Awning in the Wind

[Bogeyplus]

Had my 2008 3400RL out for the maiden voyage over the Memorial Weekend. Everything went great except for one cocncern, the Awning scared my wife and myself a little bit. It seemed like even during some light wind the awning was bouncing pretty good. Is this normal? Has anyone found something to help with this?

Thanks

[SlickWillie]

We use a couple of those auger type pet tie downs from the Dollar Store. Run a ratchet strap from those to the ends of the awning tube. We are right on the bay here, and get lots of wind. Simply can't use the awning lots of days.

[sreigle]

For one thing, when you extend the awning, take your hand and roll the roller as much as you can to tighten the fabric. It won't go much but usually will go a click or two. That helps a little.

Second, I try to put the lower side into the prevailing wind so that the wind tends to push down on the awning rather than upwards. Shifting winds can destroy the best laid plans, however.

Third, I use deflappers. You can get them at Camping World and from some Walmarts as well as RV dealers. I'd suggest two or three on each side. I have enough to have five on each side and have used that many in very windy places, like the Rio Grande Valley.

Fourth, if I intend to leave the awning out most of the time in areas where it can get windy, I use tiedowns I got at CW. Mine use the augurs into the ground and a strap at each end of the awning. I tried the kind with the strap that goes longitudinally across and then down but didn't feel it was quite as effective.

Fifth, if it is threatening to get stormy windy I'll retract the awning and avoid the danger. If we'll be gone for awhile and there's any potential at all of wind problems, I'll retract the awning. The one time I didn't, the awning ended up on the roof. It was not strapped down. With the straps and deflappers our awning has handled some very serious winds but it won't handle every wind situation.

Good luck.

[Mrs. CountryGuy]

Does this nice new pretty 2008 have the electric awning???

If so, has it ever been determined, can you tie it down as described by SteveR and SlickWillie?

[Bogeyplus]

quote:Originally posted by Mrs. CountryGuy

Does this nice new pretty 2008 have the electric awning???

If so, has it ever been determined, can you tie it down as described by SteveR and SlickWillie?

Yes it does have the electric awning. So far I would have to say I like a manual awning a lot better.

[Icehouse]

We have the electric awning as well with the wind sensor. It's pretty windy here today and the awning is bouncing, but so far not retracting. With the wind sensor, don't tie it down unless you disengage the wind sensor. That could cause alot of damage if the awning tried to retract and the awning were tied down.

[MacDR50]

I have the electric awning in the 10Th Anny 3585 but how do I know if it has wind sensor?

[bsmeaton]

Electric awnings aren't for everybody, but I sure enjoy ours.

I can only speak for the Carefree brand, as I have no experience with the A&E now used on the Montana. This last weekend at the lake we experienced on and off winds and because our electric could be extended or retracted in less than 10 seconds, it was out and usable every chance we got. Most folks with the manual set up type never bothered to even use them.

By design, the electrics absorb the breeze through the gas shocks in the arms whenever the fabric bellows, which results in the bounce. We don't have a sensor, so we just use good judgement as to when to retract it, and we always retract it when going to bed or leaving the trailer.

[Exnavydiver]

Basically we do the same as Brad does, since the electric is gravity controlled, if the wind gets up the scissors mechanism tends to retract a bit and the vinyl flaps a bit. Unlike the none electric units it is not hard mounted and can flex in the wind. We love it and were able to use it down in Mayport, Fl this winter while most of the other campers couldn't or wouldn't use theirs in the winds coming off the Atlantic. If it starts flapping too hard we run it in until the wind goes down. Great unit... Dave and Betsy

[Ozzie]

I have found in addition to some of these fixes, we try to get a site that orients the awning to the east. For us, that leaves us downwind in most situations, and also in the shade during the heat of the day.

[stiles watson]

The electric awning is real handy. We have had ours in and out three different times today in KC area. When the wind comes up, in it comes. Ours doesn't have the wind sensor, so the awning pop is our sensor. Once last week, it caught the wind and folded back over the roof, but there was no damage to the mechanism or the fabric. It was folded back down and simply retracted. We have been using it regularly since.

