# He Bent The Awning Right In The Middle



## battalionchief3 (Jun 27, 2006)

my neighbor didnt roll in the awning on his TT and i guess the rain took it out. It bent it right in the middle and slammed to the side of the camper. I have heard rain and wind can destroy a awning and now i see how. It's the same dometic awning i have and i thought the awning itself would rip first but it bent that aluminium bar right in half, lesson learned at my neighbors expence. He says its a piece of junk and its brand new. It had and still had a water leak at the front window, the antenna was leaking and the window on the side split and fell apart on the first time out. It looks like it wasent welded properly. The bathroom is real small too. He wants a bigger one, like a cougar by keystone but he is really gonna take a hit on the trade in.....live and learn i guess.


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## tdvffjohn (Mar 10, 2005)

When the rain starts pooling in a awning not leaned enough, it is amazing how heavy water is. I saw 2 awnings where we were with the same damage.

John


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## Justman (Jul 22, 2006)

I have a neighbor with a Class A that has an automatic awning. It dips one side automatically when it senses the weight to let the water run off. After the water runs off, it returns to normal. It also retracts itself when the wind speed gets up pretty high. Pretty cool, but I'm sure it would be an expensive addition to an Outback...

Of course, it may pay for itself in the long run!


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## Lady Di (Oct 28, 2005)

We usually have it really leaning. We figure rather too much than not enough


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## Castle Rock Outbackers (Jan 18, 2004)

Lady Di said:


> We usually have it really leaning. We figure rather too much than not enough


To mere mortals, it probably appears to them that you don't know how to "level" your awning. 90% of the campers I see have them perfectly straight.

We keep ours pretty straight as well, until we head out and it looks like heavy rain is possible.

Randy


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## campmg (Dec 24, 2005)

We lean ours too to help the water run off. The awning will rub against the top of the rear door on the 25RSS so try to lower the front.

This changes if the wind is blowing in that direction. We try to lower the end which the wind is coming from otherwise it catches it like a parachute. If it's too windy the awning gets rolled up.

A fun game to play when it rains is to hand someone a couple of drinks to hold and have them stand at one end of the awning while you raise the other side.


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## battalionchief3 (Jun 27, 2006)

I watch the weather and if im leaving and their is a chance of wind and rain i close it. only takes a minute and does not cost me a dime but time....


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## Devildog (Sep 8, 2005)

It is also unfortunately a costly mistake, those awnings are not cheap!


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## NDJollyMon (Aug 22, 2003)

Another RV LESSON learned at the insurance companies expense.
I guess that guy doesn't listen to my advice about awning use. (that's ok...many don't)


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## Oregon_Camper (Sep 13, 2004)

No matter what, I will always tip the awning a bit. First sight of storng wind....I take it down.


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## hurricaneplumber (Apr 12, 2004)

this is what it looks like on a Outback, or a friend of mine's Outback

by the way the large roller tube was snapped in half


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## tdvffjohn (Mar 10, 2005)

Thats painfull to look at when its not even yours


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## GoVols (Oct 7, 2005)

This discussion reminds me of a glaring design flaw in the Outback: not enough clearance above the door to pitch the awning. The roofline is so close to the top of the door that the awning has to be dang near level in order not to scrape it with the door. That renders the awning much less useful when you need it the most -- in the rain!


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## campmg (Dec 24, 2005)

That Outback awning is tough to look at. That's too bad.

At least the RV Mat held up well.


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## PDX_Doug (Nov 16, 2004)

OUCH!









Hey battalionchief3, sounds like your neighbor needs a shiny new Outback!









Happy Trails,
Doug


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## tdvffjohn (Mar 10, 2005)

GoVols said:


> This discussion reminds me of a glaring design flaw in the Outback: not enough clearance above the door to pitch the awning. The roofline is so close to the top of the door that the awning has to be dang near level in order not to scrape it with the door. That renders the awning much less useful when you need it the most -- in the rain!


