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Old 12-26-2004, 12:50 PM   #1
Glenn and Lorraine
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The Wind blew and the S.........

Stuff Flew.

Thought hurricane season returned to central Florida.

Late last night and into this morning we had 30 to 40 mph winds with gusts up to 60+ mph. Couple that with temps in the 40's made for a rather cold windchill.
Now that wouldn't be too bad if you were prepared for the wind but none of the campers in this campground saw or heard anything about a High Wind Advisory on the TV or Radio last evening.
Well at 4 AM this morning Lorraine woke me telling me about the high winds. To tell the truth, it didn't sound all that bad and I just rolled over. Next thing I heard was Lorraine going out the door. It was at that time I realized it was blowing pretty hard and got up to investigate. I actually had to lean on the door to open it as the wind was pushing so hard against it. The awning and the sun shades were really taking a beating. Even though all the straps on the awning and the bungee cords on the sun screens were doing their jobs, I knew I had no choice but to get the shades off and the awning up before the awning was ripped off the trailer. Not an easy task considering on how well I had it all tied down. 2- ratchet straps and 5 de-flappers on the awning, 8- bungee cords on the shades and my flag pole which was attached to the vertical leg. (Some of you will remember my post about putting one awning leg on the ground) After about 45 minutes of fighting the wind and the cold we finally got the awning up and secured.
As the wind blew all day I am not 100% sure of the exact amount of damage. I do know that about 12 inches of the material has pulled out of the track where it attaches to the trailer. Also the entire awning has moved in the track to where it is pushed against the bracket toward the back of the trailer. This is caused a problem as the awning could not retract properly. I should be able to survey the damages tomorrow.
Some of the other campers were not so lucky. A neighbor just 3 sites away had the canvas completely ripped off of the tube. The canvas hung down the side of his MH much like a shade while the tube and arms were laying on the ground. The MH behind us had the awning tube pull free of the brackets connecting the awning to the rig. Even some of the park models that survived the hurricanes had roof and awning damages. Lots of roofing shingles laying around the park and some metal roofs lifted off the Florida rooms.
AND Christmas decorations were strewn all over the place. Luckily I didn't have to deal with any tacky lighting on the awning but it sure slowed a few other RVers getting their awnings up.
 
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Old 12-26-2004, 01:13 PM   #2
CountryGuy
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YIKES!!!

Call your insurance agent??? course, there was that discussion a while back about rates going up, etc.

I think being a storm, it might not affect you the same as if you were towing???

But, at the costs of new awnings, last time we had one replaced under insurance it was close to $800 to $1,000. Was worth calling the damage in.

We had a LOT of hail damage one time, entire curb side of the TT was pelted, called it in, told them we had been in the storm surrounding a tornado, they asked, were we OK?? yes, we were. Then told us to call them when we got home, and get an estimate. Did not even need a police report or anything. I gave them the name of the campground, city, state, etc.

Several weeks later, we got a check! (It was over $4,500) Our rates did NOT go up on that TT, not till we purchased the Montana did our rates go up, well,

that is another story.

Glad you are OK! That is the most important!!

Carol
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Old 12-26-2004, 02:10 PM   #3
Glenn and Lorraine
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Thanks Carol, Yes we are OK and I think the awning will be too and I won't have to get the insurance company involved.
Hopefully all it needs is to be pulled back about 5 inches and than the 12 inches pushed back into the track that it pulled out of.
Hopefully the wind will die down by tomorrow and I 'll be able to check it out a bit closer.
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Old 12-26-2004, 02:18 PM   #4
CountryGuy
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Let us know!
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Old 12-26-2004, 05:35 PM   #5
tbhd
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Glad to hear everyone is okay and hopefully everything can be fixed without getting the insurance company involved. Don't think rates would go up though because it was caused by the weather but you can never tell with them. It doesn't sound like a very enjoyable night for you guys. Like CountryGuy said "lets us know".
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Old 12-27-2004, 01:10 AM   #6
Montana_31
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Glenn and Lorraine,
We are in Florida also and I use a free program called Weather Bug on my computer. It warns of severe weather conditions and can be changed to any location by plugging in a new zip code. We were aware of the impending wind and took precautions early before going to bed. Here is the link
www.weatherbug.com/
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Old 12-27-2004, 05:37 AM   #7
Glenn and Lorraine
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Thanks Bob & Donna, I bookmarked that site and will check it regularly.


Well as it turned out the awning is fixed and NO insurance company involved.

The fabric had shifted about 5 inches in the track and that threw off the alignment of the rails not allowing the awning to fully close. With a little bit of tugging we were able to pull the fabric back and realign the rails.
The 12 inches of fabric that slipped out of the track was put back with the aid of a block of wood and a mallet. I also discovered that all 8 screws holding the awning rails to the trailer were loose. Tightened them up as well and everything is A-O-K.

We had to remove the fabric and remaining hardware from my neighbors MH. The awning was old and faded so they weren't too concerned and will let their insurance company replace it. Kind of got the feeling they were waiting for something like this to happen.

Gotta go check on Wes's Montana to see what damages he may have. He had got his awning up as best he could but he's not sure if the fabric tore or if it just pulled out of the track like mine.
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Old 12-27-2004, 06:16 AM   #8
Montana_1280
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Glad all is well with you folks. We've had wind where we are parked in central Virginia, it seems, for the last 2 weeks. Once or twice we had to bring the slides in. Hoping Florida would be kinder and gentler, but now I don't know. See you folks in Feb. after a month in the Keys. Heading south Wednesday morning.
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Old 12-27-2004, 07:02 AM   #9
CountryGuy
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Bob & Donna,

LOVE the Weather bug. Have it installed and I am able to know ALL the time the current temps, weather alerts pop right up, love that little bug on my task bar!

Wish they would let us have 2 open windows tho, one for home and one for where I might be sitting with the rig. Then I would know of impending weather in my current parking area and still be able to see what is going on at home.

Carol
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