Annexes belong in the same conversation as the caravan itself, not in a follow-up email after the deposit is paid. The awning is mounted to a body of one specific length, which makes the annex that hangs from it model-specific from the day the order is confirmed. Importers who treat the annex as an accessory discover the consequence later: two models in the yard, one annex, and it fits only one of them.

The real question is narrower than "annex or no annex". It is which of four different products your market actually wants, whether that product sits inside the caravan price or on the option list, and who repairs canvas once the unit is sold.

Four different products that all get called "the annex"

Buyers use one word for four items that do different jobs and carry different prices. Separate them before you quote anything.

• Roll-out awning. Shade only, mounted to the body. On the 16ft hard-top models it is a 4m awning with 12V electric open and close; on the 19ft model it is a 4.8m manual roll-out awning with integrated lighting. Nothing here shelters a bed or keeps rain off a doorway.
• Annex walls. Side and end panels that clip to the awning and turn it into a room. No roof over the caravan side and no floor unless they are ordered as well.
• Full annex. Enclosed roof, walls, floor and draft skirt — the version buyers in wet and windy markets mean when they say annex. It appears as an optional item on the 19ft and 21ft models; the 22ft model lists annex walls and floor as the optional package.
• Ensuite or shower tent. A wet-area enclosure for the external shower, roughly 1.2m by 0.9m on the 19ft model. It solves a bathroom problem, not a living-space problem, and it is a separate line from the annex.

The fifth item that causes arguments is smaller: the annex floor and the draft skirt. They are sometimes quoted together with the annex and sometimes as separate lines, and a buyer who expected a floor will notice its absence on the first wet trip.

What the weight note means for your retail specification

Every model weight note carries a sentence that most quotations leave out: the stated weights exclude gas bottles, jerry cans, annex walls and annex roof. Read that as good news and as a warning at the same time.

Good news, because the annex does not inflate the tare figure or the rated limits written on the plate. Warning, because the mass still exists. Once the annex travels with the caravan it is carried by the same suspension and the same tyres, and it comes out of the payload that your customer was promised.

That leaves dealers with one practical instruction: publish payload twice — as the bare caravan, and as the caravan with the annex you actually supply on board — or ask the factory for the packed weight of the annex in writing and quote it to the end customer. Annex fabric, poles, pegs and guy ropes are a real number, and it is rarely printed on a price list. Ask before you print a brochure, not after a customer has loaded the van for a three-week trip.

Awning size is a model decision, not a stock decision

A 4m awning and a 4.8m awning do not share an annex. That single fact shapes how a dealer manages the accessory line.

An annex bought for a 16ft caravan will not fit a 19ft caravan, and it will not stretch to cover the doorway of a longer body without gaps at the ends. A dealer who switches length between orders — or carries a mixed range — either buys annexes per model and accepts the stock risk, or stocks none and sells the annex as a special order with a wait attached to it.

Replacement parts follow the same logic. Awning hardware and fabric have to match what is already mounted on the caravan, so a replacement awning is ordered against the fitted awning rather than against the model name alone. Where an annex and awning package is confirmed per unit, keep that record with the chassis number: it is the only reliable way to reorder the same item two years later.

Annex and awning configuration belongs in the same document as the rest of the specification, and on LZM's custom off-road caravans the options are listed per model rather than as one catalogue accessory, which is the practical reason the model and the annex have to be settled together.

Factory annex or a local canvas supplier?

Both routes are defensible, and the right answer depends on what your market already has.

Ordering from the factory gives you an annex cut for the body shape that is on its way to you, in the same order, on the same payment schedule, with the colour and branding you specified. The trade-offs are distance and rigidity: a repair or a replacement travels from China, and a design change means a new annex rather than an amendment.

Sourcing locally gives you speed and local taste. Canvas shops in your market can match the awning already fitted, work with the colours buyers there actually choose, and repair zips, screens and poles without waiting for international freight. That convenience has a price: the annex margin moves to a local business, and the annex is no longer part of your landed value on the unit.

There is a third consideration that rarely appears in the spreadsheet. In markets where the annex is normal equipment, customers ask whether it is included, and the answer changes how the caravan is positioned: included as a package, it reads as a complete touring unit; excluded and priced separately, it becomes a visible added cost at the desk. Decide that before the first order, because it determines what your standard specification says — and it is much harder to reverse after the brochure is printed.

What to write into the order

• Which annex type: walls only, or full annex with roof, floor and draft skirt.
• Awning width and operation — manual roll-out or 12V electric — and whether lighting is integrated.
• Whether the annex is inside the caravan price or listed and priced as an option, stated in the same document.
• Colour, and any branding or logo to be applied.
• Pole set, fixing hardware, pegs and guy ropes, plus a small spare set of each as a wear allowance.
• Zipper type and any insect screen specification, with spare zips.
• Packed dimensions and weight of each annex carton, and how many cartons the annex ships in.
• Where the annex is stowed when the caravan is towed, so the dealer knows what the customer handles at handover.
• Written confirmation that the annex sits outside the stated tare figure, as the model weight note states, together with the annex's own weight.

Where dealers get caught after delivery

Canvas wears in ways that metal does not. Zips take the load every time a wall is closed, stitching and screens degrade under sun and salt, poles bend when a wall is raised in wind, and pegs disappear. None of that is a build defect, and none of it is solved by a warranty clause written for chassis and running gear.

So settle two things while the order is still open. First, what the warranty actually covers on annex and awning items, and what is treated as wear — in writing, before the first unit is sold. Second, which local business will repair or replace canvas at destination. A dealer who can name that business at the point of sale is selling a caravan; one who cannot is promising to learn a new trade the week after delivery.

Three questions importers ask about annexes

Does the annex arrive with the caravan or is it a separate purchase?

On these models the full annex is optional equipment rather than part of the base unit, so ask for it to be quoted explicitly and for the option list to show what is inside that price. An annex that is assumed to be included and then is not is one of the more expensive misunderstandings in a first order.

Can one annex serve two models?

No. Awning width follows body length — 4m on the 16ft hard-top models, 4.8m on the 19ft model — so the annex is tied to the length it was cut for. If your range mixes lengths, plan annex stock per model or quote the annex as a special order.

Does the annex count against the caravan's weight ratings?

The stated tare figures on these models exclude annex walls and annex roof, so the annex does not change the rated limits. It does consume payload once it travels with the caravan, which is why the packed weight belongs in the specification rather than in a footnote.

LZM builds off-road caravans in China for export to dealers, importers and rental operators, including markets in Australia, New Zealand and the United States, and annex and awning options are specified per model alongside the rest of the build. Settle the annex in the same document as the caravan, and the accessory stops being a surprise.

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