Awning Issues

[Tom Hoffman]

SWAMBO and I are having a discussion (disagreement) on when the awning should be out and under what weather conditions it should be in.  We lost one awning to wind in SC this spring on our old TT.

This one is 20 years newer and I really don't want to keep it out when conditions (wind) get higher than 10-15 mph.

Am I being overly conservative?  What do y'all do  about yours in similar conditions?

Tom...

 

[tnguy]

its up to the individual....

me as long as im THERE i leave it out ...  BUT if i go anywhere no matter how short a time i put it up, ive seen storms roll in so fast i almost didnt get it rolled up when i was there let alone 5 miles down the road.

now with that said,,, i am kinda anial retenitive when it comes to anchoring the awning down,  i have 2 heavy dog anchors that i tie the corners down with and i have 2 anti flappers on each end of the awning to keep it tight so it dont flap and i drop one end about 1 foot when it is raining so no matter how hard it rains it will run off....

 

[Larry N.]

The automatic awning retract on both motorhomes I've had will retract somewhere in that range. And I often start feeling uncomfortable even before they retract automatically. Of course I once saw a brand new TT lose an awning in a few seconds -- the owner was three trailers away, the wind suddenly came up (panhandle of Texas), and almost before he could get out of his chair the awning was wrapped over his roof.

All that being said, it's what you are comfortable with, but never leave the immediate vicinity with it extended.

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

The drawback with most tie-down methods is that you can't get them off quickly enough if it gets really windy and you need to roll it up in a hurry. But that's perhaps a rare problem in most areas.

The new cantilevered style of most automatic awnings has a kind of built in shock absorber in the compression struts that hold them out. My Carefree electric awning uses a scissor-arm arrangement that is held in extension by the struts. Winds just overwhelm the struts and allow the scissors to retract, so no awning frame damage even though the fabric itself flaps back over the roof.  I still use tie-downs on it, though, if only to stop the incessant bouncing and creaking in anything more than a slight breeze. I designed them with bungies and a quick disconnect point so that I - or my wife - can disconnect them easily & quickly if things get rough.

 

[kenz]

As was mentioned, when I put out the awning its there until I go home. I use cam-lock straps (like the ratchet style). On my old trailers with the A&E 8500 awnings, I'd use the tie downs and 2 sets of deflappers and I'd be good to go in some pretty aggressive wind storms. Now the new unit has the auto awning. I still tie it down, but no way figured yet to control the billowing/flapping. Not liking the auto awning anyway, so as soon as it winds up on the roof it'll get replaced with a manual awning.

 

[Tom Hoffman]

Thanks everyone.  You have all confirmed my thoughts and SWAMBO has capitulated under the mounting pressure.
Ha Ha...

We stay in a campground usually 3 months at a time and lately it has been very hot here in central Nebraska and the winds come up fast and blow hard for a while.  So I guess it's going to be,  UP/Down, UP/Down.  Oh' well...

 

[odie1234]

A couple of years ago we were in a campground in northern FL. I noticed a slight increase in wind speed and, being the conservative person I am, I manually retracted the awning. A few minutes later a microburst (?) of wind hit the section of campground we were in. More than a dozen of our neighbor's awnings were destroyed, most of them tied down, although there were some that were not (both automatic and manual). For the next week or so there were more insurance adjusters than residents in the campground. This incident just reinforces my feelings towards awnings. If there is wind, if we are in bed for the night, or we leave the site, the awning is in. It is only extended when someone is around to monitor what is going on.

 

[canuckrv]

Thanks everyone.  You have all confirmed my thoughts and SWAMBO has capitulated under the mounting pressure.
Ha Ha...

Huh what a man won an argument this is one for the record books.
Ducking and running.

 

[Tom Hoffman]

Huh what a man won an argument this is one for the record books.
Ducking and running.

Don't need the air conditioning since the trailer has gotten somewhat chilly since yesterday. 8) 8) 8)