question on power awnings
The DW and i just bought a 2013 Gray Wolf 26BH, in fact we haven't even picked it up. I know this will be covered when we do the walk through but that's a couple weeks off. I forgot to ask about the p...
Forum Discussion
That hook you see in the last couple photos is the tie down strap. When I had the manual awning, I used to wrap the end of a ratchet strap around the awning tube and attach the other end to a corkscrew anchor in the ground.
With the power awning tie down/pole arrangement, it is better to anchor the pole to the ground by hooking the strap to the pole, rather than the awning itself, then hooking the other end to the corkscrew anchor in the ground. The reason for this is that the arms on the power awning are significantly weaker than the arms of a manual awning. Undue pressure exerted by a tie down strap could conceivably deform the metal of the arm.
Different folks have made theirs from a variety of materials. One I know used PVC, another used conduit, and yet another used telescoping boat poles. I used the paint poles because they were on sale, very strong, and I couldn't make the friction lock slip even with all my (not inconsiderable) weight on it.
With the power awning tie down/pole arrangement, it is better to anchor the pole to the ground by hooking the strap to the pole, rather than the awning itself, then hooking the other end to the corkscrew anchor in the ground. The reason for this is that the arms on the power awning are significantly weaker than the arms of a manual awning. Undue pressure exerted by a tie down strap could conceivably deform the metal of the arm.
Different folks have made theirs from a variety of materials. One I know used PVC, another used conduit, and yet another used telescoping boat poles. I used the paint poles because they were on sale, very strong, and I couldn't make the friction lock slip even with all my (not inconsiderable) weight on it.
