# Awning Tie-downs.... Good Or Bad



## Sayonara

I met a guy at Ponchos Pond in Ludington this week that used this to support the awning from wind. I set mine up the same way. I do not use much force on the straps, just one click past being loose. I also noticed a vacant seasonal with their awning out with this setup and nobody was around all week. We had REALLY high winds a couple of days. I took mine down but his was just fine. Im not convinced it is the best thing for the awning under extreme conditions but a little piece of mind I suppose. Ill be taking mine down on the bad days.

What do you think??


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## Calvin&Hobbes

I will be watching this closley, as I have had the same question....


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## battalionchief3

I have the tie downs and 2 of the de-flappers ( the big ones ). I get nervous leaving it out and tied down but so far its all been ok. Anytime its out you risk it I guess.


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## mswalt

I have the tie-downs, too, but have never used them. I have used the awning support stakes and "screwed" them to the awning arms in a "carport" fashion. Seems to work fairly well. But I never left it up during a high wind.

I almost always use the larger deflappers, too. They make a big difference. One year, I was the only one at the beach who had their awning out because of the wind. The deflappers made it possible.

Mark


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## tdvffjohn

I also use 2 wide blade deflappers. Your pics show almost exactly how I use hold down straps. The differences in mine are..I put the straps straight down, I feel they work stronger that way. The satke is at a angle tho. I also use a somewhat strong spring between the stake and the strap. This gives me the ability to see how tight I get it without pullig and damaging the awning. It also gives the awning a little give during a gust instead of pulling the stake out or breaking something else.

That does not mean I leave in out in any and all conditions. Common sence must still prevail. When I camp at Myrtle Beach especially, it gives me a piece of mind if a gust comes up. You can say that the awning should be put up when you leave but I have had a gust come up when I am sitting under it. I have also seen people lose the awning because they tried to put it back in during a small storm when staking it and keeping an close eye on it would have been a better choice.

John


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## mobile_cottager

I use the screw in dog ties, with two springs attached to the straps, this allows some "give " in strong winds. Works really well


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## Sayonara

These are the twist-in dog stakes. I like the spring idea. Ill get a couple of those. Any clues on where to buy the springs?


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## Eagleeyes

Sayonara said:


> I met a guy at Ponchos Pond in Ludington this week that used this to support the awning from wind. I set mine up the same way. I do not use much force on the straps, just one click past being loose. I also noticed a vacant seasonal with their awning out with this setup and nobody was around all week. We had REALLY high winds a couple of days. I took mine down but his was just fine. Im not convinced it is the best thing for the awning under extreme conditions but a little piece of mind I suppose. Ill be taking mine down on the bad days.
> 
> What do you think??


I've used similar setups, with the deflappers. Has worked well for us.


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## HootBob

Never used the tie downs
But do use the deplappers with our add-a-room
Might think about getting some of the screw in stakes as a back up
Just never know

Don


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## Sayonara

I dont have any of the deflappers. May need to add them to the list...


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## Northern Wind

I use the tie downs and deflappers and have never had any problems, I used to worry about the awing in the wind and would get up in the middle of the night and end up closing the awing in the wind. With the straps it works great and I like the spring idea, time to add to the shopping list! you know the never ending mod and shopping list, the one we all have!

Steve


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## BoaterDan

I bought the tie-down kit at a camping store or Wal-Mart, and it came with springs. I always have the awning in "carport mode" with deflappers when I use them, with the bottom of the supports anchored to the ground.

Last year we had our awning out when a storm came up VERY quickly. One minute it was calm, and literally the next minute there was nasty strong wind. Looking around the campground, there was no shortage of ripped awnings, bent supports, etc. Ours endured the winds like it was a lovely calm day.

I still put my awning down when I know it's going to get nasty, but I also know these things help greatly in keeping everything very stable in the wind.


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## Zymurgist

Sayonara said:


> These are the twist-in dog stakes. I like the spring idea. Ill get a couple of those. Any clues on where to buy the springs?


Home Depot or Lowes should have springs available in the hardware area.

