Mich,
Fully Extend or Fully Retract?
We've had what I'll call "the ordinary" A&E/Dometic and the Carefree of Colorado awnings. With both awnings, we've left one end "high" and the other end "low" but both ends were higher than the retracted/storage positions.
Then to stow the awning, I drop both arms all the way to the retracted/folding/storage/travel position. Advantage to that is that I can unlock the roller without using the rod. Then I hold the unlocked roller and walk to the center of the roller where I have the strap and rod ready to let it roll on up.