Our favorite local state park is Inks Lake, about an hour NW of Austin, TX. Beautiful park with rolling hills, lots of trees, a nice lake...and lots of breezes. Spring is storm season here in central Texas, generally accompanied by lots of wind.
Our last trip to Inks was last fall, and I ended up getting out of bed in the wee hours to take down the awning, as it was lifting the poles off the ground and banging them back down due to the wind.
This time, I made weights to hold them down. Knowing the wife would prefer something other than cinder blocks filled with cement, I bought some 8" plastic plant pots. The awning poles slide into 1" PVC pipes cut about 4" above the top of the pot. 90 degree bends are glued to the bottom of the pipes, to hold them into the cement. I wrapped aluminum foil around the bottom of the pipes to keep the wet cement from filling them. I then filled each pot with cement, centering the PVC pipes as best I could. I even pushed some fake lilacs down into the cement to give the illusion of potted plants.
When I sent the trailer up this weekend, each awning pole was slid into a pot, and then I drilled a hole through the PVC pipe and awning pole, and put a eyelet bolt through and tightened it on with a wing-nut (the eyelet giving me something to hold so I could do this without tools).
Sure enough, we had rain and wind the first two nights we were there. The pots did their job, keeping the awning held down. I got up and checked on em when I heard the wind picking up, but they worked great!
I ll get some pictures up shortly!
RedwolfSomeone told me they saw someone else using tiki torch bases for their awning poles. I bought 2 at Wal-Mart and will try them out at Easter.
RedwolfGood for you, Redwolf! If you thought of this by yourself, you re smarter than I was. I copied another member s idea and made awning weights too, after getting tired of pounding metal concrete stakes into the ground. Made my weights out of coffee cans, and painted them black so they d look like-- well, uh-- black coffee cans, I guess. [;)]
They work great, don t they?
RedwolfI think that I may be missing something here. My awning has the option to go carport or connect back to the trailer body it s self. I here a lot about campers who are taking measures to keep thier Awnings on the ground during high winds. Do I need to take similar precautions or am I ok with the Awning attached to the camper during medium to moderate winds?
Any response would be appreciated
cowboyAttached to your camper, you should be OK, They tend to " float" in the wind. That s why I made mine similar to yours.
You can have a Coleman with an attached awning, Without buying a new one. Check it out [link=http://groups.msn.com/MtnCampersAwning/shoebox.msnw]HERE[/link].
I will gladly help anybody interested in doing this.
Redwolf
Cowboy, my awning isn t made to connect to the trailer with the support poles. It s only connected to the trailer on one end of the canopy. The poles are designed to be tied to the ground with ropes and stakes. It s kind of a hazard at night, and just a general PITA the rest of the time. The awning bases we made hold the support poles in place during mild to medium breezes. If there are strong winds, my awning s gunna get rolled back up so it doesn t get damaged.
RedwolfAb Diver, I ve only needed to secure my awning poles on one trip where the winds were a little stronger than normal. Just putting the poles from the awning end to the ground seems to be ok for us most of the time. With the new Rockwood s Carefree of Colorado awning, we connect the awning poles to the camper. Now that we have the AAR (first trip using it in 8 days) we will probably need to stake down the AAR room panels.... we ll see.
Redwolf
Thanks for all the imput.
I was starting to get a little concerned about leaving my awning attached to the trailer.
With all the stories about middle of the night excursions outside to check the status of the awning, I was thinking, hey it might be a good idea to ask a few questions.
So far I haven t posted a lot, but have had a hell of a good time just lurking and learning little bit more each day.[:)]
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RedwolfVery creative idea Redwolf. I ve been using the cinderblock/cement version for a few years. They work great, but admittedly aren t appealling to the eye. I guess I found a project to fill some time until the snow melts. Thanks
tlhdocTracy - we use them, had them at the PUT Rally last fall. They work good don t how well in a strong wind though. I was thinking of staking the holders into the ground with a U shaped stake. Be careful though,[:o] you can dent in the bottoms of the pools if you fasten it too tight.
The torch holders are great when you have pets, small children and clumsy adults (me). There s nothing to get hung up on and they do keep the awning poles where you want them.
Umbrella holders may be heavier although you might need a longer thumb screw for it.
We still roll up as long as we have the chance to in stronger than average winds.