Carl


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## Nathan

I use tiedowns like those under limited conditions. When there is no wind, I leave them off so I don't trip over them, and when the wind is high, of course I just roll it up. For breezes with light gusts, I like the stability they add.


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## Scoutr2

I use awning tie-downs and the screw-in type of stakes and the small deflappers. But my tie-downs are just nylon braided ropes, with a "taut line hitch" tied at the stake end and a bowline knot for looping the rope back around itself on the awning end (old Boy Scouts and sailors will know the knots).

I attach the tie-downs to both ends of the awning but only stake down the front end when setting up. I wrap the back end tie-down rope around the awning arm and don't put it out unless the conditions get really windy. That keeps our dog (Arthur) from wrapping his lead around the awning tie-down. We like to make sure that he can lie down in the shade of the awning without him getting tangled up.

I check the weather forecast daily, and if the weather man is calling for heavy weather overnight or in the morning, we roll the awning up. No sense taking chances. During the day we can tend to it, but I don't want to wake up to disaster. And if we are just overnighting somewhere, we don't even put the awning out (and usually don't even unhitch). We towed all the way from Orlando to central Illinois this past summer, staying overnight in Troy, AL and Clarksville, TN, and we never unhitched or put out the awning.

Mike


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## Sayonara

Carport or standard setup....What are the benifits other than the obvious having the supports out of the way?


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## Scoutr2

Sayonara said:


> Carport or standard setup....What are the benifits other than the obvious having the supports out of the way?


Other than our dog getting his tie line wrapped around a post in the "carport" type of setup (support arms straight up and down and staked into the ground), I guess it is personal preference. In the standard setup, the dog can't wrap himself up on the support arm, but there's two more places to hit your head (on the diagonal arms). (I saw a TT on vacation with the awning set up in standard fashion - and they had a sign hanging from the support arm that said, "Hit Head Here." I gotta make one of those!)

I have read where some people have a problem with a door opening into and interfering with an awning support arm if it is set up in the "standard" fashion (support arms diagonally affixed to the bottom of the TT). But that's not a problem for us.

Mike


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## Nathan

I've never done the carport for 2 reasons: 1. it requres 4 extra stakes which I haven't gotten around to buying








2. More importantly, I always retract the awning when I leave camp. If I had it in carport mode, I might be tempted to leave it up....


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## BoaterDan

You don't have to stake down the poles when in carport mode. I only do when I'm expecting considerable winds (that aren't strong enough to put the awning away altogether). The difference in putting the awning away is just the time to lift the poles and reattach to the trailer - 5 seconds each end.

On the 31RQS you can't open the door fully (and therefore latch it open) when the awning is down because the supports are in the way.

And I know it's all psychological, but the area under the awning just seems bigger when in carport mode.


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## mswalt

> You don't have to stake down the poles when in carport mode.


Dan, you don't find that the awning arms move too easily? What about kids running into them? Will they move quite easily or does it take quite a jolt to get them to move?

I like the arms down in carport mode but have never done so to just let them sit on the ground. Would do so if it is sturdy enough.

Mark


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## FLYakman

Scoutr2 said:


> I use awning tie-downs and the screw-in type of stakes and the small deflappers. But my tie-downs are just nylon braided ropes, with a "taut line hitch" tied at the stake end and a bowline knot for looping the rope back around itself on the awning end (old Boy Scouts and sailors will know the knots).
> 
> I attach the tie-downs to both ends of the awning but only stake down the front end when setting up. I wrap the back end tie-down rope around the awning arm and don't put it out unless the conditions get really windy. That keeps our dog (Arthur) from wrapping his lead around the awning tie-down. We like to make sure that he can lie down in the shade of the awning without him getting tangled up.
> 
> I check the weather forecast daily, and if the weather man is calling for heavy weather overnight or in the morning, we roll the awning up. No sense taking chances. During the day we can tend to it, but I don't want to wake up to disaster. And if we are just overnighting somewhere, we don't even put the awning out (and usually don't even unhitch). We towed all the way from Orlando to central Illinois this past summer, staying overnight in Troy, AL and Clarksville, TN, and we never unhitched or put out the awning.
> 
> Mike


I'll second exactly what Mike said!!!!!

