RE: Awnings Can Fly........

TheWallRocks · Sep 28, 2003, 07:05 PM

I learned my lesson. When the wind is forecasted at 20MPH+, roll the awning up! I had it tied down to a full 7 gallon Aquatainer, and when I returned the awning was wrapped around the roof. One of the horizontal poles looks like a horseshoe now! Not sure how the other ones survived.

$54 later the replacement pole is on order.

That is SPUT #3 for the season, and it s only mid June. What next?

ckkevin · Jun 11, 2003, 06:17 PM

TheWallRocksAt 200 MPH cows can fly too. Don t ask me how I know

topcat7736 · Jun 11, 2003, 06:27 PM

TheWallRocksI ve seen awnings wrapped over the top of trailers and also ripped to shreds. Our add a room adds stability to the popup & helps hold the awning in place. To make sure it never takes off, I tie two 3/8" nylon ropes to trees and cross them over the center of the awning. (If no trees, I use corkscrew dog tieouts). There s no way the wind is going to snap those ropes and, having been through several 50+ mph wind trips, I feel comfortable with the setup.

Also, when staking the awning, make sure you run the ropes parallel to the trailer. This puts less stress on the roof (you re not pulling it toward the awning) and allows some movement of both the awning and roof during wind gusts.

Acts 2:38 girl · Jun 11, 2003, 07:07 PM

TheWallRocks

QuoteAt 200 MPH cows can fly too. Don t ask me how I know

Sorry, I ve got to ask - HOW do you know??!! [

][

]

forestwalker · Jun 11, 2003, 07:46 PM

TheWallRocksIf it helps:you are not the only ones that have had it happen.A flying awning pole dented our new pop up roof last year.We hope weights will be enough to hold it down in the future,but it sounds like a good idea to tie it down too.

labontefan · Jun 11, 2003, 08:45 PM

TheWallRocksBeen there...done that!! At Bristol, this past March, I forgot to stake down the awning. When I got back from watching qualifying, the awning was across the top of the camper! The center pole had gone across the AC unit, but it was more of a C-curve rather than a U! The people camped next door helped me pull it back across. The guy even bent the center pole back to a usable shape. It s sort of wavy now, and you can t adjust the length, but it works to hold up the center part of the awning.

Needless to say, I staked it down VERY securely as soon as we got it back down!! Fortunately, the bent pole was the only damage.

Gone-Camping · Jun 11, 2003, 09:46 PM

TheWallRocksYes, awnings can fly. And so can AAR s... My AAR was torn to shreds in a matter of seconds, ripped right off at the seam where it fit into the room slide channel. It also tore itself down one side. I don t think a couple of pieces of rope would have made any difference, at least in this case.

BTW, there was also an 8 Starcraft PU that got blown over on it s side, so apparetnly Pop-up s can fly too, given enough wind that is...

forestwalker · Jun 11, 2003, 10:13 PM

Gone-CampingWow,Cliff-What was the wind velocity when that happened ?

tlhdoc · Jun 11, 2003, 10:18 PM

TheWallRocks

QuoteORIGINAL: TheWallRocks

$54 later the replacement pole is on order.

Which pole did you have to replace? One of the legs or one of the " rafters" . I just purchased a " rafter" and it was under $20.

Gone-Camping · Jun 12, 2003, 09:30 PM

TheWallRocks

QuoteWow,Cliff-What was the wind velocity when that happened ?

I don t have a clue, all I can say was there was an awful lot of wind!!! This happened at Camp Hatteras when a front blew through a couple of years ago. We even heard from someone on this board that remembered watching one of our crew valiently trying to keep the AAR from blowing away, though he obvisouly failed in that attempt.

In retrospect, we figured we got hit by a waterspout or a tornado that was off the ground. We knew the wind was constant from the east, then in a matter of moments the wind shifted from the south, then the west, and then the north, all in a few moments... The AAR was torn up by the steady wind from the east, but our torn canvas and flipped over PU came from the shifting winds....

LoveOurBayside · Jun 13, 2003, 09:14 PM

TheWallRocksThanks for sharing. A few weeks ago they were predicting 3- - 40 mph winds so we rolled our awning up and put it away. Afterwards we felt kind of silly because all the other awnings were fine and our rug was soaked. But I know I d heard other stories about awnings getting ripped up and though better safe than sorry.

TheWallRocks · Jun 14, 2003, 09:38 AM

TheWallRockstlhdoc......

I suspect they may have ordered me the horizontal piece that all the others tie into.... which is not what I want. I should have used the word " rafter" when I talked to them. Those rafters are not much more than shower curtain rods, and $54 just doesn t sound right.

If it s wrong when it comes in I ll just have to reorder the right one. We re out camping this weekend and the missing rafter doesn t seem to matter much.

Regards......

tlhdoc · Jun 15, 2003, 06:35 PM

TheWallRocksGood luck on the part. I hope it is the wrong one (at the price they are charging). I checked and it cost me $19.75 - 10% discount I get for buying the PU at the dealer.

Camping Coxes · Jun 17, 2003, 12:16 AM

TheWallRocksThis weekend we were at two different CGs that were extremely windy. We decided not to put up our awning, being that it was a " little windy" when we set up. Good thing we didn t. By the middle of the night, we had winds that were rocking the PU. My DH kept swearing the roof was going to lift off. After reading stories like this about wind-swept awnings, I thought we better not give it a chance to blow away. I cooked in the hot sun for breakfast, but at least my awning is still intact.[

]

SheBantam · Jun 17, 2003, 10:59 AM

TheWallRocksI have one of those straps that torque over the awning and attach to long stakes. I also bought 8 dog tieouts that are corkscrewed for just occasions.

News: