Canopy update

Earlier in the year we decided to update the old Bluebird canopy. Whilst there was nothing really wrong with it, the material did seem heavy, it didn't pack away particularly well, and would easily fill up with rain at the mere sign of drizzle.

Here's the replacement:

This Khyam version is similar in design but much more lightweight making it easier to fold and store away. The three legs, spiked at either end, come with four sections each (only shown with three in the pic) and the usual beaded 'Kador' strip is sewn down one long edge.

It slots straight into the Reimo multirail, no need for adaptors or 8-strip. Length-wise, it's almost exactly the same length as the multirail making it ideal for the T5.

Water tends to bead more than settle and eventually finds a direction to run off rather than pooling in the centre. Total packed weight comes in at less than 3kg in a bag no longer than a single pole section (around 650mm long). Grab one yourself from Khyam here.

Khyam impressions in the wind...

Having spent the last few days camping right at the edge of the Llyn Peninsula, with a less than favourable forecast, it was hard to avoid the wind. Driving rain and gusts up to 70mph were on the cards and the Khyam dealt with them extremely well.

Where others failed...

...the Khyam stood firm.

Partly down to the design I think; the 'flexible' knee joints of the pole system allow for a little bit of give in the heavier gusts while the feet are firmly pegged down - the only thing I would change would be to add a rope in the middle of the 'drive-away' side to hold the awning firm when the van isn't there.

The only slight annoyance was during the heavier, late-night gusts, with the tunnel section attached to the multi-rail it would billow and pull the van - a similar feeling to someone occasionally, and quite violently, rocking the van whilst we're trying to sleep. This was rectified by simply not attaching the van to the awning for nights two and three!

All I need to do now is to tell myself the Khyam will stand firm and that there's no need to check on it every couple of hours (something that is quite difficult in a howling gale!)

Multirail - UK Instructions

I've had a few people comment on the fitting of the Reimo Multirail.

In particular those that are struggling with the 'german-only' instructions. I spent a bit of time translating (as best as possible) then copying and pasting over the original instructions. See below:

Click the pic for a bigger version

The translation is by no means perfect, but should be enough to get you through.

If you're new to the Stone174 blog you can see the previous posts featuring the multirail by clicking here.

Khyam impressions in the rain...

Just back from the second holiday of the year with the Khyam Motordome awning. Cornwall this time around treated us to more 'normal' conditions after June's rain-less week, this time we had a few downpours and gusty moments, thankfully only during the night.

The awning stayed pretty water-tight, rain tends to pool a bit on top of the section that connects to the van - you need to be careful when disconnecting not to give yourself an unsuspected cold shower! Other than that, everything inside the tent remained bone-dry.

It felt pretty stable during the winds too, at no point did I feel like waking up and hanging on for dear-life!

The addition of a proper shaped Khyam Groundsheet combined with the Khyam Carpet made for a comfortable end-of-summer break.

As much as I love sleeping under canvas, I miss having a bed in the van - there's not much scope for a lie-in when the sun's up a nature is in full song, so our plans to fit a bed in the van are being brought forward.

Gimme shelter

For the forthcoming weekend away at the Run to the Hills show I thought it would be a good opportunity to get the old canopy out.

Bought from Bluebird Customs, the canopy was originally used on our old T3 camper, it was just the right length. The overall length of the T5 roof line is a bit shorter than that of the T3 so there's a little overhang front and back.

It looks okay though. And for a short weekend where it's too much hassle to take the big Khyam, this should do the trick!

Oh, the van's finally lowered too - did you notice?

Khyam first impressions

I am pretty impressed with the Khyam Motordome awning. The Rapidex pole system means the awning is up in less than 10 minutes - in fact it took longer to put all the pegs in than it did to get the thing up!

With three square metres of living space and the double bedroom setup left as one big bedroom, the two of us had more than enough space.

The only down-side is that there are no internal poles and hence nothing to 'hang' anything on inside, just one small hooking point for a lantern.

As an extra luxury, we also treated ourselves to a Khyam tent carpet; a thermal-lined and fleecy groundsheet, much better than those old plastic groundsheets!

Multirail (part three)

So here's the Multirail in use...


To attach to the awning; position the van, slide on the double-edged beading strip, then holding the awning bead and beaded strip, feed the figure of eight strip between the two.

To detach the awning simply pull the double-edged beading strip out of the Multirail end and you're done.

No unsightly ropes slung over the van, quick and easy. If you've got a T5 and want a drive-away awning this option, although more expensive, is well worth it!

Multirail (part two)

Front and rear sections are now fitted. Next camping trip will see the Multirail in action!

Multirail (part one)

Vehicle design is a wonderful thing. Every generation of a certain model becomes increasingly more refined, lines get smoothed, tidied and updated. Unfortunately trends change - in the case of the Volkswagen Transporter, the gutters have disappeared. They left us after the third generation van.


Our old T3 camper was often extended with a canopy or drive-away awning hanging from the gutter, something we're keen to retain on the new van, but how?

We had a long chat with Mark from Fishbrain; the company we have just bought the Khyam awning from, his recommendation was a Reimo Multirail:


A myriad of awning and canopy attachments are possible using the standard 'figure of eight' strip as used by most awning manufacturers. This seemed the most sensible (but not cheapest) option to go for. Other options include ropes going over the top of the van's paintwork. Simply not an option for us.

So off we go. First step is to mask the length of the van and offer the Multirail up and mark the drill holes. Check, check and check again.


Notice any small gaps above and below windows have been covered with masking tape, this stops the small shards of metal from drilling getting anywhere near the rubbers.


Don't be put-off by the Multirail being 'dead-straight', it will curve to the contour of the van when screwed and bonded into place.


Deep breath... and drill! There's no going back at this stage. Roughen the paintwork between the holes to help the bonding process.


Add the bonding (sikaflex style bonding material) to the Multirail. Clean the van surface with an acetone-based 'panel-wipe' and offer-up the Multirail.

Starting at the front, first two screws in, then work your way down the length of the van.

Just as we got to this point the heavens opened. Rain-stopped play - hence the part one in the title of this post!

Check back soon (if the rain ever stops!) to see the final result.

UPDATE: Here's all the other blog posts about the Multirail.