When we had a Nascar awning on our previous Pace Arrow that was manual we never used. Now that we have the electric one it gets used a lot more. Our MH is our hotel when we travel and we don't sit around under the tent but it does keep the side dry when we want to get in our out. The wind sensor will retract it automatically if it gets breezy while we are away. We have awnings on all of the windows that do a great job of keeping things cooler inside in sunny weather. The awning rod is one of the handiest things on the RV for reaching things underneath the MH.