3295RK awning - Montana Owners Club

Wordsmith · 04-13-2005, 10:04 AM

Been meaning to ask this since we got back last week. I know there is a very small margin between the door and the kitchen/entertainment center slide, but when it rained last week, I noticed that the awning actually stops about two inches inside the door edge, consequently the steps were wet; perhaps they would be anyway. Something I always enjoyed about our Prowler was I could go out either door, and the steps would be dry—that is where I typically put on my shoes as I do not want to track any more dirt into the camper than possible. Are all awnings on 3295RKs like this or is ours just a bit short?

Dave e Victoria · 04-13-2005, 02:36 PM

Ours is the same as yours

HamRad · 04-13-2005, 02:46 PM

J.D.,
Our rig has the same awning setup as yours. We seldom use the awning..... I just do not like having to put it up and down all the time due to the wind. I've seen too many awnings get blown off!

HamRad

Joyce H · 04-13-2005, 03:28 PM

Wordsmith, We have the same 2003 unit as you and also the same problem with the awning not protecting the door and steps. This is one of the things we have mentioned many times to Keystone and I believe in the newer models the awning now completely covers the door and steps. Can someone with a new unit verify this? Steve or Vicki do you remember if this problem has been corrected in the newer models or have I been dreaming? LOL

Wordsmith · 04-13-2005, 03:33 PM

This would seem to be a fix that would be pretty obvious to the company. The difference in arm lengths also makes the letting down of the awning a bit awkward, but obviously there is no way around that. HamRad, we had to get up in the middle of the night on our last trip and let it down when the wind really kicked up. I have become addicted to having an awning up, so I am willing to do the extra work, but I will confess that putting this one up or down is not as easy as it was on the Prowler. The irony is that we had a MUCH larger awning on the Prowler, in excess of 20' I believe. Oh, well…at least I know it is not just our unit!

syplace · 04-13-2005, 04:07 PM

Our 3295 RK 2005 unit's awning is more than adequate to cover the door and all most all of a 6 x 8 patio. And yes it is a challenge to put it up and take down.

ronstan · 04-14-2005, 04:40 AM

Ours covers the door but if you get any wind at all from the wrong direction it will blow right on the steps. I always tie my awning down when we are camping. I have a couple of dog tie downs that I use along with straps that I can tighten down. Seems to do the job. What we need is some kind of drape to put on the arm and hang down.

HamRad · 04-14-2005, 06:14 AM

I'm with syplace on this one. Our awning is more than adequate. In fact if it were longer and extended over the slide area then we'd have a problem there. NO. The awning is just fine if and when used.

Wordsmith I did not realize the arms were of different lengths. That's how often we use ours. I guess I could bite the bullet and have the auto extend and retract awning installed.... but that is a lot of money and we get along just fine the way it is.

Keep enjoying what you got..... that is what it is all about. See you on down the road.

HamRad

sreigle · 04-14-2005, 08:02 AM

JoyceH, I'm not sure if it's different on the new ones or not.

J.D., ours is like yours. I just never noticed it. Vicki tells me if the rain blows a little or splashes just outside the awning the steps do get wet. I'm soooo observant I never paid any attention. Our awning is deployed right now, first time it's been out in six months (winter). We'll put it out when we're in a place for awhile, like now for a month. Since ours once ended up on the roof when we were out gallivanting around I now stake it down with straps. I also use three deflappers on each side so it can withstand a lot more wind without my worrying about the awning material being torn from that strip on the side of the Montana. I also tend to made the side to the prevailing wind the low side so the wind tends to ride over it more than under it and thus push it down rather than lift. I'm not sure if that helps but I don't want it ending up on the roof again. Our location in this park is pretty protected so I think we'll be ok just leaving it out, so long as it's securely strapped and deflapped. We do enjoy sitting out under the awning. In a few minutes Vicki and I are going to sit under the awning and use the wi-fi from out there. Beautiful day today.

Wordsmith · 04-14-2005, 03:27 PM

Steve, what type of deflappers do you use? I have been seriously considering investing in some, but was unsure which would do the best job. you are correct, this was a very beautiful day.

ronstan, I wish someone would make some type of shield for that arm. I would certainly buy one!

Parrothead · 04-14-2005, 06:04 PM

On our 3400 the steps do get wet but you can get the door unlocked and into the unit without getting wet. We are parked in an area that has considerable wind (afternoon "Trade Winds"). Everyone has used the cement blocks that are used for constuction of pier type decks. I'm not sure the technical name of them (you can buy them at Home Depot) but some have wood blocks attached to the top and we attached an Eye screw to these wood blocks and then attached the tie down for the awning to that. We went one step further and put these blocks in a planter, filled it with dirt and plant flowers in it. We use the flappers available at CW that have a Velco closing. Not the big grey kind. We found those do not work in high wind. We have been in this windy area for almost 2 years now and this combination seems to work best.
http://www.campingworld.com/browse/s...=13073&src=TSC
This is the flapper we use, it is called the De-Flapper.

Montana_1240 · 04-14-2005, 06:11 PM

Our 3475 has much the same problem. You can see the way it’s positioned in the photo in my sig.

While down here in southeast Alabama, the past few months, the rain has been amazingly heavy. The awning covers the steps. And if the rain was coming straight down, it would be no problem. But a little wind toward the front of the rig would allow it to hit the steps. The biggest problem, however, is the slide awning, which is about six inches aft of the main awning’s side, which will start to fill with water, and occasionally dump its load off either end. When it dumps off the front, near the door, it can hit the awning arm and splatter right into the doorway when the door’s open!

I’ve kept the awning up most of the time, though. Not due to the rain, but the wind. I am partially deaf, and don’t hear all the noises my wife complains of when it blows, even a little bit. And that’s even with the de-flappers on either side of the awning, and the arms as tight as I can make them. So, rather than being awakened at an ungodly hour to go out and put the awning up, I tend to leave it up.

