Solera Power Awning: how much wind is too much?

[RDMueller]

When we had our pup with its manual awning (telescoping poles) we always set up the awning when we arrived, which included staking the telescoping poles to the ground. Camped for 5 years in that pup (almost 100 nights total) and during that time we obviously encountered some pretty strong storms and high winds. Maybe we were just lucky but we never had the stakes pull out of the ground and never had any damage to the awning.

Now we are starting our first year in the new TT with its Solera power awning and I'm wondering just how much wind is too much for it. The manual offers the following:

CAUTION: During incidents of high wind, heavy rain or extended time away from the unit, it is advisable to retract the awning completely to prevent damage to the awning and the RV.

However there is no mention of what they consider to be "high wind." I thought that as a precaution, putting stakes in the ground and securing the awning with ropes would adequately protect it from light to moderate winds, but the manual specifically cautions against that:

Tying the roll bar down once extended will not allow the free floating support arms to work as designed and may cause damage to the awning or RV.

Obviously the safest course of action would be to retract the awning any time the wind starts to pick up, but I'm interested in hearing some real world experience from those who have a similar awning.

[Trackrig]

It's not a matter of listening to the weather that says the wind is going to be blowing out of the southeast a xx knots, or going outside to see what the wind is doing before you leave for the day. It's a matter of is there going to be a large unexpected gust that day that lasts for 30 seconds taking out your awning?

As AngryBert above said, the RV mfg has no way of knowing what direction your RV is to the incoming wind or what shelter is around you such as a lot of large trees offering protection. Other people in the same RV park camped in an open location, facing the other direction could loose their awning to a wind that didn't bother yours at all.

Bill

[Winnebago_Bob]

When we leave our campsite, we roll it in.

When the wind blows it really depends on the direction it's coming from as to what we'll do.

We figure better safe than sorry - it only takes one good gust to remove the awning from your trailer so...

Up here in the pacific north west the weather can change in minutes. Our old camper wasn't one of the auto units - it was old style with the heavy support arms like this:



You'll learn pretty quick how much is too much. If it starts bouncing at all - bring it in. If ours starts to 'ripple' too much, we'll bring it in.

No reason not to.