The kings 270 awing

[Borec]

Has anybody bought the new Kings 270 awing? It seems like a copy of the batwing. I would like to know about any first impressions about quality and usefulness. How hard/easy/quick it is to set it up solo.
Thank you

 

[2002GU3]

If you go onto supercentre's site and click on the awning, there are videos of them setting it up.

 

[Borec]

If you go onto supercentre's site and click on the awning, there are videos of them setting it up.

Thanks, I know, but I want actually to hear from somebody who does not work for Kings

 

[Kippie]

This review is unbiased. Does not refer to the 270 but it does the Kings awning quality.

 

[Borec]

This review is unbiased. Does not refer to the 270 but it does the Kings awning quality.

Thanks for that, I like the review. My original awing was Tiger11, which I guess was Kings predecessor, so I am familiar with the ordinary one, just curious about the 270

 

[Bomber2012]

Imagine it’s just as good as their other awnings, I’ve had a roo systems one for 8-9 years and still does the job.

 

[billolga]

@Kippie 's video link says it all- I have a small rear awning I have used for years & it's great but it cost me around $500.
I also have a Kings awning on the side that cost me $89 & is much larger & I like it - will it last? Hey, I got it cheap- it keeps the water out & it does the job.

 

[Bomber2012]

@Kippie 's video link says it all- I have a small rear awning I have used for years & it's great but it cost me around $500.
I also have a Kings awning on the side that cost me $89 & is much larger & I like it - will it last? Hey, I got it cheap- it keeps the water out & it does the job.

As far as I see it Bill an awning is an awning , honestly don't see $200 difference in one from another . I paid $80 for my Roo Systems one 8 or so years ago , its starting to show its age but I've been out bush at least twice a month over the past 8 years so works out about 40 cents per camp so far and its still going . If you ask me KINGS have been fantastic for 4X4 owners they have kept the bastards honest , in saying that I wouldn't necessarily buy anything I relied on (winches , fridges , suspension , etc ) from KINGS but have no issues at all buying one of their awnings .

 

[Swaggie]

I could still use my ol Tigers Awning that's over 6 years old but I took it off for a 3 metre instead.
Decided to try the new Darche awning with the rubber ends to the main aluminium extrusion that's bolted to the vehicle. Lucky I did, early this year down by the beach I had tied the rope on incorrectly and when a gust of wind came through the Awning flipped up 90 degrees to my roof a few times A lady came over and told me what had happened, both her and her son watched in amusement. I had noticed it was loose after the fact.
Id imagine if it was the aluminium knuckles they would have snapped... So it did it's job.
The canvas seens to be a better quality and has extra on the ends to cover the gaps if you want to add sides etc...
So for an extra 100/150 bucks (compared to Tigers, well Kings now) I reckon the extra $$$ is worth it.....

 

[silkwood]

If your awning breaks in the middle of a trip you can always substitute a simple tarp set-up. Go for the Kings, but, like all budget gear, use it with care, make sure it is always tied down effectively and don't bash it around when erecting or dismantling. Simple.

Cheers,
Mark

 

[Borec]

I bought the darche eclipse 270 when it came out thinking that it was a great idea. Soon I found that it is a great concept but not so great (at least to my thinking of having a quick and easily one man deploy-able and pack-able 270 awing). There were some quality issues at the beginning, Darche did changed some parts under warranty. However my main grieve is that it is not so easy to pack, especially when wet and when you are under 6 feet tall. The transport bag is too tight and it requires a lot of effort (which is fine in cool 20 degrees, but is a killer when in the full summer sun of the red center, when you need it the most). So I ended up hardly using it in the desert because it was not worth the effort of packing it up, and I preferred to half crawl under the car to get some shade when having lunch. Now I have noticed that the bag is coming apart at the stitches after 1.5 year. I would have expected it to last longer, especially if you pay $1000. The new bag is close to $200! So I am looking for 270 that would do the job without killing me financial (since i already spend $1000). I would love ostrich wing, at nearly $2000, that is bit too much, the Chinese copy (30 sec awing) is half the price, but the quality apparently is not that great. So i was looking at the batwing, which is probably the cheapest one at reasonable quality, when the King came out with a copy. But I think both of these take bit more effort and time to set up and pack up when alone, as they are not free standing. I just do not know what to do, I might just try to modify the Darche bag somehow to ensure that it is easier to pack, and I broke one zipper on it already. So I need to find somebody who would change the zipper and somehow saw in a strip of similar material to make it wider. I just do not want to spend more money on this and finding out that it is all for nothing.