Rayman


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## BoaterDan

mswalt said:


> You don't have to stake down the poles when in carport mode.
> 
> 
> 
> Dan, you don't find that the awning arms move too easily? What about kids running into them? Will they move quite easily or does it take quite a jolt to get them to move?
> 
> I like the arms down in carport mode but have never done so to just let them sit on the ground. Would do so if it is sturdy enough.
> 
> Mark
Click to expand...

I've never had the slightest problem. And I always have at least four kids running around.









They _are_ supporting the awning, so there's probably a good 30 (??) pounds on each one.

I go in carport mode 90% of the time, and only stake the poles and put up the tie-downs about 25% of the time.


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## wolfwood

BoaterDan said:


> You don't have to stake down the poles when in carport mode.
> 
> 
> 
> Dan, you don't find that the awning arms move too easily? What about kids running into them? Will they move quite easily or does it take quite a jolt to get them to move?
> 
> I like the arms down in carport mode but have never done so to just let them sit on the ground. Would do so if it is sturdy enough.
> 
> Mark
Click to expand...

I've never had the slightest problem. And I always have at least four kids running around.









They _are_ supporting the awning, so there's probably a good 30 (??) pounds on each one.

I go in carport mode 90% of the time, and only stake the poles and put up the tie-downs about 25% of the time.[/quote]
We prefer the "carport" method too, haven't ever staked the arms, and do use the larger deflappers but don't have tie downs (we may soon tho', after reading this thread







) If there's big wind expected we certainly roll the awning up, but if we're leaving the site and there's no expectation of wind, we'll lift the legs and, instead of reattaching them to the TT, slide them under the TT and lay them on the ground. This drops the awning down over the face of the TT - both "closing up" the TT and protecting the face of the TT and the awning from wind that might come up (the weight of the arms work as anchors even in the position and its unlikely they could be pulled out from under by other than hurricane-force wind...far more likely that - if the wind was big enough, the arms might get bent but even that's unlikely.


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## kjdj

I'll add the Screw anchors don't work at the beach.
I carry 2 5 Gallon paint buckets and fill them with sand.


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## Sayonara

kjdj said:


> I'll add the Screw anchors don't work at the beach.
> I carry 2 5 Gallon paint buckets and fill them with sand.


Cant imagine they work much better in a bucket of sand either.......


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## Eagleeyes

Sayonara said:


> I'll add the Screw anchors don't work at the beach.
> I carry 2 5 Gallon paint buckets and fill them with sand.


Cant imagine they work much better in a bucket of sand either.......















[/quote]

The beach IS a big bucket of sand, isn't it?

Bob


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## kjdj

YUCK,YUCK,YUCK









If you need more weight as none of us do







you can also add water to the sand.

I haven't broke a bucket handle yet.


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## MaeJae

HootBob said:


> Never used the tie downs
> But do use the deflappers with our add-a-room
> Might think about getting some of the screw in stakes as a back up
> *Just never know*
> 
> Don


This may be a good reason to buy a pair...
You may have a neighbor sometime that
might just need a pair of 
screw-down stakes.







And here
comes HootBob who just so happens
to have some in his bag of tricks storage compartment!









MaeJae


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## brenda

We always tie down our awning. At the luray Va outback rally there was a crazy storm that brewed up and we almost lost our awning, I am still n ot sure how we didnt as it came out of the ground and across the top of our trailer and then back onto the ground again, but 11 others lost theirs that night. We were camping 2 weekends ago in OC md and there was a really gursty night there where 13 people lost there awnings. We had ours tied down and it was fine but then dh got worried and decided to put it in. We too always use the carport setup, or one side at least..


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## mobile_cottager

Sayonara said:


> Carport or standard setup....What are the benifits other than the obvious having the supports out of the way?


With the 32bhds, you cannot use the "factory" door clip to keep the door open with the awning out, on less it is in the carport position. Unless you want to tie it back.


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## Sayonara

mobile_cottager said:


> Carport or standard setup....What are the benifits other than the obvious having the supports out of the way?


