Electric Awning - Tie Down Straps or Not? - Montana Owners Club

onekla · 10-13-2012, 06:10 PM

Today we drove through an RV park and saw an RV with an electric awning that was tied down with the black tie down straps & stakes. We used them on our old manual awning - tied it down and didn't think twice about leaving for awhile but have never used them on our electric awning. My understanding is that the arms on the electric awning are made to allow it to "float" up & down if the wind picks up. This makes me a little nervous sometimes so we just push the button and retract the awning. I hope I'm not repeating a previous discussion by asking if any of you have heard anything about whether or not it ok to tie down the electric awnings?

jwedell · 10-14-2012, 01:31 AM

Not sure about the tie downs. However we always retract the awnng if we leave the campsite or retire for the night. Seen too many people at 1:00 am in there underware trying to tie down a bent awning in a sudden storm. But thats just me. John

Champ_49 · 10-14-2012, 01:59 AM

We tied our down last spring in upper MI. where we stay for the summer. I do use straps on mine but when I tie it down I only take the slack out of the strap. Don't tighten them down as there is really nothing to tighten against. I did it this spring and only twice did we put the awning away as we had to move the fiver is the only reason. The awning works fine to this day.

BTW, this is not recommended by the manufactures so I do understand there will be people say this is a no no!!

Dave

CORattler · 10-14-2012, 02:25 AM

I got a chuckle from the visual of the people at 1 AM in their underwear getting the awning in. Glad I never did that

.
BTW, I don't tie mine down. I bring it in before we leave or go to bed. Electric makes it EZ.

Quote:

quote:Originally posted by jwedell

Not sure about the tie downs. However we always retract the awnng if we leave the campsite or retire for the night. Seen too many people at 1:00 am in there underware trying to tie down a bent awning in a sudden storm. But thats just me. John

bncinwv · 10-14-2012, 02:47 AM

We have had the manual and now have the electric and I used the straps with springs and the screw-in ground anchors on all of ours. We were at the beach this summer and weathered 20 mph winds with no problems. One thing I have noticed with our electric awning (through experience) is that they will set down during very high winds. We came back from a thunderstorm one time and the straps were loose since the entire awning assembly had sat down about three feet (I guess this is a built in "rain-dump" feature). No damage was incurred, and I still religiously use the tie-downs. We do hang gaudy, park illuminating lights as well as other decorations from the awning tube, and do not like to have to remove everything. As always, this is not a recommendation, just posting our personal habits and experience.
Bingo

DarMar · 10-14-2012, 03:30 AM

If we are out and want to sit under the awning during a windy day we certainly use tie downs. Ours have a quick s hook that we use where we connect on to the awning so if a bad rainstorm comes up we are quick unhook and roll up. During windy weather our awning seems to really flap up and down and it's just plain annoying and worry some.

lasater · 10-14-2012, 03:36 AM

This past summer, while camp hosting, I put out my electric awning, tied it down to steel pegs, added a slide-in sun screen, tied that down, and kept it that way for the entire summer. I have had 40 MPH winds come through with no problem. The Monty rocked and rolled in the wind but the awning and sun-screen stayed right where they should. I also add a piece of angle iron on each arm to hold it extended.

Yes, I would tie my electric awning down.

richfaa · 10-14-2012, 04:13 AM

No..To me the whole idea of the electric awning was to get it up fast if need be. We had considered having one installed on our 06 3400. To tie it down defeated the purpose.We tie the manual one down so they will not blow away or be damaged in a high wind. With the electric push a switch and it is up push it again and it is down. When leaving the Rv a few second has it up, when returning a few second has it down. Try that with a manual that is anchored d own..

