A friend has an older Bigfoot (2003?) with the factory side awning and never uses it - until we camped together. It was a light rain so he extended the awning and the four of us were able to sit under it and chat. (My camper at that time did not have a side awning.)
We use our side awning - almost everyday when in Arizona - mostly as a shade for the camper - not to sit under. The sun heats up the camper and every bit of shade helps.
And when it's continuously raining it's nice to sit outside with a campfire just beyond the awning drip line.
The more one camps, the more often one can find a side awning useful.