With the 32bhds, you cannot use the "factory" door clip to keep the door open with the awning out, on less it is in the carport position. Unless you want to tie it back.
[/quote]
Not quite sure what you mean here. On my 32BHDS I have had my awning out in both positions and never had a problem using he factory door clip.


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## Rip

I think he means on the 31RQS!!!!


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## Sayonara

oh ok, i should have known, nothing works right on those 31RQS's......







(kidding)


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## Cologne3

I do the same thing, but included a 4 inch spring at the ground end. This gives it a bit more flexiblity. I use the tie downs to let me sleep better at night not worrying about the awning. I lost one in a previous camper and vowed to not loose one again. I do roll it up when the weather does get bad too.


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## Chasn'Racin

I'm glad I'm not the only paranoid one out there. I lay there at night with it flapping (sounding much worse inside than it actually is) thinking:

"Should I?"








"Naw, it will be..."








"THAT was a good one"








"It seems to be calming..."








"Aw, crap, there it goes again"









About then, the wife get's up, yanks the covers off and says "Let's go put it up...I gotta get some sleep!"








Ken


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## webeopelas

Chasn said:


> I'm glad I'm not the only paranoid one out there. I lay there at night with it flapping (sounding much worse inside than it actually is) thinking:
> 
> "Should I?"
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> "Naw, it will be..."
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> "THAT was a good one"
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> "It seems to be calming..."
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> "Aw, crap, there it goes again"
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> About then, the wife get's up, yanks the covers off and says "Let's go put it up...I gotta get some sleep!"
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Ken


Boy doesn't that sound familiar, and I have tie downs on it too!!


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## Sayonara

I never worry about it......ok maybe a little. OK ive actually thought about putting it up every night and when we leave the CG.


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## hpapa4

I anchor mine down, but if a wind or storm is predicted I still roll up the awning. Hey, it does not take that long to set it back up after the wind has gone.


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## Thor

hpapa4 said:


> I anchor mine down, but if a wind or storm is predicted I still roll up the awning. Hey, it does not take that long to set it back up after the wind has gone.


I do the same - unfortunately that does not help against trees that jump out in front and squish your awning

Thor


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## OBcanOB

What a great thread! Love all the great advise. Went out today to the local doggie store and bought two of the screw in thingies... already have a pair of staps. I'm going to feel much safer now. Plus, I'm going to try out the carport method, like the idea of not having the angle pieces hanging out. Thanks everyone!


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## Sayonara

I tried the carport method last trip and thought it worked well. there was no wind at the time so i did not use the straps but i like it!!


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## wildeyedandbuckwild

The only problem that I could for see is that where the ratchets straps hooks are attached. At that point there would be lot of stress on the contact point and under high wind could passably double or triple the amount of stress on that point and it could passably break. What I would do differently is; some of my friends ride and when they travel with the bike in a truck they use these nylon straps the around the chrome and paint as attachment points for the ratchets straps to hook to. instead of spending the money for the pricey strips you could use a piece of rope with the ends tied with a Square knot, or if you now of a outdoors store that sold repelling rope they will carry nylon webbing which will do the same thing with a little sew and a little heat. And just wrap it around and pull through it self and now, all the stress is spread out over a larger surface instead of a small contact point


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## 3LEES

We use the "carport" method. We have an Add-A-Room and use the posts to establish the corners of the room. We then used racheting straps anchored to screw-in tiedowns or anchored to a nearby tree base.

It served us well at Topsail last year. We had a wicked storm blow in one day while our awning was deployed. Our awning held up very well, while another member of the rally lost their awning.

Our problem that day was water collection. We had the awning on a small angle, but it was raining so hard it couldn't shed fast enough. I spent 45 minutes in the screen room sweeping the water off the awning from the underside of the awning. Fortunately we did not have any damage.

Dan


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## Sayonara

2 good points. 1 being distribute the pressure and the other is use the carport mode. we did that once late last year and it worked well.


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## fourwalls

We use the ratchet straps also. We lay the flat of the strap over the tube and hook the strap through the hook that way it is a wider span on the tube and not on the smaller fastening bolt. then we fasten down with the springs and dog ties. It has worked up to this point. The test is when the camper starts to rock with the wind we put in the awning. I do not like the Mary Poppins syndrome of flying with awning at 2 a.m. that is just not cool.


