Is the Dometic PerfectWall the Best Campervan Awning? Our Review and Installation Guide
- Chris Wallace-Tarry
- Sep 4
- 15 min read
Updated: Sep 10
As discussed in our buyer's guide, we think awnings are an essential campervan add-on. We were excited to add outdoor living space and shelter from the weather to Shane's new van, Elvis. We went with the Dometic PerfectWall PW 1100 because we wanted a freestanding, wind-out awning and had confidence in Dometic's reputation for build quality. We think it could be the best campervan awning out there. In this Dometic awning review, we'll explain why and show you how we installed it.
Index
Shane, the founder of The Van Conversion, is a campervan professional and NCC-certified electrical installer. Since 2020, he’s lived on the road full-time, completing several van builds along the way. He’s the author of Roaming Home and the creator of The Van Conversion Course, which have helped thousands build their own vans. Shane also writes The Van Conversion Newsletter, where he shares hands-on tips and practical insights. He’s passionate about empowering others to make their vanlife dreams reality.
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Supplies List
Before starting your Dometic awning installation, make sure you have the following:
A power drill of at least 500W For driving and drilling
HSS metal drill bits For drilling holes in your van's metal walls
Campervan sealant Sikaflex 522 is our preferred flexible, weather-resistant silicone sealant
Sealant gun For applying sealant
Tape measure For measuring out drill holes
Spanner set For holding nuts in place whilst driving bolts
What's in the Box?
The Dometic awning comes assembled and ready to go; all that's required is mounting it to your van. Dometic supply all the necessary mounting hardware, plus extras like a mount for the included crank and support brackets for bracing the legs against the side of your van.
Key Specs
Awning Width: 260cm, 300cm, 375cm
Awning Projection: 200cm, 250cm
Crank-operated: opens smoothly and easily by hand to any position between fully closed and fully open
Flip-down, telecscopic support legs: stow snugly in the front rail and deploy easily
Made of reinforced vinyl: tough, waterproof, UV resistant, and easy to clean
Dometic Awning Variants and Sizes
The Dometic awning comes in both roof-mounted and wall-mounted variants, plus a range of sizes, so anyone can configure the best campervan awning to work for their setup.
Roof Mounting Your Dometic Awning
The Dometic PerfectRoof PR is the roof-mounting variant of Dometic's awnings. Roof mounting is great for lower vans, like the ubiquitous VW Transporter, Ford Transit Custom, and Renault/Opel/Nissan Trafic/Vivaro/Primastar. Mounting your awning on the roof gives you the maximum height and allows you to slope it for rain without clipping the door. Additionally, you have the option of mounting your Dometic awning to an existing roof rack or rail, giving you an easy, drill-free installation.
Wall Mounting Your Dometic Awning
The Dometic PerfectWall PW mounts to your van's wall instead of the roof. This is the version we chose for Shane's van, which is a H3 Citroen Jumper. The van is more than two metres tall, so we're actually more worried about the awning being too high to conveniently extend and retract. Mounting it on the wall made much more sense in this case, and left the roof totally free for our solar panel/roof rack project.
Manual vs. Motorised Opening
The Dometic awning comes in both manual and motorised opening variants. We go over this in detail in our comprehensive awnings guide, but in brief, we'd suggest that manual opening is sufficient for most people. Dometic's telescopic crank is ergonomic and easy to use, and one person can roll out the awning in 20 seconds or so.
Motorised opening is a luxury, and would make opening the awning much easier if it's mounted out of comfortable reach. For those with reduced mobility or strength, the functionality can be a game-changer.
Dometic Awning Sizes
The best campervan awning in the world is only as good as the shelter it provides. Fortunately, the Dometic awning comes in sizes big enough for the longest vans. When sizing your awning, make sure it'll fully cover your side door, windows, and anything else you want accessible when it's raining.
