Tied down...

We always liked to remove a leg as you discribed,sometimes both.
I usually used a tent stake and rachet strap.
In my opinion if you are straping it down with the legs still fastened you trying to survive to much wind.
My policy is, if the wind gets to whipping the awning, shaking the trailer,its time to roll it up.I will admit to being parinoid, after loosing one to a sudden storm while we went out to eat one night,we were only gone an hour.30 min. was all it took.Now if we leave it gets rolled up.
We have an electric now which is a whole new ball game.

Someone posted a pic of their awning that was tied down, yet it was ripped away from the top of the trailer, so still a destroyed awning...

It was due to a quick storm that just popped up, and I don't think they were 'home' at the time??

Anyway, I put my awning out all the time, but I also bring it in all the time too... If it starts to get windy and it shakes the trailer, that's time to bring it in.. I put the legs out (car port style) or leave them attached, depending on the terrain I'm on. When out, I've got a couple of 9" spikes that I pound into the feet of the legs. That's held quite well in some pretty good wind gusts too... But, if it continues for awhile, the awning goes up.

Our last trip out, our camping 'neighbor' spent about 30 minutes tying his awning down... Did a fine job too, but wasn't really necessary in my opinion.. We had ours out all day, but I did put it up at night.. I hate hearing it rattle in the middle of the night, then I can't get to sleep worrying about it!!

Personal choice really.. Whatever makes you feel comfortable with the setup is what you should do..

Mitch

40Shield wrote:
I am curious as to the recommended/suggested way to tie down, or best secure a 16ft(non-electric) awning on a TT?

Check these links out.

Thank you everyone for the great input, much appreciated!

Agreed on "personal preference" - with any awning set-up, depending on the conditions things could get damaged very quickly... I too like to roll-up whenever we plan to leave for any period of time and or anticipate any bad weather throughout the night.

I've never tied down the awning on any trailer I've ever owned. If it's rather windy I roll it up. If I am leaving for the day I roll it up no matter what the wind conditions.

Had a brother who left his awning out in high winds. Ripped it up and over his trailer and tore up the roof. Lesson learned...roll it up when windy!

Tie it down or roll it up: Last year I took my trailer over to a campground not far from home so I could work on our driveway. DW was away on a trip so it was the perfect time. I had it out, tied down to a picnic table and tilted forward. I returned in a few hours to find about 40 gallons of water on top of it. My big roll up rod was bent and an attachment bracket was broken. I managed to get it rolled back up and tied so I could get it back home. Lucky that my insurance paid for a replacement...yes, I am now paranoid with it. If I put one leg down I have a board that I set it on with tent pegs securing it through the leg and board plus tie downs. This July I was camping at the same campground, just behind the spot I was in where my awning got destroyed. The fellow there had his out, tied down, tilted, etc. A big rain came and bent his rod that attaches to his awning. I helped him straighten it out so he could get his awning back up. If I am going to be gone now, I will roll mine up. The stuff underneath will dry out.