Awning straps
I am sure it has been discussed already but the search didn't work for me. When I was in Texas recently I noticed some people had run a strap from the awning ends to the under side of their trailer...
Forum Discussion
Our seasonal camp site is directly across from a farm. Our site almost always has winds strong enough to rattle a manual awning (which we currently have). On our Class C motorhome, we had an electric awning. We purchased a $20 awning tie down kit made by Camco. The kit came with 2 straps, two anchors and 2 7" springs. The springs go between the anchors and straps. The springs allow the awning to move safely. When the wind really kicks up, the springs take the stress of the ground stakes and keeps them from pulling out of the ground.
The tie downs saved us from constantly having to bring the awning in. With the open farm across from us, it is not unusual to get 20 - 30 mph gusts of wind when there is no wind just down the campground road past the farm. Our camper door faces due west. From about 2pm until sun down, about 35 percent of our site is blanketed with sun, so the awning is necessary.
We had a storm that destroyed the tie down's springs, but the awning survived and was used for 2 more years before we traded in the Class C for our current TT. The awning still worked. The $7 springs saved our awning a few times.
If we knew a storm with strong winds were coming, we'd pull the awning in, but there are plenty of times when there is little to no warning. One time we went to bed with no rain in the forecast and no storm warnings at all. Work up at 5:30 am to what sounded like a freight train blowing through the camp ground and a tornado warning alert going off on my smart phone. NWS said we had 60 mph gusts. A Tornado touched down about an hour north of us.
The awning survived and so did the springs.
-Michael
The tie downs saved us from constantly having to bring the awning in. With the open farm across from us, it is not unusual to get 20 - 30 mph gusts of wind when there is no wind just down the campground road past the farm. Our camper door faces due west. From about 2pm until sun down, about 35 percent of our site is blanketed with sun, so the awning is necessary.
We had a storm that destroyed the tie down's springs, but the awning survived and was used for 2 more years before we traded in the Class C for our current TT. The awning still worked. The $7 springs saved our awning a few times.
If we knew a storm with strong winds were coming, we'd pull the awning in, but there are plenty of times when there is little to no warning. One time we went to bed with no rain in the forecast and no storm warnings at all. Work up at 5:30 am to what sounded like a freight train blowing through the camp ground and a tornado warning alert going off on my smart phone. NWS said we had 60 mph gusts. A Tornado touched down about an hour north of us.
The awning survived and so did the springs.
-Michael
