awning question

[bigdisneydaddy]

Yup, June 07, remember it well. We were in 200 loop when ours collapsed because of the rain.

I am sure I would have remembered you but you didnt bring me free beer.

 

[magicforever]

So correct me if I am wrong...

Most damage to awnings comes from the weight of the rain water and not the winds? I have always "tilted" mine. Just made complete since to me from the beginning. We were in St. Pete last year when a tornado came through and you could feel the wind pulling up on the awning so we put it up. Actually, we skipped town after we put up the awning and headed to downtown disney to avoid the bad weather.

 

[LarryJ]

magicforever,
As a Florida resident and camper, I am very aware that summer storms can develop quickly and be very intense. When camping, we generally do not take the awning down. Since the campsites are somewhat "protected" from the wind, my major concern is the water build-up if the pitch of the awning does not allow proper drainage. I have seen more damage from water build-up bending the awning frame than wind causing damage.

Scot

We leave ours out all the time, but use straps, deflappers, a support in the center and have it at max slant (about 2' down in the back). If worried you could just slant the entire awning down like you are going to roll it up and it shouldn't take but a minute to raise it when you return. That way you can ensure that the rain will run off.

The tilt in the pic in my signature is my good weather tilt. If I expect a storm the tilt is like twice to three times what is in that pic.

Larry

 

[glavine47]

I saw three awnings get ripped down by the wind last thursday.

 

[team bradfield]

We leave ours out all the time, but use straps, deflappers, a support in the center and have it at max slant (about 2' down in the back). If worried you could just slant the entire awning down like you are going to roll it up and it shouldn't take but a minute to raise it when you return. That way you can ensure that the rain will run off.

The tilt in the pic in my signature is my good weather tilt. If I expect a storm the tilt is like twice to three times what is in that pic.

Larry

We also use the straps and lower the awning all the way, no problems in the past 12 years. florida or anywhere else...

 

[campingfam]

We just purchased a used motorhome that did not come with an awning. We are going down for 10 nights. I don't really want to go through the expense before we leave for an awning. Is there enough shade without an awning? Our old travel trailer had an awning and we were always putting it away because of these South Texas winds. You just never know when they wil blow in. Is it like that in Fl or just rain storms?

 

[Shan-man]

I would say that the majority of sites have some shade, very few are in deep shade, and another few are shadeless (mostly in 600). At the Fort, I'd say rain is more a threat to awnings than wind... FL is famous for late afternoon downpours.

 

[castlehappy]

So Shan - you have me curious? what is your '2nd favorite CG?"

 

[Shan-man]

So Shan - you have me curious? what is your '2nd favorite CG?"

Oh, that's easy, Mama Gertie's Hideaway Campground near Asheville (in Swannanoa actually). I have actually posted a fairly extensive review in the Post a Picture of Your Camping Setup at Other Campgrounds!! thread. Thanks for asking!

 

[castlehappy]

Thanks Shan-Man! it looks amazing..DH and I will definetly add this to our list of CG's to visit.

 

[campingmomto2]

We just returned from a 2 week stay at the Fort. We did have our awning out the entire time. It was very tilted and we also had the special straps holding it down. Our site was in the 1800 loop and during our 2 week stay, I saw at least 3 awnings destroyed on different days in our loop alone. I felt bad for the people.

As far as the gift cards go, I use them throughout Disney World everywhere. In fact, I used gift cards exclusively for our 2 week stay. My kids's school sells the gift cards as a fundraiser and I also earn 2% back in tuition credits. Since our trip was planned for 18 months, I bought gift cards every month from the school. By the time the trip came around, the entire trip (including spending $ was paid for!) We used them EVERYWHERE!! We used them at check in to pay for our site, all the parks for counter service food, restuarants, souveniers, even all the kiosk carts for water, ice cream, etc. They were great to bring to the water parks and not have to worry about carrying cash around. My son even used one of his cards in the Lego store in Downtown Disney! During my 2 week stay, I never had anyone tell me that they did not accept the card.

Hope you have a great trip! We are all suffering from some post-Disney trip depression. We left home the day after the kids got out of school (June 12th) and just returned home Sunday night. Monday morning all I heard from my kids was "We're bored. Can't we do something fun? Can't we go back to Disney?!?" Since we are over 1200 miles from Disney, we don't have another trip planned for a long time!!

 

[dtum]

We keep ours up, but not in the patio position. Someone on here suggested that we buy those straps with a winch take up and hooks on both ends. Hook one end over awning tube and the other end to the trailer legs. Tighten the strap. We did it this past trip and, despite a ton of rain (4 1/2" one day) the awning never moved. We do keep it slanted also. With our frig on the awning side, I didn't want to bring awning in because it helps to keep it a little shady and it was 98 degrees every day (110 degrees heat index) . We were in loop 400 and there is no shade any place just slabs of very hot cement.

 

[Maggie at the Fort]

We were just at the Fort for a week at the end of June and learned an awning lesson we won't forget! We have had our pop up for about a year and have taken weekend trips throughout SC and GA. We have used our awning during several storms with a tilt to let the rain run off. But nothing prepared us for Florida. Our second night there (6-21 or I guess early in the morning of the 22nd) we woke up to horrible storms. With the lightening and thunder we were already on edge when we heard a strange thump. We ran out into the storm (perhaps not the brightest idea but in the middle of the night you don't always think logically). At first I thought our awning was just gone. There was no sign of it. Then in the lightening flashes we saw the poles over our heads. The entire awning was on the roof of the pop up poles and all, wrapped securely around the the ac unit.

After what seems like hours (probably a minute and a half) we had pulled and twisted and gotten it back over. We rolled it up, counted ourselves lucky to escape with only one slightly bent pole and no torn canvas and very lucky to have not been hurt in the storm. Once we were back in, it seemed very funny to be standing in the dark in dripping wet clothes but I'd rather not try it again.

We never took the awning back out while we were there.

Other than that, we had a fantastic trip. It was my husband's 1st trip but he is already asking when we will go back!

 

[CarissaKurtz]

We always pull ours in at night and when we go out of the campground and can't or wont be able to get back to it quickly during the summer, we live in Florida so we've seen how quick and violent the storms can be especially in the summertime just so we dont have to worry about it we pull it in its a pain having to open it again every morning but its worth it.

 

[CindyT]

I recommend pulling the awning in. It only takes one big gust to take it out. Have a great trip.