Awning ties

[Joan217]

Any suggestions for awning ties for my 2011 coachmen Freelander? Camping this weeken and it was very windy, retracted awning. Are there some better than others, I am looking at the Claw c200.

[Triker33]

I have used this one for over 20 years. I have had to replace the tie down straps a couple of times. Now use a ratchet type strap. The springs are heavy duty and you can adjust the pressure on awning. I also have painted the stake & springs white several times over the years.

I also use 2 De-Flappers on both sides.

In winter for 7 months in Florida I never need to put it up. Unless a tornado warning is out for the area.

[DutchmenSport]

It takes a long time for a bungie cord to deteriorate. I've been using the same bungies for years and years, even left outside. When they begin to fray they are very inexpensive to replace.

If the wind blowing an awning is strong enough to break a bungie cord, there will be more problems than with just the cord. The entire awning material will be ripped to shreds too.

Besides, you don't want THAT much tension on the tie down. That much tension will cause undue stress on the awning arms itself and bend them or break them. You just want enough so if the wind blows or the trailer rocks, or the awning attempts to lift up, the straps keep it from flipping over the the camper and getting destroyed, or flopping up and down. Over tension can cause a lot of problems. You definitely want some spring in the tie downs, but not so much it's rendered useless or so much it damages something. That's why I've found bungies work very well.

[Dream_Chaser_]

I find the dog claws hold better than tent spikes or other driven anchors. Bungee cords are good but a spring is better. Bungees deteriorate after time and will break under load.

Ratchet straps are best for tightening. Place straps on roller drum and not on the drum pin or support arms. Straps should go straight down from drum to ground and not on an outward angle.

[Mr__Camper]

If it's that windy you could very likely get a strong gust. If you have the $$$ to buy a new awning go for it. We never use the awning in windy conditions and we never, ever leave it out when we leave the campground.

[RedRollingRoadb]

DutchmenSport wrote:
When we had a manual awning we used a couple simple dog leash ground screws we had laying around:



I then used a rope, later a ratchet strap hooked over the roller at each end of the awning, coming down to the dog screw. Between the dog screw and the rope - or ratchet strap, I connected them together with a bungie cord for some "spring" action, so if the wind blew or rocked the trailer, there was still tension on the awning arm, but not much there was no give, potentially bending the awning arms.

We did this for years, until our current trailer that has an electric awning, which behaves much different now.

If you have these parts laying around, it's simple, effective, and works very well. You can try a different anchor in the ground, a tent stake, or something like that. We just happened to have 2 dog stake screws we weren't using and dedicated them for this purpose.

I like your idea of the bungee cords.

[Us_out_West]

lawnspecialties wrote:

Joan217 wrote:
Any suggestions for awning ties for my 2011 coachmen Freelander? Camping this weeken and it was very windy, retracted awning. Are there some better than others, I am looking at the Claw c200.

Might want to ask the moderators to move this to the General section. This is discussion about campgrounds.

You can let them know yourself by using the 'Notify Moderator' tool located in all posts.

[DutchmenSport]

When we had a manual awning we used a couple simple dog leash ground screws we had laying around:



I then used a rope, later a ratchet strap hooked over the roller at each end of the awning, coming down to the dog screw. Between the dog screw and the rope - or ratchet strap, I connected them together with a bungie cord for some "spring" action, so if the wind blew or rocked the trailer, there was still tension on the awning arm, but not much there was no give, potentially bending the awning arms.

We did this for years, until our current trailer that has an electric awning, which behaves much different now.

If you have these parts laying around, it's simple, effective, and works very well. You can try a different anchor in the ground, a tent stake, or something like that. We just happened to have 2 dog stake screws we weren't using and dedicated them for this purpose.

[lawnspecialties]

Joan217 wrote:
Any suggestions for awning ties for my 2011 coachmen Freelander? Camping this weeken and it was very windy, retracted awning. Are there some better than others, I am looking at the Claw c200.

Might want to ask the moderators to move this to the General section. This is discussion about campgrounds.