The Caravan Owners Club

[sexymuma]

Im very new to caravaning and have just bought a hobby prestige 650, can anyone tell what size awning i will need.Thanks

[chrome dog]

The awning size is measured as a ground to ground lenth and up along the awning rail ... measure the distance with a piece of string peged to the ground at the front of the van and passing along the awning rail up and along the van and down to the ground at the other end ...lay the string on the ground and measure it, thats the size you require..

[myvanwe]

Im very new to caravaning and have just bought a hobby prestige 650, can anyone tell what size awning i will need.Thanks

last year we bought a new awning for our 2002 prestige 650 umfe. its size is 1120. its a inaca elba with a steel frame and is made to stay up all season. we had some very strong winds ect last year and it was good. as long as you anchor the frame all will be fine. the inaca is a whole lot cheaper than isabella and is qaulity .

[fynnoscar]

Also very new and very green, have read your post re: awnings for a Hobby 650 in Jan 2009.

We are too looking to buy a hobby on ebay but are slowly being put off by reading posts. Now 8 months in - would you recommend a Hobby. We are not looking for one as a touring, purely as a secret hideaway on a nearby site from our home/business with 2 children - hence a hobby with it's large living space and "luxury" to give us home from home but without the phone and hastle.

Would very much appreciate yours and any other comments.

All the best - Jo

[chrome dog]

Don’t be put off by some of the comments you see on the web that all Hobby’s on e-bay are stolen, contrary to popular belief Hobby’s are no more likely to be stolen than any other make, and the insurance figures will prove that ,BUT that said, Hobby’s are very popular with some of the travelling fraternity, but this seems to be changing and they are now buying (note I said BUYING)more Fendt,and Tabbart vans, for obvious reasons, they are much better built vans and put together better, .but there is nothing wrong with Hobby Vans they represent excellent value and I am sorry to say are certainly far better than any British built van.
If your do your home work and ask lots of questions, go and see the van before buying, way up the seller, would you trust him ? is the van at his home ? or some where it shouldn’t be, if its on a site is it a council site or a public one ,speak to the site owner, and give the van a good looking at, look to see signs of damage that could have been caused by forcibly removing security devices from the wheels or tow hitch , make sure every thing works, fridge, cooker microwave and lighting, and all the locks work and he has all the keys, they should all be the same one key fits all,, are the table and bed the correct one’s, don’t buy it there and then but gather all the info on it ,i.e. . the chassis number and see the log book then check with Hobby UK. They have lots of info on all Hobby vans.
Buying a van is no different than buying any other high value item, take your time and be sure your happy with everything, if you know a Hobby owner ask him to come with you to see the van, he would be familiar with them and would notice anything that does not seem correct, Good luck, and lets us know how you get on, we look forward to welcoming a new Hobby owner….

[Hobbynut]

According to one insurance company that I spoke to, a German twin axle van is 12 times more likely to be stolen than a British one..As for Ebay, have just had dealing with a guy who bought a Hobby for £6500 and THEN decided to have it HPI checked only ot find out it was an insurance write off..Just been a 1997 Hobby on there pretending to be a 2002 ( mis advertising the year is the most popular con..along with a van being a "dry van " no water or toilet, but this conveniently missed out of the description )...Trust me, Ebay is a dodgey place....Most Vans are OK but there are the ones on there that are well dodgey and these have been listed on the Hobby Owners Club website
If you have been dealing with Hobby's and are well versed with the cons and how to spot them then there is no problem...if you know nothing about them then it is quite easy to " get your leg lifted " by accident...As the post above states....Check very carefully BEFORE you buy and all will be well
I know that the owners of this website agree with previous posts that I have put on here covering this very subject

Cheers
Hobbynut

[kitty]

Im very new to caravaning and have just bought a hobby prestige 650, can anyone tell what size awning i will need.Thanks

hi we borught a dorema all weather for our hobby the same as yours and orderd a size 18 it the biggest awning they do if thats any good