Dometic Awning Variant | Horizontal Width | Projection | Opening Type |
|---|---|---|---|
PerfectWall PW 1100 | 260cm | 200cm | Manual only |
300cm | 250cm | Manual only | |
375cm | 250cm | Manual only | |
PerfectWall PW 1500 | 260cm | 200cm | Manual only |
300cm | 250cm | Manual only | |
350cm | 250cm | Manual only | |
400cm | 250cm | Manual + motorised | |
450cm | 275cm | Manual + motorised | |
500cm | 275cm | Manual + motorised | |
550cm | 275cm | Motorised only | |
600cm | 275cm | Motorised only | |
PerfectRoof PR 2000 | 260cm | 200cm | Manual only |
300cm | 250cm | Manual only | |
325cm | 250cm | Manual only | |
350cm | 250cm | Manual only | |
375cm | 250cm | Manual only | |
400cm | 250cm | Manual only | |
450cm | 250cm | Manual only | |
PerfectRoof PR 2500 | 350cm | 275cm | Motorised only |
375cm | 275cm | Motorised only | |
400cm | 275cm | Motorised only | |
450cm | 275cm | Motorised only | |
500cm | 275cm | Motorised only | |
550cm | 275cm | Motorised only | |
600cm | 275cm | Motorised only |
Dometic Awning Add-ons
Even the best campervan awning can be improved on. Fortunately, Dometic offer a handful of ways to customise your awning and increase its functionality. We really like these add-on possibilities, especially the wall panels. These would add a lot of functionality and comfort to the awning, really enhancing the experience.
Lighting
Rather than hanging camping lanters out when night falls, upgrade your awning with a tidy, integrated LED strip. The Power Patio Light Strip either fits under the awning cassette or mounts to the awning's outer rail. The low-power LEDs wire into your van's 12V system, giving you ambient, overhead lighting for your porch all through the night.
Windbreaks and Sun Shades
Awnings don't protect you from everything. When the wind gets up, it'll blow through just the same and cover you in rain in wet weather. Equally, when the sun's not directly overhead, your awning might not provide the shade you need. To improve the protection your awning offers, Dometic offer the translucent SunProtect sun shade, the water-and-windproof RainProtect, and the fully enclosing CampRoom to add an additional room to your camper.
First Impressions
Out of the box, the PerfectWall 1100 awning felt sturdy and looked very sleek. There are no visible screws or bolts on the whole thing, and the clean lines and minimal design give a subtle impression of quality. It's mostly made of plastic, so you wouldn't want to drop it during installation. However, that plastic construction saves weight and doesn't feel at all flimsy.
Besides the mounting brackets and associated hardware, you also get an interesting selection of mounting accessories. Dometic include a set of little brackets which work as a holder for the crank when mounted to a wall. This is a nice touch, and we'll probably end up mounting them to a wooden surface by the door once the van's finished. You also get a set of brackets which mount to the side of the van and serve as anchor points for the awning's extendable legs. The idea here is that, instead of having the legs standing on the ground, they brace against your van. This way, you don't have to peg them in place and can adjust your van's position without stowing the awning. Again, it's a thoughtful addition that demonstrates Dometic's aptitude for user testing.
Overall, the PerfectWall awning is sleek and attractive in its design and solid in its construction. We appreciated the added extras, and liked how they give the opportunity for a little bit of customisation of the awning's function.
Dometic Awning Review: The Best Campervan Awning for Most Installations
Like the other Dometic products we've reviewed, our Dometic awning works so smoothly when installed that there's surprisingly little to say.
What We Love
It opens very easily using the crank, which itself is easy to fit into the winch socket. Once rolled out, the awning supports itself without issue, meaning one person can comfortably fold the legs out and deploy the awning on their own. The legs themselves are very neatly stowed in the awning's front rail, and are easy to fold in and out. We did have to do the deployment a handful of times to figure out this particular awning's quirks. Our tips are:
Don't unfurl the awning as far as it will go, to the point where the support arms are fully straight. Leave a slight bend in them so that they fold easily when you start rolling the awning back in.
Make sure the legs are fully stowed in their storage rail and not sticking out at all before furling the awning. This wasn't obvious to us initially, but the legs do tuck in until they're completely flush. The awning won't close fully if the legs are't stowed properly.
The crank is telescopic! We mounted our awning high on the van, and struggled a little bit with the comparatively short crank. Only later did we discover that this crank is extendable with a turn of the knurled piece above the upper handle.
Once we'd done it a few times, we found that one person can fully deploy the awning in less than a minute. It's very convenient, and really feels like Dometic have workshopped all the individual mechanisms to make for a quick, one-person deployment.