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## wolfwood

I got Kathy a set of tie downs - complete with spiral "dog ties', extended web straps and springs for Christmas this year!! We'll be testing them out ALL summer







but have every intention of taking the awning in if wind is expected and when we leave the TT. It only takes few minutes and is LOTS easier than replacing an awning!!!


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## Sayonara

thats for sure! having the awning blow away, or at least try to is one problem ill try to avoid.....if possible.


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## jozway

My awning is electric anyone have experience with this? My old 5er had a manual awning and i tied it done everytime.


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## BoaterDan

jozway said:


> My awning is electric anyone have experience with this? My old 5er had a manual awning and i tied it done everytime.


Was talking to a potential outbacker at the rv show. He was looking at the le and wondered about this very thing. To me the electric awning is a little over-the-top gimicky in the first place, but the inability to leave it up but sloped way down, tie it down, etc. etc. makes me think of it as a negative not a bonus.


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## raynardo

We normally don't get too much rain here in Southern California, but a week after last Thanksgiving I was camping at Cardiff State Beach. I had the awning out with the deflappers, when two inches of rain fell during the night. When I awoke the next morning, I discovered that those great deflappers held up the edges of the awning turning the entire thing into a fifty gallon water container! I decided to attempt to lower one side of the awning to get the water to drain off of it, but that put too much torque on the other side, which caused it to buckle and bend 75°. It was a hassle removing the damaged part and then lashing down the awning for the short trip home - thank heaven for zip ties! Camping World got me a replacement strut which fixed the awning again. An expensive lesson learned in awnings, deflappers, and rain.


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## Lady Di

We use the deflappers, but also try to keep a good tilt on the awning so any water has no choice but to run off.

When we had our popup we didn't know enough to have a good tilt on the awning, and it split under the weight of collected water.

We now likely go to a more extreme tilt, but don't want to have to buy another new awning.


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## wolfwood

raynardo said:


> We normally don't get too much rain here in Southern California, but a week after last Thanksgiving I was camping at Cardiff State Beach. I had the awning out with the deflappers, when two inches of rain fell during the night. When I awoke the next morning, I discovered that those great deflappers held up the edges of the awning turning the entire thing into a fifty gallon water container! I decided to attempt to lower one side of the awning to get the water to drain off of it, but that put too much torque on the other side, which caused it to buckle and bend 75°. It was a hassle removing the damaged part and then lashing down the awning for the short trip home - thank heaven for zip ties! Camping World got me a replacement strut which fixed the awning again. An expensive lesson learned in awnings, deflappers, and rain.


raynardo - we also use the deflappers and rain is a pretty regular thing up here. Your deflappers likely gave the fabric a little extra support, spreading the water out a bit and keeping the fabric from splitting and/or the poles/bars from bending on all sides in the night. (The Deflappers are needed in the 1st place because there is so much slack in the fabric...without them, your pool would have been deeper and the water more concentrated in one place...

Like Lady Di, we hadn't added enough angle the 1st time we had rain and left the awning up...so had a bit of a pool. That was solved by pushing up on the bulge (from underneath) and gradually forcing the water to run out. Once enough was drained, we were then able to drop the corner a bit more and get it ALL to run off. _IF_ we leave the awning up now during rain, we add leave it at enough of an angle that there is NO question it will run off!


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## BoaterDan

And there's no way to angle the electric one, right? So, it HAS to come down for rain. Besides shade, that is one of the two big reasons we use ours. You can fit a lot of chairs and junk under a 20' awning, and unless it's REALLY blowing it stays pretty dry.


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## wolfwood

BoaterDan said:


> And there's no way to angle the electric one, right? So, it HAS to come down for rain. Besides shade, that is one of the two big reasons we use ours. You can fit a lot of chairs and junk under a 20' awning, and unless it's REALLY blowing it stays pretty dry.


