Hold on to your hat and AWNING

[rvfirefighter]

Camping on the water can be tricky. I saw two units lose their awnings yesterday here at St. Andrews S.P. They had left their units unattended and the wind got up that morning. Wind gusts folded the awning up over the roof.
Watch the weather reports.

[Ozz]

Dave, we had that problem in the high desert as well, the wind would come up without warning.
Oh, and at South Padre Island, we didn't even put it out, it's windy all the time.
I would also suggest a good awning lock to everyone; (for traveling) I put one of these on, and it works well.
http://awninglock.com/

[rvfirefighter]

Good Suggestion Ozz, I will look into one of those myself. You can never be too safe.

[Bob & Lee]

After the search this is as close to the topic as I can find, I have been watching others in our park tie down the awning, I currently put mine up when the wind comes. How do most of you tie down the awning ? I see straps at each end of the round tube to stakes and screw in the ground. Also see one strap from one end staked to the ground up over the awning roller across the fabric of the awning to the other end and staked down and a spring for tention relief. Which is best? Pro's and Con's

[sreigle]

I've used both the single strap that goes across and down and the two straps, one on each end. The single strap worked pretty well but it seems to me it wouldn't hold as well as the single strap on each end. I now have the single on each end. When we wintered in the windy RGV we kept our awning deployed the full two months despite some pretty high winds. I also use five deflappers on each side to protect the material from being ripped from the attachment points.

Nevertheless, a strong enough wind might take out the awning anyhow. The safest way is to retract the awning when done with it for the day. I don't care to be putting the awning in and out all the time so tend to strap it down good and then watch the weather reports. If high winds are forecast I'll retract it.

[adelmoll]

We have used several kinds of tie downs, deflappers and just about amy thing that is sold but we found the best thing for us is to put the awning down when we are home and using it. It goes up when we leave or go to bed. The weather is just too changeable.

Helen

[Ozzie]

Strapping down an awning sounds scary to me - the awning still has to withstand the abuse. I have the straps, but just can't seem to open that package up.

[sreigle]

Ozzie, the straps and plenty of deflappers keep it from moving around and thus reduces the abuse.

We only strap down the awning when we are going to be someplace for an extended period (a month or more) and intend to use the awning. Otherwise we wait to deploy the awning until ready to use it, then retract when done.

A few years ago we had an awning end up on the roof when it was not strapped down. We'd been there (Staunton, VA) for a month with no wind to speak of. We left for the day and a storm came up. The rest is history. Lesson learned. That's when I bought the tiedowns. If we want to have the awning out for an extended period we use the tiedowns and lots of deflappers. That helps it handle a pretty substantial wind without more than minor strain. Still, there are times when I get nervous about it and the awning gets retracted anyhow.

[bncinwv]

I agree with Steve on the strapping and de-flappers, we have used the straps with the springs and the screw-in-the-ground hooks for years and have never (knock on wood) had an awning problem. However, like Steve, I either montitor the weather channel or weather.com on a regular basis. If the wind is predicted to exceed 30 MPH, the awning comes in at night or if we are leaving for a while. During the day I just watch the springs, if they get to where they are travelling between 1/2" or 1", the awning gets retracted. Each person has their own methods or preferences and this is just posted to relate my experience.
Bingo