When deployed, the awning provides a huge sheltered area. We installed the 260cm wide, 200cm deep PerfectWall PW 1100, which is the smallest Dometic offer. It still feels very spatious, and we've made full use of the shelter for working on the van on rainy days. We've found that two people can remain completely sheltered whilst working under the canopy; an indication of the usable space. The dark grey fabric feels weighty, slick, and blocks all sunlight. We notice that it's a single piece of fabric with no seams, which inspires confidence in its resistance to tearing. The canopy sheds water only at the lower edge, and the support arms provide enough tension that there's no sagging or pooling.
We particularly like the fact that the awning can be partially extended. Sometimes, we have the van parked fairly close to a wall outside our workshop. We can extend the awning to cover the space between the van and the wall, the fabric remains tense, and everything works just how it would when fully extended. This means you can buy a big awning and feel confident that you won't take up too much space in cramped spots and crowded campsites.
What We Don't Love
We do have a couple of niggles. The most glaring one is that our crank broke on day one. We're not sure how it happened, but the metal at one of the articulating hinges seems to be very soft. This metal buckled and the crank broke in two halfway through furling the awning. It's surprising, considering how solid and well thought-out every other aspect of the awning feels. We've solved the problem with gaffer tape for now, but plan on reaching out to Dometic and asking for a replacement crank before finishing the van. We'll keep you updated.
The other issue that came up is that, with our mounting height and the width of our awning, the legs don't actually touch the ground. We went with the 260cm wide PerfectWall, and since the legs have to stow in the front rail, they're shorter on our model than on any other. We also mounted the awning high, right at the top edge of an H3 panel van. Together, this means that when fully extended, the legs dangle about an inch off the ground.
Self-Supporting
We decided that this isn't actually a problem, however. The awning supports itself just fine when fully extended, even in pouring rain with a bit of wind. If the wind really gets up, there's enough flex in the whole system that the provided pegs can pin the legs tightly to the ground. We'd have appreciated some kind of indication that a high mount and a small awning might have this result. Overall, however, it's a minor oversight thanks to how well the awning supports its own weight.
Overall
Overall, we've loved our experience of the Dometic PerfectWall awning, and we're happy to conclude that it's one of the best campervan awnings around. The setup is a dream: I've previously dealt with completely manual, frameless awnings which were so frustrating to deploy that I never used them. Even other crank-operated awnings are best opened with two people, as they don't support their own weight. The ease with which the Dometic awning opens and closes is a marvel.
The support arms and 's-flow' housing keep tension in the fabric in any position, which is a concern with many awnings. This one sheds water predictably and uniformly, meaning you can place furniture under it with confidence. We wish our crank hadn't broken, as then we'd have found nothing negative to say. Overall, however, and having used it a fair bit during the van build, we feel that we bought the best campervan awning we could; it makes a fine addition to the van.
How Easy is it to Install the Dometic PerfectWall Awning?
We're pleased to say that the installation instructions for our Dometic awning were very clear, and that the installation was fairly painless. The mounting brackets unambiguously fit against the top edge of the van wall, and the instructions are clear about the measurements. The trickiest part for us was fixing the backing plates inside the conduit in the van, but this is unavoidable. One thing to note is that we did the installation as a pair. The awning is long and heavy, and needs to be raised above head height. We have trouble imagining how you could do it alone, so make sure you rope in a friend or family member.
How to Install the Dometic PerfectWall Awning: Step-by-Step Guide
The PerfectWall and PerfectRoof have very different installations. We installed the PerfectWall, so this is the model we're going to focus on here.
Step 1: Measure and mount your mounting brackets
The awning needs to be mounted on the provided brackets, which you'll bolt to your van. Dometic specify spacings for these brackets depending on the width of your awning.
We installed the 2.6m PerfectWall, so we used a 2.6m tape measure to visualise its position covering the van's sliding door. We marked where the ends of the awning would be, and measured 40mm inwards per the instructions. We placed the brackets at these spots, lined them up with the roof of the van, and marked the locations with a pen.