Yep! We also add a shade cloth to extend the width. And because its a somewhat rubberized fabric, it also sheds rain. Gotta love anything that's dual-purpose!!!

btw - along with the chairs, etc. under the awning in a rain storm....don't forget to add a kennel area and 2 dogs. Wet long-haired dogs closed in a TT on a damp day can get rough...especially if there's heat, too...so we just move their fenced yard under the awning in the rain...


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## john7349

OK, I just gotta ask..... What exactly is a Deflapper???







Sounds like I need one.


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## wolfwood

john7349 said:


> OK, I just gotta ask..... What exactly is a Deflapper???
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Sounds like I need one.


Hi there.

Actuslly, you need at least 2.

De-flappers are heavy-duty clippy things that hold the Awning tight to the side rail - - - in light wind, we use one on each side. In heavy wind (unless we actually take the awning down), we use 2 on each side. They keep the awning from flapping in the wind. Particularly appreciated at night when you're lying in bed and NOT kept awake by the droning flap, flap, flap, flap, flap...you get the idea.

Here's a link to Camping World but they are available from lots of places and in a couple different sizes.De-Flapper linky thing


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## egregg57

Just my .02....

DW and I awoke at 12 am to the sound of our awning crashing down on our roof. I almost always use the tie downs. This time I didn't. A gust picked it up, ripped the front mount from the roof edge and threw the whole thing over the top.

In case anyone was wondering....the awning IS heavy! An awning strap is a worth while expense.

Eric


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## john7349

wolfwood said:


> OK, I just gotta ask..... What exactly is a Deflapper???
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Sounds like I need one.


Hi there.

Actuslly, you need at least 2.

De-flappers are heavy-duty clippy things that hold the Awning tight to the side rail - - - in light wind, we use one on each side. In heavy wind (unless we actually take the awning down), we use 2 on each side. They keep the awning from flapping in the wind. Particularly appreciated at night when you're lying in bed and NOT kept awake by the droning flap, flap, flap, flap, flap...you get the idea.

Here's a link to Camping World but they are available from lots of places and in a couple different sizes.De-Flapper linky thing
[/quote]

THANKS Wolfwood!

I knew there was a simple answer somewhere.... I live about 2 miles from a Camping World store. I'll be visiting them soon!


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## raynardo

wolfwood said:


> Like Lady Di, we hadn't added enough angle the 1st time we had rain and left the awning up...so had a bit of a pool. That was solved by pushing up on the bulge (from underneath) and gradually forcing the water to run out. Once enough was drained, we were then able to drop the corner a bit more and get it ALL to run off. _IF_ we leave the awning up now during rain, we add leave it at enough of an angle that there is NO question it will run off!


Oh yeah, now you tell me!









Actually I knew that, but I didn't think it would rain 2". That was the most rain we've had down here in one night in five years or so.









And I knew it would have been better to push the awning bulge from the bottom to empty the rain, but I was trying to be smart, since the ground was completely soaked and turned into a bad mud gumbo, so was trying to avoid standing in it as much as possible (I didn't have my galoshes -- does anyone in SoCal still have them?).


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## wolfwood

raynardo said:


> .... since the ground was completely soaked and turned into a bad mud gumbo, so was trying to avoid standing in it as much as possible (I didn't have my galoshes -- does anyone in SoCal still have them?).


Yeah - it does that here too...just not as thick and pudding-ish! Of course, either way, when there's that much water, the ground is usually saturated so anything dumped from the awning isn't likely to be absorbed. And certainly not as fast as it will be dumped out. It's usually at that point that we just take our shoes off and roll up the pants legs. Easier to hose of feet and put DRY shoes on later! We also keep 'flip-flops' readily available for lots of reasons at the campsite (I HATE SHOES)...


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## Bama Eye Guy

This may be the "rule follower" coming out in me but I've noticed at several of the state parks (on-line) that they say no stakes in the ground due to underground utilities. I think Topsail was one of those. Does that include these awning tie outs too?

We are still new at all of this and I was just wondering how picky they are about that. We just purchased a dog stake-out to keep our pup from running off but haven't used it yet.

Thanks!