Thankfully, our door/patio side has mostly been in the shade. Not to mention the big trees on either side of the rig.

I don’t recall much trouble in the 3380 we used to have. But that doesn’t mean it didn’t have any.

Steve

sreigle · 04-15-2005, 06:32 AM

J.D., I use the same de-flappers Parrothead uses. I never tried the big tray ones as they weren't available when I bought these. I find it takes three sets of two (three per side) to really keep things totally under control in a big wind. Plus I strap ours down if I'm going to be away from the rig with awning deployed. I use the Hold Awn Tie Down -
http://www.campingworld.com/browse/s...=2359&src=SRQC

Also, the unequal arms probably just seem strange to you. I've not found it a problem, it just looks funny when you first deploy the awning. One nice thing is I find I usually don't need to raise the side by the door as it's plenty high and it also is initially high enough not to rub on the door when the door gets opened when I'm deploying the awning. You'll get used to it and will be able to do it just as quickly as you did on your Prowler. I found the same difference between this Montana, our prior Montana, Our Jayco Eagle, and our Wilderness.

Wordsmith · 04-15-2005, 09:44 AM

Gyro, looks like you have the same basic situation as those of us with the 3295RK. It is not the best of worlds, but certainly livable, especially when you consider how many positives there are to the unit. As an aside, the campground host when I was camping last week lives between Pensacola and Milton. He went home most of the time we were camped, but when he returned, he said the area had 14 inches of rain—a little more than we have experienced here. He indicated he had NEVER had soggy ground as he lives on a hill, but water was standing at his house. In SE Alabama, I suppose you are catching many of the same storms.

Parrothead and Steve, those are the kind I have been considering. About strapping down the awning, the campground host I mentioned above had his strapped down like you suggest. Two days while we were camping, the winds were very bad. While the rest of us were rolling up our awnings at ungodly hours

his rode out the winds while he was home in Florida. It definitely caught my attention.

Montana_1240 · 04-15-2005, 05:35 PM

Quote:

quote:Originally posted by Wordsmith

Gyro, looks like you have the same basic situation as those of us with the 3295RK. It is not the best of worlds, but certainly livable, especially when you consider how many positives there are to the unit. As an aside, the campground host when I was camping last week lives between Pensacola and Milton. He went home most of the time we were camped, but when he returned, he said the area had 14 inches of rain—a little more than we have experienced here. He indicated he had NEVER had soggy ground as he lives on a hill, but water was standing at his house. In SE Alabama, I suppose you are catching many of the same storms.

Wordsmith,

I'm sure we'll get used to it, once we get away from all the Gulf Weather we've had here. You're right. We watched the TV display storm warnings from the Gulf, right through here, and up into the Atlanta area.

When I stayed down at the dealership in Panama City, the rain, wind, and lightning was even worse!

It's sort of new to us, having weather travel so far and fast. Not to mention having so much humidity and lightning. In Fairbanks, we were pretty safe from the Gulf of Alaska weather, due to the Alaska Range being between it and us.

As soon as we knew the water would be pouring down, we'd take measures to make sure we didn't let it in.

And we have had the awning up, more than down, because the weather seemed to always be preceded and followed by lots of wind. As a matter of fact, there are about three or four campers here that work for State Farm's Disaster Coordination. They're handling the massive number of claims for the huge hail that fell not too far north of here.

Thankfully, the almost daily rain is pretty much over. Though we're headed toward the northeast, where whatever happens here will eventually get there.

Steve

sreigle · 04-16-2005, 02:46 PM

J.D. and Steve, I've been very pleased with these tiedowns. If you get them, be sure to follow the instructions. Put them straight down. I currently have one at a bit of an angle because straight down would have me screwing the tiedown into the concrete patio.

I also turn the strap one full turn per the instructions. I'm not sure of the purpose of that but I want these things to work so I follow the instructions to the letter, best I can. I do not want to deal with an awning on the roof again. Steve, had to chuckle at your weather comments. Having lived in Kansas for most of my life, weather changing drastically in an hour or so is "normal"! You will see as you travel the lower 48!

Wordsmith · 04-16-2005, 03:15 PM

Steve (Gyro), Humidity and the South is like lemonade or iced tea on the front porch—it is just a natural part of the place. Stay down here into the summer and you will see REAL humidity. I love the South except for the dead of summer when it can be miserable. Of course, that does not mean I will not make a stab at a campfire once the temps drop into, oh, the upper 70s.

Marsha thinks I am crazy, especially when I sit about 15 feet from the fire, but that is okay…

Steve, I intend to order the deflappers and tie downs from Camping World tomorrow. We intend to take a personal day on the first Friday in May and head over to SC where I can give them their first try.

RAMBIGSKY · 04-16-2005, 04:43 PM

Steve,
I think you will find the twist prevents the strap from singing, vibrating in the wind.
I use two flap clamps on a side but we have not had the awning out for long trips. I did make my own tie down straps. I got two dog stakes that are about a foot long that screw into the ground. I picked up two 18 inch long springs that may have been for garage door openers. They are stiff but I can stretch them to about a 2 foot length with the straps. I got two one to one and a half inch 14 foot long straps from KMarts. They have the thumb clamp that releases the fingers on the strap. Each end has rubber coated hooks. One over the shaft of the awning and the other in the spring.
These work for me.
I did have one end of the awning on our first trailer flip up onto the roof. Had to replace the horizontal bars $98.00 with $100 deductible. Oh well. Next day I bought the hardware for the awning straps.
As far as the original topic this is one thing we will not get in the next trailer. A door so close to the slide that the awning will not protect it from the rain.

Good luck and safe towing.

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