Not destroying the awning

I'm not squeamish but I err on the side of caution. Figuring it's easier to put my stuff in bins if severe weather or winds threaten than risk the PITA and cost associated with a broken or bent awning. It's not a roof, it's an awning supported in 2 places on one side attached to fiberglass. I've seen a few messed up awnings vacationing on the coast when a decent storm kicks up. To the OP, I am pretty sure your manual tells you to roll it up under certain conditions and since your RV is new I would guess they would deny a claim if it broke under such conditions and you didn't roll it up.

valhalla360 wrote:

Pbutler97 wrote:
My awning has been out for the last 3 weeks in N central PA mountains. Last weekend we had 25mph sustained winds with gusts tob40 mph from the remains of Ian. The awning is fine.

Of course, it depends greatly on what direction the wind is coming from and if there are trees or other obstacles to break or redirect the wind.

I've seen dozens of awnings (both electric & manual) destroyed by winds. Just because someone gets lucky doesn't mean it's a smart idea.

The OP asked "Is there a way to safely have it out without destroying it? Ideally, unless it is extreme, I'd like it to be able to keep rain off my stuff."

There is a way.

Of course the naysayers came out of the woodwork, who have probably never modded anything ever, and probably have never had an awning damaged despite having seen hundreds damaged, or thousands. The same folks who say you need a 1 ton truck to pull a popup camper or you can't put a 25 lb bicycle on a rack mounted to a trailer bumper.

I have 100% confidence in my set up and it's performance is proven over the last 8 years in real world conditions.

By all means if you're squeamish retract at the slightest breeze.

OP, if you PM me I'll send you links to everything you need and detailed instructions when I get home next week.

Scottiemom wrote:
Do what you want. It's your awning, but when people pose a question here, my guess is they want others' opinions. I give just that. I was talking about seeing awnings tied out for the season in south Texas. . . for six months at a time, not 2-3 weeks. It does also depend on the awning fabric itself. There are many different kinds, quality and strengths of fabrics, etc.

Dale

Absolutely, the fabric, and quality of awning material, as well as the many awnings available, differ, not a "one size fits all"!

Jerry

Pbutler97 wrote:
My awning has been out for the last 3 weeks in N central PA mountains. Last weekend we had 25mph sustained winds with gusts tob40 mph from the remains of Ian. The awning is fine.

Of course, it depends greatly on what direction the wind is coming from and if there are trees or other obstacles to break or redirect the wind.

I've seen dozens of awnings (both electric & manual) destroyed by winds. Just because someone gets lucky doesn't mean it's a smart idea.

Our Class C had a Carefree by Colorado electric awning. Ours did not have a wind sensor. When we started camping seasonally, we decided to tie it down. The system we owned had large, heavy duty springs that allowed the awning to move gently and evenly when it was windy.

Our seasonal site was directly across from a farm. The entry door faced due west and we would get winds that would just come out of nowhere, all hours of the day. If we expected a storm, we brought the awning in, but there were plenty of times that we'd go down to the lake or the pool or run to the grocery store with no bad weather forecast and then out of no where, our site would get windy, but still no storm. After a while, bringing everything in every time we left the site got very old, especially since we were there for 5 months.

Our awning went through many storms, some pretty strong that came out of nowhere in the middle of the day or night. When we sold the Motorhome, the awning worked just fine.

-Michael

fj12ryder wrote:

Pbutler97 wrote:

Scottiemom wrote:
I see a lot of awnings out and tied down. By the end of the season, that awning is stretched and rippled and doesn't roll up well.

Dale

Funny how I can leave mine out for 2-3 weeks at a time, 6 times at a minimum from April to Nov, over 6 seasons doing that with the same fabric and nothing has stretched or wrinkled and the awning still rolls up perfectly. Maybe I'm just lucky?

Do you folks just dream stuff up to reinforce your position or what?

Or do you? :)

No :)

Do what you want. It's your awning, but when people pose a question here, my guess is they want others' opinions. I give just that. I was talking about seeing awnings tied out for the season in south Texas. . . for six months at a time, not 2-3 weeks. It does also depend on the awning fabric itself. There are many different kinds, quality and strengths of fabrics, etc.

Dale

Pbutler97 wrote:

Scottiemom wrote:
I see a lot of awnings out and tied down. By the end of the season, that awning is stretched and rippled and doesn't roll up well.

Dale

Funny how I can leave mine out for 2-3 weeks at a time, 6 times at a minimum from April to Nov, over 6 seasons doing that with the same fabric and nothing has stretched or wrinkled and the awning still rolls up perfectly. Maybe I'm just lucky?

Do you folks just dream stuff up to reinforce your position or what?

Or do you? :)

We spend four months on the Outer Banks. We have the dual stage latitude awning by Carefree. The only time I bring mine in is when we leave for a few days. That being said it has a wind sensor in the tube that brings it in automatically if the wind picks up. The newer awnings are made to withstand more wind than the older awnings. We have had several types of campers to compare it to.

If I wanted to upgrade that is what I would put on.

Scottiemom wrote:
I see a lot of awnings out and tied down. By the end of the season, that awning is stretched and rippled and doesn't roll up well.

Dale

Funny how I can leave mine out for 2-3 weeks at a time, 6 times at a minimum from April to Nov, over 6 seasons doing that with the same fabric and nothing has stretched or wrinkled and the awning still rolls up perfectly. Maybe I'm just lucky?

Do you folks just dream stuff up to reinforce your position or what?