question about staking a power awning

Power awnings are supposed to retract automatically in high wind.. however the wind sensor on mine is a .. Failure, total failure.. So I DISABLE the sensor and then stake it down.

Taken some serious winds here and no problem.

swamprat 01 wrote:
I use dog anchors (the type that screw into the ground, I use para cord and have a piece of inner tube in the line to take up any slack, I also use these for canoe camping on sandbars for my 20" tarp and tent.
They hold much better than regular stakes..

X-2

I use the dog anchors along with an awning tie down kit that uses springs and quick release straps to secure my awning. This works wells as long as the wind doesn't exceed 15 MPH and not on the side of the trailer with the awning toward the wind.

I use dog anchors (the type that screw into the ground, I use para cord and have a piece of inner tube in the line to take up any slack, I also use these for canoe camping on sandbars for my 20" tarp and tent.
They hold much better than regular stakes..

Often the ground is too hard to stake. Use a couple of milk containers filled with water to stop awning jitters.

I've thought a lot about doing this. Our power awning flops around in the slightest breeze and makes you think it's about to go to pieces. If there's a nice cool breeze and you want to sit outside under the awning you worry that the thing is about to come crashing down around your head.

I use 6 foot bungee cords to secure ours. They won't hold up in a storm, but by then you should have rolled it up. They do a great job of dampening the flap. I attach one to the bottom of the entry steps and the other to the front landing gear.

ALWAYS USE POLES! Never tie an awning down without poles under it to keep it up and slanted for rain.

A more secure stake would be these 3-inch by 18-inch long earth augers screwed into the ground. These leave no disturbance of the ground being screwed in. They will give yo a lot of force to keep the awning tied down.

Like you say however once you do this you will maybe go longer than you should when the wind comes up and we all know what happens next...



Roy Ken

Thank you for asking this question. I have the same concern. I'm pulling it in when there are nice breezes when I'd prefer to be sitting under it.

While wintering in Florida we staked our power awning and added a sun shade to the front as well. We strapped down each end and used several bungies on the sun shade. It was more stable than without the stakes. We only pulled the stakes once when a very severe storm warning was issued, but quite a few others with the same sort of awning did not and all was well.