We decided that the best way to get accurate drill holes was to first stick the brackets in place with sealant. We'd be doing this anyway to support the bolts and add some waterproofing. Gluing the brackets in place first, then drilling through the pre-drilled holes into the van, would ensure that the holes in the van exactly matched the holes in the brackets.
We applied Sikaflex-521 to the textured surfaces of the brackets, and firmly stuck them in place at our pre-marked locations.
Step 2: Drill bolt holes through your mounting brackets
With the mounting brackets firmly stuck to your van in their final locations, we can now drill the bolt holes through them. It's a good idea to drill pilot holes first, to ensure your bit doesn't wander when drilling the full-sized hole. Make sure you use an HSS drill bit that's the same diameter as the provided bolts.
Use a microfibre cloth to get rid of any swarf and metal shavings, as these rust quickly and can introduce corrosion to your van. Ideally, use a hoover to scoop up swarf from any nooks inside your van, too.
We didn't have any anti-rust metal spray paint in the shop, but we'd recommend spraying this into all the holes you've just drilled to protect against rusting.
Step 3: Bolt the brackets and backing plates through the holes
You're now ready to fix bolts through the holes you've just drilled. These bolts will also go through the backing plates included with your awning, which help distribute weight and prevent bending in your van's walls.
Start by squeezing a good blob of sealant into the holes from the outside. This will help with waterproofing.
Next, stick bolts through the holes and fit a backing plate and two washers over them. You'll then need to fit a nut to each bolt and fasten them tightly. This was very fidldy, as the bolts come through inside the structural conduits that run along the top edges of the van's interior walls. Shane rotated the bolts from the outside using a ratcheting socket wrench, whilst I held the nuts in place with a spanner on the inside of the van.
With the nuts tightened as far as they'll go, your mounting brackets should now be securely attached to your van.
We decided to leave everything overnight to give the sealant time to cure, before loading the brackets up with the weight of the awning.
Step 4: mount the awning to the brackets
With your mounting brackets securely in place, it's time to fix the awning to them. Lift the awning up to the brackets and hang the bottom mounting rail off the mounting shelf on the brackets. We were concerned that the bulkiness and weight of the awning would make this difficult, but it turned out not to be. The brackets engage the rails on the awning so well that we got it attached first try.
The last step is to fix the two provided screws into the mounting shelf and through the awning casing. Drill two 3mm holes through bracket and casing at each bracket.
Finally, drive the provided stubby screws through these holes, ensuring that the screw engages the awning casing. These screws ensure the awning can't slide back and forth in the brackets.
Finishing Touches
Your awning is now ready for its first unfurling. Give it a test, noting that no doors catch on the fabric when it's fully unfurled. If you're going for wall-supported legs instead of ground-standing, now's the time to install the included brackets. Peel off the protective foam, pull up a chair, and relax in the shade of your new Dometic awning.
Final Thoughts
We're very happy with the Dometic awning we installed, and are happy that it's the best campervan awning for our van. The installation was relatively painless, and the awning's operation really is a dream. We love the fabric colour and the overall design, but it's a shame that our crank broke, as this marred an otherwise seamless experience. That notwithstanding, we've already made substantial use of the awning's large sheltered space during rainy days working on the van, and we'd happily recommend it to any van builder on the strength of our experience.
For more information on awnings, including an exploration of materials, portable and drive-away awnings, and maintenance tips, check out our comprehensive guide. Your next job might be the installation of a window or skylight: we've got guides on those too, as well as in-depth reviews of Dometic's excellent S4 windows and Heki skylights.
Don't forget to subscribe to The Van Conversion Newsletter for everything you need to get started with your own van conversion (we'll send you a free wiring diagram when you join).
If you're looking for some guidance with your van conversion, you might be interested in our book Roaming Home, or in our online course The Van Conversion Mastery Course. You'll learn directly from our founder Shane how to convert a van into your dream home - no prior experience needed. Shane also offers one-to-one consultations, where he'll help you with any aspect of your build in a face-to-face video call. All consultations come with a free copy of Roaming Home and our Diagram Pack.
Finally, our Van Conversion Ultimate Guide lays out the whole van conversion process in easy-to-follow sections with tools, materials, and step-by-step instructions. It's the perfect companion for your van build.
Until next time.