RedwolfI also switched from mu original cement block bases to flower pot bases. It was only after teh cement dried that teh DW asked if we could put some plastic flowers around the top of the pot. Too late[:@]
[link=http://www.title-3.com/AwningBase.htm]Take a look[/link]
RedwolfSeems like they would be awfully heavy & bulky,if tow weight & space are concerns.We did have the roof of our pu damaged by a flying awning once-Kinda like the Wizzard of Oz(looked out the window to see our s flying by).We liked the movie better. I sure would hate to see the damage that a concrete filled flower pot could inflict.
RedwolfHey all,
Somehow I ve missed this thread the past few days.
I use 10 lb. barbell weights and have absolutely no problems. This great idea came from a guy in Louisiana early last summer and we are extremely happy with it. We ve used this set-up now about 14 times in some pretty heavy wind with no movement at all. I ll just post the thread if you want to check it out. I store the 3 weights under the TV seats during travel. Everything else stores on the poles in the awning bag.
http://www.popuptimes.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=14914
whippetwrun
QuoteORIGINAL: whippetwrun
Tracy - we use them, had them at the PUT Rally last fall. They work good don t how well in a strong wind though. I was thinking of staking the holders into the ground with a U shaped stake. Be careful though,[:o] you can dent in the bottoms of the pools if you fasten it too tight.
The torch holders are great when you have pets, small children and clumsy adults (me). There s nothing to get hung up on and they do keep the awning poles where you want them.
Umbrella holders may be heavier although you might need a longer thumb screw for it.
We still roll up as long as we have the chance to in stronger than average winds.
I think Hersheygirl was the one that told me about them. I was thinking of attaching the guide line from the awning to the base so I didn t have to tighten the screw too tight. do you think it will work?
RedwolfMy Jayco s awning is staked right at the base of the support poles. There is a large D-ring at the bottom of the pole that you drive a stake through, hooking onto the ring. You can still use guy lines but don t need to. So far that is all I ve used. Is there anyone out there with a similar Jayco awning that has other thoughts on that?
RedwolfAlert:
If you want to check out the link above that I posted from the old message board you need to do it by Wednesday (3/5) as Steve has announced that it will be gone after that.
forestwalker
QuoteORIGINAL: forestwalker
I sure would hate to see the damage that a concrete filled flower pot could inflict.
If the winds get THAT bad, I ll take the awning down. Winds strong enough to rip out the guy-stakes AND lift thirty lbs of cement off the ground are strong enough to rip the awning from the camper roof.
tlhdoc
QuoteORIGINAL: tlhdoc
I think Hersheygirl was the one that told me about them. I was thinking of attaching the guide line from the awning to the base so I didn t have to tighten the screw too tight. do you think it will work?
I would think it would - just make sure the line is tight enough. you can tighten the screw pretty fairly tight though and it holds well. I just over tighten the first time and dented the one pole (or was it 2 poles?) .
whippetwrun
QuoteORIGINAL: whippetwrun
QuoteORIGINAL: tlhdoc
I think Hersheygirl was the one that told me about them. I was thinking of attaching the guide line from the awning to the base so I didn t have to tighten the screw too tight. do you think it will work?
Thanks.
I would think it would - just make sure the line is tight enough. you can tighten the screw pretty fairly tight though and it holds well. I just over tighten the first time and dented the one pole (or was it 2 poles?) .
RedwolfSue,
We also have a Jayco with the rings at the bottom. They work very well and we haven t had any problems. The only time I thought about the bases was when we were at Fort Wilderness, they have concrete pads including a patio for under the awning. It didn t really dawn on me until after I was set up... fortunately, when I backed in it was the perfect location to have the patio area and still be able to drive the stakes into the ground... by about 2 " .
I am still contemplating trying some type blocks... I have plenty of time to think about it though, we still have 2 feet of snow in the yard...
Joe
RedwolfOf course stakes and weights are going to help anchor the awning,and help make the situation safer,in general.That said,we ve camped many places where the stakes have just slid in,and out,of the ground.Not really much help.Regarding the weights:Granted,it would take a strong wind to lift all thirty lbs at a time,but one flying corner(maybe 5-10 lbs) has the potential for damage.We ve camped several times when moderate winds have gusted to potentially dangerous winds within seconds.We agree,it would be best to take down the awning in that situation.The difficult part is guessing when a moderate steady wind might gust.When you leave the cg for a day trip ? At night,when you are sleeping ? Weights may have helped us the one time that our awning got away-or they may have done more damage.We dont know.
forestwalkerAnother, and to me, the best, advantage from using the cemented PVC, is how easy it makes setup go. By placing the awning poles into the PVC pipe, I can setup solo if I have to. Otherwise fumbling with the 12 foot awning until it is staked takes at least two people.
