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Motorhome safari rooms: what they are and how they fit

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A safari room turns the wind-out awning on the side of a motorhome into an enclosed room: a front panel and two side panels hang from the awning itself, giving you weatherproof space you can sit, eat or store things in, and that packs away with no separate frame.

What is a motorhome safari room?

Most motorhomes carry a roll-out awning in a cassette along the side of the vehicle. On its own, the awning is a roof: it keeps vertical rain and sun off, but does nothing about wind or rain arriving from the side. A safari room adds walls to that roof. Thule Omnistor describe their safari tents as a system that, "with simple attachment of a front and two side panels", transforms the awning "into a stable tent".

The names vary by maker. Fiamma calls its version a privacy room. Thule Omnistor sell several grades under the umbrella name safari tent: the Safari Room, the sturdier Safari Residence, and the Safari Style, which is aimed at caravans.

How does a safari room attach to a motorhome awning?

The details differ by model, but the principle is the same: everything hangs from rails that are already part of the awning, plus one profile against the vehicle wall.

  • The front panel slides into the awning's front lead rail, the bar along the outer edge of the awning when it is wound out.
  • The side panels on the Safari Room hang from tension rafters fitted between the awning box on the vehicle and the lead rail. They join the front panel with tent clips.
  • Against the vehicle, a foam band on the side panel presses against the motorhome's wall to close the gap.
  • At the bottom, a wind-slip (skirt) seals the gap between the vehicle and the ground. It is supplied as standard with the Safari Room.

The Safari Residence fixes more solidly. A clamping profile holds the awning fabric, and the side and front panels slide into that same profile. At the vehicle end, the side panels slide into a height-adjustable mast profile with a double rubber seal against the wall, and a diagonal support between mast and clamping profile braces the whole structure. That is the difference you pay for: more stability in wind, and a better seal.

Can I add a safari room to my existing awning?

Usually yes, provided you buy one made for your awning. Three things decide the fit:

  1. The awning's make and series. The panels slot into that awning's own rails and profiles, so a safari room is designed around a specific awning family. Check the model on the awning's end cap or in the vehicle's handbook before buying.
  2. The awning's length. The front panel has to match the length of the awning across the side of the vehicle. On Omnistor Safari Rooms the front window gains a zip from 3.00 m lengths upwards.
  3. Projection and mounting height. How far the awning winds out, and how high it is mounted, set the size of the side panels. Thule's Rain Blocker G2 side panel for a 2.50 m projection, for instance, comes in four sizes by mounting height, from 2.05–2.24 m up to Extra Large.

Mixing brands is a gamble. A Fiamma room on an Omnistor awning, or the reverse, is not designed to fit, and a room that does not seal properly is cold, draughty and annoying to put up. One documented workaround for a Fiamma room on an Omnistor 5003 was to add Omnistor's own supplementary tension rafters (made for 5-series awnings in lengths from 2.00 m to 2.75 m), but even that came with no guarantee. Buy the room made for the awning.

Safari room, or just side panels?

If you only need shelter from wind or sideways rain, a single side panel may be enough. Thule Omnistor's Rain Blocker is, in their words, "a bit like a single panel from a Safari Room or Safari Residence", but lighter, cheaper and quicker to put up and pack away. It fits with a tension rafter and can go on either end of the awning. Sun Blockers do the same job for low sun. A full room makes sense when you want somewhere enclosed to sit in the evening or to keep gear dry overnight.

Before you buy: a short checklist

  • The awning's make, model and series
  • The awning's length, and its projection when fully wound out
  • Its mounting height above the ground
  • Whether you want a room you can leave up for days (a Safari Residence-type design) or something quick for overnight stops