dome awning

We have just purchased a 185. Could someone please tell me if the 16ft dome is to large. Thank you

Hi mpg-185.bcr,

Welcome to the Heartland Owners Forum and family. We have a great bunch of people here with lots of information and all willing to share their knowledge when needed.

Hopefully someone will be in soon with their opinion.

Enjoy the forum and your 185.

Jim M

I purchased a 16' Dometic dome on ebay for $200. The seller said it was made for MPG. Have not set it up on the unit yet. Plan to do so at the end of the month. Notice in Forum comments that other MPG owners have purchased 16' domes. Will post comment when I get back from my trip.

We have the 16' Dometic Dome Awning that we purchased thru the dealer when we bought our trailer......yes, it fits our MPG185...sort of! Unless they have changed the specs on it then it will not give you that "made for" custom fit. It slides thru the channel and gives you a nice option for an outdoor dry space. However, it will not fit snuggly around the trailer. You have to come up with your own options to make the connections on the side of the trailer. The one we purchased, which is likely still the same, was more suited to a standard "rectangular" camper body so the curved edges of the MPG present a challenge. I use bungee chords to pull it tight around the edges. Also, the one piece bottom screen section meant to cover between your trailer bottom and ground is difficult to manage with the MPG fenders. I ended cutting mine in three pieces and securing with magnets to the frame behind the wheel and steps. If your expecations are for a custom fit then you may be disappointed, but it does give you a nicer "roomy" option..you just have to make it work for you. I also purchased a 14' bag awning that I just leave attached in the channel and it makes for a nice and quick awning setup. I carry both so I have the option to use either one. Hope this helps...

Despite the challeges with custominzing the fit of the dome, we're glad to have ours It allows us to take along all 3 grandkids. Two sleep outside under the dome and the 3rd on one of the interior bunks. It's also a good place for our pup to stay when when we're not away from the trailer during the day, and a nice place out of the sun and out of a warm trailer on summer days. Another fitting challenge we're still working on is where the "skirt" meets the steps. We have made some cuts and will try our fellow Georgian's (MPG185-GA) magnet and bungee ideas to see if they work for us too.

Here is ours. Sets up fairly eay with two people. We just used it this past weekend out in west Texas and the winds were a little much for it.

I put a rail on the bottom of our MPG to accomodate the screen

is this the factory awning?

I don't think it was. think it was just one of many after market ones they (Campers World) sell and install

Hi All-

Brand new (used) 2011 183 MPG Owner, and brand new RV'r here!

Been reading through here trying to figure out the consensus on an awning / screen room set up, but can't seem to find a definitive answer. Does the Dometic Dome sold on ebay work? I'm going to be traveling solo, so I wonder if I'd be able to set it up by myself, or whether I should just get a standard pop up screen room to set up alongside the trailer.

Any thoughts?
thnx!

John,
Not sure about the ebay dome tent. I think I saw one on there and it does look the same if the pictures were currect.
The past two times we used ours, i sent it up myself, since the wife was wrangling kids. Be sure to have a ladder, step stool or I use a 5 gal bucket since I always forget the first two.

We tested our ebay acquired Dometic dome in Lubbock a few weeks ago and were satisfied with the fit. It fit the channel well and gave full coverage edge to edge for the tear drop. I have not installed the snaps as I am reluctant to screw into the sidewalls. I meant to try the silicone application to see how they adhere but ran out of time on the weekend. I am also looking at ordering ez snaps in gray (albeit a bit pricey they look like they would work well for both the dome and skirting. I view the screen panel as raw material as it wasn't usable in its present state. I have been looking at other options that might work better for bumping out around the fender and wrapping the stairs. I figure to velcro the flaps on the dome to the skirt. Could you put it up with 1 person - probably with practice ...much easier to have two. Judy