan. There’s a dramatic difference between constructing this modular unit and building a one-piece awning of that great size.

That's not just about air versus poles. It's about the amount of fabric you have to haul into the caravan's channel in one go. None of the Modul-Air's sections is large, and the build process is simple. We love the zip system. We like the rigidity. And the absence of guy-lines! Most of all, we love the versatility.

Technical stuff

Size 2.6m deep; section are 390, 65, 90 and 130cm wide

Frame air-filled fabric Ten Cate coated polyester

Weight of 390 unit 20.5kg