Awning question what is too much wind

[Subyguy]

I was discussing this with someone and figured i would see what everyone else has to say. when do you put your awning in ? what wind speed? When you leave camp? When you go to bed?
Thank you I am looking forward to your answer
Brandon

[Bordercollie]

I think that winds can damage older awning fabric causing weakened sewed seams to come apart and hastening need for fabric replacement. Why risk it.

[DaveInIowa]

I've had my Class C for about two years now and just completely replaced the awning.
Here in Iowa the wind can come up FAST and hard. As others have said, I have mine ready to retract up in a moments notice and never leave it unattended.
(Side note: same goes with water, always shut it off when unattended!)
Carporting it would be nice at times, but I notice a slight sag in the awning and it collects the AC condensation. (I have a curved roof and it exits Party side.)
I never use those flappy things as if the awning is flappying that much it's time to retract.

[Dusty_R]

When we are set up for the winter in Florida, I anchor our awing down.

[jfortoday]

I am hyper paranoid of my awning and wind. A couple of years ago, in Florida, a bad storm came up very quickly and I couldn't get it down fast enough. Broke one of the arms. The worse part was sitting in the RV listening to it flap and feeling the RV rock like it was going to be on it's side at any second. No collateral damage to the rig or the neighbors. We all were caught off guard. I bring it in anytime we leave for more than an hour or anytime it starts flapping and making a noise that sets off a flashback from Florida! Good luck!

[Tvov]

I haven't bought an awning lock yet, but for now: I just take my awning rod (for unfurling the awning) and put the end in the hole in the end of the awning tube, then zip tie the rod to the awning support. Other people have pictures of this scattered in these forums. Probably not quite as secure as an official awning lock, but seems to work until I can get something better.

[WandaLust2]

As soon as we can feel it moving in the wind we bring it in. Why leave it out and take a chance of breaking an arm or getting it torn?

When we leave the RV for more than a few hours, we run it in also. But not at night. When a wind comes up it wakes us and we can bring it in.

[Bordercollie]

Sort of off topic, but driving in strong headwinds can cause your awning to inflate and unfurl,acting like a sail, shredding and tearing loose from your rig and even destroying the support arms, etc. It happened to us last summer. Luckily only the fabric needed replacement and cost us $730 installed. We had an awning lock device installed to prevent possiblity of unfurling in the future.

http://awninglock.com/index.shtml

[Subyguy]

Thanks for your input I typically am pretty cautious in leaving it out. It's always in when we go to bed and almost never left out when not there. The question came about from a&e not giving you any specs on putting it in and to use good judgement. I do know most power awnings are preset to come in at 18mph

[GENECOP]

FWIW.....there are a lot of differences between awnings....some have automatic closers, some like ours cannot be tied down because it is mounted along the top of the roof line 12' off the ground.

[mlts22]

Mine has been up, only down once, and that was during the PDI. Central Texas winds are so unpredictable during the fall/winter/spring that it might be a dead calm one minute, 50-70 mph gusts the next... and I've seen entire pavilions thrown 20 feet in the air when ten minutes earlier, it was quiet.

Awnings are nice, but I like mine with my rig, and not firmly wrapped around a nearby tree.

[Jim_Shoe]

Check the CW catalog for prices of a new one. Then decide for yourself if you want it out when you can't roll it up in 5 minutes.

[Desert_Captain]

M GO BLUE wrote:
When the wind starts blowing the awning goes up...

When I leave the site or RV park the awning goes up...

When I go to bed the awning goes up...

X10 It gets rolled up every night, every time we leave the site and anytime the wind is kicking up or thunderstorm is headed our way. I don't have an extra grand laying around labeled "New Awning". :B

[Terryallan]

Many of y'all, wouldn't even put it out at the beach, as there is always a pretty good breeze. But that's when I want mine out. To sit under it, and enjoy the breeze.

If I had to put it up every time the wind picked up a little. I'd just take it off.

[Devocamper]

We always close up the awning and shut off the water when ever we leave the campground. Once you have seen an awning blown apart or bent up over a trailer it it worth the few minutes it takes, if there is a lite wind and we are in camp I have stakes and cords to hold it down.