 

[Swaggie]

@Borec

Have you contacted Darche about your concerns. I believe your entitled to a two year warranty and the Awning should last at least 3-5 years without any issues. Especially at that price...
If you have the time don't let it go...
It's worth a shot...

 

[idiomatically]

I would be taking it up with Darche mate, any company worth their salt will want to sort it for you. Supacentre gets a lot of flak for their quality but they certainly come to the party with warranty items from what I have seen.

If the bag has gone on you Darche should be replacing it. I've seen a lot of people very happy with the 30 Second Awning

 

[silkwood]

Definitely take it up with Darche. I have the Eclipse 180 Darche Awning and couldn't be happier with it (nearly 1.5 yo).

Cheers,
Mark

 

[Borec]

I did send them the picture of the bag (and I had an issue with a zipper, but that was my fault, I squashed the zipper between a roof rack and the awing when I was opening it), and asked about the price of a new bag. I was given price of a new bag. The warranty on awnings is only 1 year. I have send another email to them now to see if they would

give me a discount on the new bag, let's see what they reply.

 

[Felsy_89]

As far as I see it Bill an awning is an awning , honestly don't see $200 difference in one from another . I paid $80 for my Roo Systems one 8 or so years ago , its starting to show its age but I've been out bush at least twice a month over the past 8 years so works out about 40 cents per camp so far and its still going . If you ask me KINGS have been fantastic for 4X4 owners they have kept the bastards honest , in saying that I wouldn't necessarily buy anything I relied on (winches , fridges , suspension , etc ) from KINGS but have no issues at all buying one of their awnings .

I bought a Kings fridge about 2 years ago and it's awesome. never had an issue at all.

I've heard they are just rebadged Waeco's although i've also heard that one has caught fire...

 

[sharkcaver]

Supacentre gets a lot of flak for their quality but they certainly come to the party with warranty items from what I have seen.

If you saw the post on here a couple of years back re supercenter's delivery of a 25L fridge to a member and the subsequent bunfight that ensued, you might just understand some of that flak. To be honest, it was disgusting.

Borec, you complain about the ease of use of the 270 awning, then in another post say you may consider another brand of 270. If the 270 is such a pain, wouldn't you consider a standard plain jane 90 degree awning?? I couldn't live without one. The 270's a re nice, but as you state, they are more complex than a plain jane, and boy do they consume some weight and real estate.

If it were me, I would just get your bag repaired - restiched and new zip - which means seperating it from the awning moulding, not something I would look forward to.

 

[idiomatically]

subsequent bunfight that ensued

Maybe they learned their lesson, I don't use kings stuff as I am not a fan of the quality and hate crap failing on me when I need it. That said a lot of people I know do use it and they have all had a failure of some type and the thing that always sticks out when we talk about it is the fact that the warranty process has always been easy.

They are having a drama atm I see with their kwik hardshell RTT's, every comment I've seen about a failure has been followed up with another comment about how simple it was to have it replaced and refunded. So while I don't think I'd ever be a Supacentre customer I give them every credit for doing right by their customers.

I would like to see the demise of the throw away mentality, but it's the world we live in.

 

[Kegs1972]

We've just fitted a Rhino Batwing to our Triton, took me months of research, reading reviews, and scouring the internet for good and bad points. I narrowed it down to the batwing and the 30 second awning. I was always suspect that the 30 second awning would pool water as it looked a little circus tentish, finally found a couple of reviews that confirmed it so the batwing it is. We absolutely love it and don't regret getting that one. Of course a month later the Kings one comes out, they do look a little flimsy in the videos. We got the batwing from Tentworld for $749 with free postage.

 

[hiluxdriver]

Interesting that no one has brought up that Kings crap isn't Aussie made. I think people love getting on the Aussie made bandwagon....until it comes to handing over the folding stuff.
I bought a Kings compressor and recovery kit about 3 months ago and so far so good.