[Icehouse]

MacDR50, there's a toggle switch on the side of the control panel. It's 90 degrees around the corner from the on/off switch. Bernie has to crawl into the basement to look to the side to see it. It's in a most convenient place! Or you can look up on the roof to see if you have a thing that looks like a vent pipe, that's not a vent pipe. Or, your paperwork should tell you.

[MacDR50]

Thanks I will look.

[MAMalody]

quote:Originally posted by Bogeyplus

Had my 2008 3400RL out for the maiden voyage over the Memorial Weekend. Everything went great except for one cocncern, the Awning scared my wife and myself a little bit. It seemed like even during some light wind the awning was bouncing pretty good. Is this normal? Has anyone found something to help with this?

Thanks

One more thing to check. Sometimes when it is your first time using the awning you forget to extend the top braces to the end of the lower are until it clicks into place. You then need to make sure you tighten the turn handles half way down the upper arm until they are tight. If you don't do this, you can get a lot of bounce out of a light breeze, even as low as 5-7 mph. I hope this helps.

[bsmeaton]

Mike,

Bogeyplus has the electric option - no levers, handles, or ladders - just a switch.

Icehouse,

I do not believe that Keystone uses the WeatherPro like yours because the arms are too long for the short arm models like the 3400. I believe they use the PowerPro which is electric, but not automatic (no wind sensor). Your WeatherPro must not be factory.

[Icehouse]

You are right Mike. Our WeatherPro is not factory, it was an upgrade we purchased and had installed prior to delivery.
Tammy

[ols1932]

One precaution we always take, wind or no wind, is to close our awning at night or when we are going to leave the rig for a while. I may be a little paranoid, but have seen many awnings ripped up, broken arms, etc., by flash winds. We just don't take a chance.

Orv

[Glenn and Lorraine]

When putting the awning the 2 top rails should be as tight as possible. Prior to tightening the screw I pull the top rail as tight to the awning as possible. Holding that position I than tighten the screw.
On both ends of the awning I wrap a 12 inch rubber bungee cord, I than attach one end of a ratchet strap to the 2 hooks on the bungee. For anchors I have 2 18" rebar rods with a chain link welded near the top of the bar. These are driven into the ground at a 45&deg: angle. I hook the other end of the ratchet strap to chain link and tighten the ratchet until I start stretching the bungee cord about 1 inch. I than attach 4 deflappers (Velcro type) on each end of the awning.
In a typical winter in Florida, where we do get some winds with gust up to 40 MPH, I put my awning down in December and do not put it up again until we are ready to leave in May. I February We went to the Keys on a bus tour for 3 days. I checked the forecast for those 3 days and seeing no significant winds in the forecast I did not put the awning up.
If your rig is facing North and you get a wind out of the southwest, west or northwest your own trailer is acting as a wind block protecting you from the full effect of the wind. In that situation, even with gusts above 40MPH I do not put my awning up. As far as rain storms, as long as there are no strong winds involved, the awning stays down.

Now I know some of you are thinking that it is just a matter of time. Well, this was our 5th winter in Florida and with the exception of the 1st winter this is my system. Hey, what can I tell ya, it works for me and even in the worst case scenario the awning is fully insured.

[bsmeaton]

All this mechanical awning talk is great, but is probably really confusing Bogeyplus with his ELECTRIC awning. He has no top rails, nothing to tighten, and I don't think he should leave it out for the season or try to tie it down.

For the most part, this is steering off topic.

[DarMar]

This is a good topic Bogeyplus! We do not have an electric and I have not yet been convinced I really like them. At our seasonal park here 3 new rigs have shown up with the new electric awnings. Two of these people are so far not impressed with theirs. One fellow has gone back to his dealer this week to see if they will exchange it back to a manual. This fellow usually left is old manual out all year with the proper anchoring and had no problems. Last weekend was the last straw as his was bouncing like a yo-yo and he was worried it will end up on top of his rig, therefore in and out it goes with each squall of wind. So, to those with the new electric models, convince us they are the way to go other than for ease of use which is obvious!

And the other guy he left his out overnight during a light rain and awoke in the morning to a large pool of water in the middle of his.