If it gets extremely windy, I usually add the ropes and stakes to secure the awning or roll it up.
Red neff Barchetta
QuoteORIGINAL: Red neff Barchetta
Hey all,
Somehow I ve missed this thread the past few days.
I use 10 lb. barbell weights and have absolutely no problems. This great idea came from a guy in Louisiana early last summer and we are extremely happy with it. We ve used this set-up now about 14 times in some pretty heavy wind with no movement at all. I ll just post the thread if you want to check it out. I store the 3 weights under the TV seats during travel. Everything else stores on the poles in the awning bag.
http://www.popuptimes.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=14914
QuoteORIGINAL: Red neff Barchetta
Alert:
If you want to check out the link above that I posted from the old message board you need to do it by Wednesday (3/5) as Steve has announced that it will be gone after that.
I remember that thread from the old boards because I absolutely loved the idea! Gregg, the guy who came up with it, was kind enough to e-mail me the instructions, and I have pasted them below for anyone who wants to make them, just in case you aren t able to access the old topic link that Red Neff gave us. I also have posted the link to Gregg s Web shots page showing the pictures of how these weights look.
Hope this helps![:D]
Instructions:
I have received a few request for more info, so I will post instructions to the forum. Any improvement suggestions will be appreciated.
Materials are cheap and easy to get.
1 5lb cast iron weight (barbell weight)
1 3/4 PVC pipe to 3/4 female thread adapter
1 3/4 galvanized closed nipple
1 3/4 conduit nut
1 aluminum pin ( I don t the name of these things)
The pin is about 1 1/4 long. It has a flat head on each end, one half is male threaded, the other is female. When screwed together it looks like a nail with heads on both ends.
Place the awning pole into the PVC adapter until it bottoms out. Drill through the adapter and pole about midway and insert the aluminum pin through the hole, screwing both halves together. Now the PVC adapter is attached to the pole. Screw the nipple into the PVC adapter, then slip the nipple through the hole of the weight. Screw the nut onto the nipple a couple of turns, that holds the weight to the pole.
Simple, but should do the trick. Should not cause any stubbed toes because of its low profile. I would have preferred not using the galvanized nipple and instead just used a male PVC adapter, but the male threads on the PVC adapter were too short to pass through the weight.
Web shots page for pictures: http://community.webshots.com/user/yor123
Update: Joel added to Gregg s idea. Here is the link to his version: http://www.omartin.com/2000Niagara/Awning_Feet/
forestwalkerAll this is " veddy interesting." Now I have a question along this line. I have flower pots with cement copied after TIM5055?s. Now I wondering if I need the center support anchored (my Coleman Utah has the 12? awning and three support poles) or if I need the center pole at all? Also, I like MtnCamper?s idea of anchoring the poles to the camper and am wondering if I would have to anchor the third (center) pole or if I could just unhook it and go with the two? Any experience? Thoughts?
Wayfarer
QuoteORIGINAL: Wayfarer
All this is " veddy interesting." Now I have a question along this line. I have flower pots with cement copied after TIM5055?s. Now I wondering if I need the center support anchored (my Coleman Utah has the 12? awning and three support poles) or if I need the center pole at all? Also, I like MtnCamper?s idea of anchoring the poles to the camper and am wondering if I would have to anchor the third (center) pole or if I could just unhook it and go with the two? Any experience? Thoughts?
Bart, (Everybodyhauls) just finished this mod to his awning. His results are posted on iRV2. He did away with the center pole and sounds OK.
forestwalkerI have also been watching (with much interest) Bart s progress. Seems like he s thought it through well.
forestwalkerJeff, If you didn t catch the thread, bart says it rock solid, with 2 poles.
forestwalkerWe used to have the Flower pots, with silk flowers, burt have replaced them with two 10 pound cast iron weights. They take up less room than the flower pots.
We only have two, so don t use the center support, one less thing to get in the kids way,
Now it was raining, I might just put up the center pole, but lower one end, so I don t collect too much water[:o]