Tell me about RV awning

[veraletta]

I notice while at Disney Fort Wilderness that a lot of people kept out their awning on RV and also they added lights to them.
I never left my awning out while I went to the part, as I was worried about the weather would get windy and I would come back from the park with a broken awning.
How do you guys tie down your awning so you don't lose it.

 

[John VN]

I notice while at Disney Fort Wilderness that a lot of people kept out their awning on RV and also they added lights to them.
I never left my awning out while I went to the part, as I was worried about the weather would get windy and I would come back from the park with a broken awning.
How do you guys tie down your awning so you don't lose it.

1st-If you do not have a self draining awning, always have one side lower for rain water run-off

2nd-http://www.campingworld.com/shopping/item/happy-hook-awning-tie-down/11171, there are other ways to tie down an awning but I used this on my old RV

3rd-If you have an automatic retracting awning and still wish to tie it down, make sure to disable the automatic system

McFlurry John

 

[Born 2 Fish]

We try to leave our awning out as much as we can. When we set up camp we put the awning out with the one side (corner) being much lower then the other side (corner). If the awning is slanted and it rains while you are gone , the water will run off nicely.
On our awning we have arm that tight'n down to hold the awning reasonably tight. Some people also use a rope (or 2) much in the same way you would peg down the corner of a tent,,you can run a rope from the corner of the awning and peg it down tight to the ground to help secure the awning.

Instead of using rope there are all kinds of pretty contraptions you can spend money on that'll do the same thing.

Now all that being said, extreme high winds can still tear up a awning, I keep a eye on the weather daily as do most folk and leave out or put up my awnimng accordingly.

 

[jaredjohn4]

We didn't tilt our awing on our popup enough one hot summer at Disney. It filled with rain and stretched it a bit. That worked out fine. When I got home, I went to the local awning shop and had them cut off about half of the awning and then put it back together. I mounted it on the opposite side of our popup over the slide out table and bought a new one for the regular size. The shorter awing covers the slide out and lets us keep windows open on both sides during the rain. With the added width, I can stake down both awnings even on the wide premium sites.

1975 Fort Wilderness 3 Nights 500 Loop / 1977 Off Property 5 Nights / 1993 Off Property 7 Nights
1885 Dixie Landings 7 Nights / 2003 Fort Wilderness 7 Nights 1400 Loop / 2006 Disneyland - Off Property 7 Nights
2006 Fort Wilderness 12 Nights 900 Loop / 2009 Fort Wilderness 14 Nights 1300 Loop / 2010 Disneyland - Paradise Pier 8 Nights
2011 Fort Wilderness 11 Nights 1300 Loop / 2013 Fort Wilderness 10 Nights 1300 Loop
**2008 Chevy Express / 2007 Coleman Bayside**

 

[veraletta]

Thanks JohnVN
I will have to buy a set of the Happy Hook Awning Tie Down... How do you disable the automatic system? As we do have a automatic retracting awning.

Born to fish:
Now I understand why everyone awning looked like it was broken on one end.. lol silly me...

Thanks everyone...

I never notice that they had them tied down with ropes.. I did notice that they all seems to have a bend on one side...

 

[jmrothermel]

I second to always always keep one end lower, as many years ago on an old travel trailer we had it rip under the weight lol. It runs off nicely now, and no problems since. If its SEVERE weather of course Id close it - but it stands up to most wind without problems

 

[tiggerdad]

Bought my camper new, trip from Mississippi to the Fort was only our second camping trip. On night 3 we were at DHS when a major storm came up. Rained so hard the bus literally pulled over because he couldn't see. When we got back we found the scissor awning ripped off on one end and main roller bent in half. Stakes pulled out of ground and everything. It was tilted to one end for runoff, but storm winds were just too much. $2500 in damage, $500 deductible. Ever since then we don't leave it out unless we are in quick reach of it. Hard lesson learned.

Sent from my Desire HD using DISBoards

 

[veraletta]

Tiggerdad :
Oh no, maybe I will just tie it down while I'm there and when I go to the park I will put it back up... I wouldn't want to come back to find out that I need a new one...
Thanks everyone, as this will be our second trip with RV this Christmas...
We are still trying to learn every thing we need to know about owning an RV..

 

[jbrostek]

It has a lot to do with the time of year and weather. I was there in January 2013, and the winds/weather where calm all week. But if I see the threat of storms or high winds when I know I will be gone, then I will retract the awning to protect it.

 

[North of Mouse]

We have camped for many years and always leave our mh awning out when we are in the parks. It's always tilted and we have never had any problems even during some pretty bad thunder storms. I worry more about limbs falling than water collecting. It's well braced against wind.

 

[John VN]

Thanks JohnVN
I will have to buy a set of the Happy Hook Awning Tie Down... How do you disable the automatic system? As we do have a automatic retracting awning.

Born to fish:
Now I understand why everyone awning looked like it was broken on one end.. lol silly me...

Thanks everyone...

I never notice that they had them tied down with ropes.. I did notice that they all seems to have a bend on one side...

The control panel for our auto-awning is located above DW's recliner in wall compartment. Simply turn it off and system is disabled.

Enjoy your stay.

McFlurry John