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## Irishcampers

I have not thought much about this with our trailers, except to take the awning down if it looks like it will be really windy. We were camping this weekend on Chincoteague Island in VA near the sound. One day we came home and discovered our awning was folded up courtesy of a passerby. Two days later, a storm blew in quickly and I saw the awning starting to billow and bounce. DW and I ran out to secure it. Apparently, it was good that we did as the motorhome two sites down ended the storm with a broken awning (cracked/bent in middle with bent support arms).

Are the tie downs or the deflappers more important? Or do they need to be used in tandem to protect yourself as much as possible?

My guess is that it's both based on some of the comments on this thread, but was wondering what others thought.


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## vtxbud

I have the electric awning (not by choice...I prefer the manual).
I do use tie downs but only as a safety precaution, I always put the awning in if I am not with the unit despite the tie downs.

The tie downs are great if there is just a light breeze happening.


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## brownsr4

X2 on the electric awning and I am very happy with it.

Anytime it starts flapping it gives my DS a reason to hit the switch and roll it up, he just loves that.

Two weeks ago in the keys a storm rolled in about 2 am, the awning starting flapping, wakeing me up instantly.

Without even opening the door I hit the switch and in 20 seconds it was rolled up and I was back in bed.

This is my first RV so not sure how the manual one works. I always have tie downs and stakes for the dog in case.


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## matty1

Looks exactly like my setup, if anything it gives a little more time in a surprise storm to get the awning in. I use the screw in "dog" stakes and springs...like others have said, save a bunch of money and get them at the pet store or and the springs at home depot, dirt cheap. I saw the kit for like $20 at camping world, ouch.

We like to put our picnic table under the awning and putting the supports in carport mode saves people hitting their heads at the table when getting up.


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## BoaterDan

I've told the story before, probably in this thread...

We were camping with the awning out in carport position, stakes in the bottom of the poles and tie downs and deflappers engaged.

A storm front hit and before there was time to react we were in 30-40 mph winds. People were scrambling to get their awnings in, and we watch no less than 3 of them destroyed one way or another. I debated and debated with myself about what to do. I finally decided to put it in, but almost lost it in the process.

In hindsight I think the better decision would have been to leave it alone. It was handling the wind just fine, and I almost lost it trying to put it away. I wouldn't want to leave it up all night in those kinds of winds, but I can speak from experience it handled strong winds with no problem.

From the destruction I've seen, one way or another it's caused by the awning going wild and flailing crazy in the wind, which eventually causes it to rip away from the trailer in some fashion. Prevent the flailing - prevent the destruction.

That's my two cents worth.


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## raynardo

BoaterDan said:


> Prevent the flailing - prevent the destruction.


I couldn't have said it better myself.


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## Sayonara

BoaterDan said:


> I've told the story before, probably in this thread...
> 
> We were camping with the awning out in carport position, stakes in the bottom of the poles and tie downs and deflappers engaged.
> 
> A storm front hit and before there was time to react we were in 30-40 mph winds. People were scrambling to get their awnings in, and we watch no less than 3 of them destroyed one way or another. I debated and debated with myself about what to do. I finally decided to put it in, but almost lost it in the process.
> 
> In hindsight I think the better decision would have been to leave it alone. It was handling the wind just fine, and I almost lost it trying to put it away. I wouldn't want to leave it up all night in those kinds of winds, but I can speak from experience it handled strong winds with no problem.
> 
> From the destruction I've seen, one way or another it's caused by the awning going wild and flailing crazy in the wind, which eventually causes it to rip away from the trailer in some fashion. Prevent the flailing - prevent the destruction.
> 
> That's my two cents worth.


Thats a good story! We frequent an RV park in Ludington, MI often and many of the seasonal sites there leave their awnings in carport mode with deflappers and staked for the season and dont have problems. They do lower the angle a bit more when gone to allow the water to drain faster. I always had good luck with this setup and found the deflappers really helped!

Now I dont have the options of carport or deflappers and wish I did. Its either out or in and if the wind picks up the wind sensor pulls the awning in automatically. I can shut the sensor off and stake it but I cant stop the flailing which will eventually cause the destruction. So for now I let it do its thing.


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