Awning destroyed in storm

We just about lost ours in June, freak pop up storm at a musical festival in PA, luckily got ours stowed in time, however there were several that were not that lucky. There were dozens of tents, gazebos and a couple awnings in the trash the next morning. What about Slide toppers, I am considering adding these to my TT, what do you do in a storm? do they have a way to manual retract them without retracting the slide?

stew47 wrote:
3rd time out and a big storm came along and took care of my awning. We were trying to make it back from the lake and didn't make it in time. The good news is insurance will replace with 50$ deductible. My question for the folks is anyone have to replace theirs after a storm? Did your adjuster want you to replace with same brand? I meet the adjuster next week. Not sure where they are gonna send me and what they are going to want me to get.

Did it just take the awning fabric or did it bend the arms too?
IMHO I would have a mobile repair guy replace. Even with their labor they were able to purchase it far cheaper than I could.

Here's one more thing to be aware of. Make sure who ever fixes it for your or if you do it yourself....CHECK where it attaches to the side of your RV. No one did in my case and I ended up with more major repairs.

When a strong wind takes your awning it pulls the screws out where it attaches to the RV. They go back in you don't notice it and even if they tightened them the wholes are compromised and one or two times putting it up and down further degrades where it's attached. Water gets in and that is usually your main floor which in most cases is the dreaded particle board.

We didn't find this out until we kept finding wet spots in the hall way. It took the awning not clicking in at the top when closed to figure out the mounting was moving. Further investigation showed that's where the water was coming in where it attaches/floor board and wicking to the carpet. :(

The insurance company owes you the money for replacement. You can buy what ever you want, if it costs more you would have to pay the difference. Maybe a power awning would be good they roll up if the wind gets to high. They do cost you more. My dealer charged me an additional $200 while under warranty. The manual one unrolled going down the highway. roller lock failed.

snowdance wrote:
... If your not setting under it, roll it...

Reminds me of an old sea dog's Cure for Sea Sickness "Find a Tree and Sit Under It"

Relating to this lively discussion, I want to emphasize that an awning can come unrolled On The Road, billow like a parachute, make a real mess, and do it Even If The Arms Are Tied Together. We can unroll the awning because we release the ratchet and allow the ROLLER TO TURN. Arms extend out and fabric unrolls, all because the Roller is now Unlocked and Free to Turn. If the roller is Unlocked on the Road, slipstream air will creep into that roll of fabric. It'll turn the unlocked Roller. As the roll loosens, more fabric unrolls. At a point, it becomes a parachutist's Pilot Chute. Grabs enough air to instantly unroll the rest of the awning. Now there's an open Parachute on the side of your RV.

How to avoid this? First, to trust that you have fully engaged the roller lock. Second, to trust that the lock will hold. Binding the Rafters to the Arms doesn't really help because it's a free-turning Roller that causes the problem, so the Roller has to be put in a bind. There are aftermarket gadgets to do this, and many of us have made home-brew devices.

Easiest I've found, and this was not my idea... Take your Pull Down Rod and slip it into the end of the Roller Groove at the Rear (opposite the Latch end) of the awning. Because the tip's bent more than 90*, the "handle" end of the rod, with that loop bent into it, will be a few inches forward of the folded Arm/Rafter. Spring it back to the Rafter and Bungee Cord it to the Rafter through that Handle Loop. This jams the roller so it can't turn, and we know where that pesky Rod is.

Thanks for all the posts. Guess after the new one goes on I'm gonna be more protective of it. If I can upgrade to electric it would be nice!

snowdance wrote:
If your not setting under it, roll it.

Even sitting under it we have had wind gust come up so fast we were lucky to get it in. Earlier this year a dust devil tried to take ours off, I had just enough time to grab one end as the other end was heading over the trailer. A instant later and I'd be in the same boat as the OP.

If you can get the electric style awning with wind vane so it'll close when the wind speed is above 20 mph... I have this type and it takes the worry or guessing out of the equation...

Tim

Same thing napped to us once, now put awning up at night or away from unit.
Our insurance gave us a check, and then we went out for a new one.

Be sure to ask which type of fabric is going to be used in the replacement. I did not. :(

There are 2 types. Can't recall the name of each but mine was replaced NOT with the factory type fabric and it bubbled, cracked in less than a year. My orginal awning fabric was 10 years old and still looked like brand new the day the tornado took it off.

After traveling North America for over 40 years our rule #1 is never leave your awning out if leaving for more than a few min or at night. We have never lost one but one of our first big camp outs was a National event with the WBCCI with near 1'000 Airstream trailers. Big wind came and there were 250 new awnings sold the next day. Ours was rolled.. If your not setting under it, roll it.