Emmel · 10-14-2012, 04:50 AM

I haven't read anyones response about tightening the screws on the arms yet. That screw is there to reinforce the side arm so the awning stays flat during a "mild" wind. As the wind grows in force and this screw is tight, you have to go outside and release the tension so the awning can be retracted. In that same case, you could also undo your tiedowns and then retract the awning. Oh, wait, that's how I do it! One of the first times I used our electric awning, I experienced a milder wind that collapsed the awning against the side of the camper. I decided that will not happen again and when in our winter site, I tie it down.
Tie down, not tied down, whatever makes you happy!

mhs4771 · 10-14-2012, 05:05 AM

Last winter we had ours tied down with a sun screen attached via the roller tube. Stayed that way all winter, except on days the park was mowing. On ones on our SOB are CareFree so the design is a little different, but we plan to tie them down because even if you're there a quick wind gust can send them over the top of the rig.

gregdan24 · 10-14-2012, 12:51 PM

Tie down with ratchet straps and soft ties around the ends of the roller. Just a bit of insurance against something unexpected if we're there or not. If storms or wind are forecast, we roll it up. If we're there and something comes up, it's pretty easy and quick to unhook the strap from the soft ties, loosen the screws on the rails, and push the button to roll it up.

**DQDick** · 10-14-2012, 01:47 PM

Don't tie ours down, just retract it at night and when we weren't there. Last night was a great example of why. Accuweather and the National Weather service both forecast a nice night with little wind for Phillipsburg, Ks. Middle of the night a severe thunderstorm with 60 mph wind gusts blew in from Nebraska. Scared the crap out of us, but didn't damage the rolled up awnings. And Jay, last year at the national Rally I didn't put it up one night and had the knob tightened when the storm blew in. If someone had looked they would have seen me in my underwear, not a pretty sight.

c214dick · 10-14-2012, 07:35 PM

We have tied our electric awning down and the last time it was too tight so we experienced a slight problem with the arms collapsing properly when retracted. The next time we tie down we will leave some slack. We only tie down when we are sitting for an extended time which is not too often. We enjoy the convenience of the electric and yes we were two of those in our pjs, not underwear, in the middle of the night, bringing in their manual awning. NO MORE!!!!!!

daily double · 10-15-2012, 01:08 AM

What if you sleep nude??????

mhs4771 · 10-15-2012, 02:17 AM

then it would be a really scarey sight

kylec2 · 10-15-2012, 02:24 AM

Like Bingo, we hang our Route 66 lights and spinners from the awning so when we do we tie down the awning. As a rule, I do not leave the site with the awning out and bring our awning in if we know a bad storm is coming. I have been guilty of the midnight rush to retract the awning and it is not pleasant.

**DQDick** · 10-15-2012, 03:06 AM

Quote:

quote:Originally posted by daily double

What if you sleep nude??????

Then you put on your underwear, you know how I know!

Recumbent · 10-15-2012, 06:17 AM

We mostly retract the awning at night and when leaving for the day. However, while in the Monty we sometimes leave it out about 3 ft. for a stoop type cover over the door even during a windy rain. So far it works. One of our local Farm Bureau ladies said wind damaged awnings seem to be the most often RV insurance claim. The absolute worse noise during a dry wind event is while trying to sleep with the slide awnings flapping.

Steve and Susie · 10-15-2012, 06:33 AM

Holy Crappoly---someone seen us this last summer. We got done with a jam at the park, had just gotten back from another gig out of town earlier that day and was just plain pooped out. Put things away and had no clue there was a huge thunderstorm on the way---sooo, we were the ones in our night shirts and boxers getting the awning rolled in. Thanks for no posting a picture--hahahahaha. I'de never have help again, till she got dressed--lol.

woodtic · 10-15-2012, 05:58 PM

We like to spend a lot of time outside. Having the awning out to protect our chairs and such from rain was something we always did with our manual awning. Now with the electrics we have been afraid to leave it out at all because even a slight wind can turn it into a parachute. I bought some tiedowns a while ago but haven't used then yet. Now after reading some of the responses I'll be more likely to use them. I really don't like having to put the chairs away every night, then take them out again in the morning.

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