Awning use?

[caveat lector]

I've been studying the pics of FT campsites, and very seldom do I see any awnings retracted. Do you leave the awnings extended from setup on day 1 to tear down on the last day? It looks like there are enough wind breaks (e.g. trees), that an awning shouldn't turn into a parachute while you at the park. True?

 

[kazlac4]

While we were there the weather (thankfully) was good enough where we could leave our awning extended for our entire visit. We had some light rain one day but the wind was never a problem. I do know that if the wind had picked up we most likely would have retracted the awning just to be safe.

 

[ftwildernessguy]

I keep a close eye on the weather. If there is any question of wind or heavy rain, I retract the awning. Always leave your awning slanted, though.

 

[caveat lector]

Cool. Thanks. I know that March can have some fun weather, so "caution" will have to be the word of the day.

 

[SandrA9810]

A week ago we had some heavy winds and gusts. Totally out of the normal.

Some one made the comment to me "are all the people that stay here crooked or something?" Refering to the slanted awnings. I told them, "no, they're keeping them from collecting rain and ripping".

Of all the time I've been there, I've never noticed anyone retract it. And a lot of people decorate them with lights and stuff.

 

[caveat lector]

I was concerned more about the wind. Never occurred to me about the rain. Great point. I'm new to camping, and don't want my first experience to replicate Splash Mountain.

 

[BradyBz12]

I keep a close eye on the weather. If there is any question of wind or heavy rain, I retract the awning. Always leave your awning slanted, though.

Ditto. Not worth the cost and hassle of replacing an awning for the 2 minutes it takes to put it in/out.

 

[MouseMadness]

This might seem silly to post, but just trying to be helpful, but always make sure you slant it toward the end AWAY from the door you'll be using the most. Then if you have puddles or drippage, you aren't walking through it to get inside I hope that makes sense

 

[mnsprk]

I keep a close eye on the weather. If there is any question of wind or heavy rain, I retract the awning. Always leave your awning slanted, though.

Thank heaven for electric awnings!

 

[stacktester]

I would suggest putting the awning in if you're leaving for the day. I know that's more work but an awning costs about a grand to replace and I'd rather take the time to roll her in than come back to a busted awning. The slant idea is great, but usually our storms start with dark clouds, huge gusts of wind and then the rain lets go.

I saw a few awnings broken off at the Daytona 500 last weekend due to rain and wind. It's a sad sight to see.

 

[Born 2 Fish]

When it comes down to leaving the awning out,,you just havta use this little thing called COMMON SENSE,,
my wife has it so I use her's.

 

[Disbuf]

We put ours up and down a lot during our trip last July. Those summer storms can put down a lot of rain in a short amount of time. My dad forgot to slant his a couple of years ago and the water built up in the center and actually snapped the tube in half. It ended up costing over $700 to have a new tube and canvas put on the trailer. Always better to be safe than sorry.

 

[Disney Bunny]

We generally leave ours out and tied down. We do keep a fairly close eye on the weather and if it looks like it could get a little heavy or extreme, we will roll it back in. We had to do that for the last couple of days we spent at the Fort back in early December.

 

[Tigger1966]

I never put mine up once I get there. I just stand the posts anchor them and use rachet straps to tie outs.
we like our lights and decorations left up while we are gone. Besides I have my awning lights on a photocell so they turn on automaticaly. Then again I do the same thing where ever we camp.
One nice thing about the RV tech. thing is that I have lots of awning parts so if I loose one I just replace it when we get home.

 

[DisCamper]

We stopped using our awning and started using 2 Firstup gizmos because we found it was safer when we were away from the RV. If a rainstorm came up or heavy winds, the gizmos were anchored down and if we lost one of them it would be less $$ to replace than the awning and any potential damage to the RV. JMHO.

 

[big kahuna1]

Here is what happens if you do not tilt/angle your awning for water run off.

 

[Lyndria]

Here is what happens if you do not tilt/angle your awning for water run off.

Was that your camper?!?! Ouch...

 

[North7]

I left mine up for 5 weeks last summer without any issues. As others have stated, make sure you drop 1 end a good amount and not just a couple of inches. I also used anchors and ratchet straps on the ends to keep the wind from catching it and flipping it back over the roof of the trailer.

I saw many sites that just had the awning tilted with no straps but thankfully didn't see any like the pictures from Big Kahuna1 above.

 

[big kahuna1]

Was that your camper?!?! Ouch...

No. It was a friends. It happened in the middle of the night during a rain storm at Windrock in Tennessee. The sound woke everyone up when it "exploded".

 

[flash828]

What about the pop-up camper awings? Any of you take it down while going to the parks/ away for a day? These are a bit time consuming compared to a TT or 5er. With the weather in FL a storm can brew pretty quick, don't know if I should roll it up for the June trip.