The only way to do anything would be to raise the roof or lower the floor. Its as high as it can go. Most TT are the same way. Could make it a 5 ft door or bring back the square cornered door


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## HootBob (Apr 26, 2004)

Sorry to hear about you neighbor battalionchief3

I remember my first rally I had a guy right next to me who left his awning straight out and the next morning
I took mt fresh water hose and drained a lot of the water out of it just so we was able to get out the door
He bent his tube about 2 foot

Don


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## battalionchief3 (Jun 27, 2006)

you gotta know my neighbor, he had a tahoe and pulled his 30' camper but he could not hold 70mph up hill so he bought a F250 with a diesel. He keeps it plugged into a 20amp plug and runs his A/C. I told him the low voltage could hurt the compressor but he does not listen. He ALWAYS leaves with his step down, suprised he has not ripped it off yet. He built a 3 car garage for no reason and i asked him why he didnt make it long enough for his camper because its tall enough? He would have had to make it only 2 bays insted of 3 due to the amount of land he had ( county rules ). I think i would rather put my camper INSIDE all winter long and have 1 extra bay insted of leaving it outside in the weather if i didnt have too. Great guy, not too bright.


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## HootBob (Apr 26, 2004)

Boy if I had the chance to put up a garage it would be for the outback









Don


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## Chestnut (Aug 21, 2006)

I had my awning up in a rainstorm a couple of weeks ago â€" it rained a lot harder than I thought it was going to. The kids and I were sitting under the awning and I noticed it was starting to sag a bit in the middle. I was beginning to think, â€œuh ohâ€, when the lower side of the awning (I didnâ€™t have it level but I guess it wasnâ€™t angled enough) slid down a hole and all the water poured off. The kids got splashed, but they thought that was great fun.









Jessica


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## Mike2 (Jul 14, 2006)

I both lean mine a little and tie it down to a tree or the legs of one of those heavy camping metal tables. I usually don't worry about the rain as much as I do about the wind. I had too many close calls when I had to run over to an awning ready for takeoff.

Mike


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## Doxie-Doglover (Apr 19, 2006)

I believe our 3rd awning arm is definently helping. We may never find out in any situation like this one, but the fact that there is a 3rd arm holding up our awning gives me piece of mind.


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## NDJollyMon (Aug 22, 2003)

I roll mine up when it starts raining. Gives me a good excuse to hang out INSIDE my OUTBACK.


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## johnee31 (Oct 20, 2006)

BROKE MY ROLLER TUBE MY FIRST TIME OUT,'06 28RSDS. (NEWBIE MISTAKE)
DOES ANYONE KNOW HOW HARD IT WOULD BE TO REPLACE THE TUBE MYSELF?
NO RIP S IN THE AWNING ONLY ONE BROKEN BRACKET AND TUBE.


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## CamperAndy (Aug 26, 2004)

JOHNEE31 said:


> BROKE MY ROLLER TUBE MY FIRST TIME OUT,'06 28RSDS. (NEWBIE MISTAKE)
> DOES ANYONE KNOW HOW HARD IT WOULD BE TO REPLACE THE TUBE MYSELF?
> NO RIP S IN THE AWNING ONLY ONE BROKEN BRACKET AND TUBE.


Johnee - Welcome to Outbackers. To get a better reply to your problem it would be best to post it as a new topic and as a courtesy please turn off the cap locks as in forums like this on the web it is considered shouting.

The awning replacement is a 2 man job and can be done by anyone that is hand and careful. The spring in the tube is VERY strong and if released at the wrong time and with your fingers in the wrong place you could end up missing some.


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## campntn (Feb 20, 2005)

I roll mine out and when tightening the support arms I take my other arm and pull it pretty tight before I screw it down. That and putting the deflappers on as it goes up keeps it pretty straight and tight. I always keep it angled some. If there is even remote chance for wind or we're staying a few days, I put the awning straps/stake down.
Even a chance of storms and it doesn't go out. I saw a man's get flipped up over his unit and broke his a/c so he was really hit hard by a sudden gust.

Depending on how everything is oriented, lately I've been removing the bottom part of the arm from the camper and staking it to the ground or secure to a picnic table.. sure makes it easier to walk in and out.


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## castalos (Oct 22, 2006)

Living in windy Colorado, we don't leave ours up anymore, even if we're still in the campground (but not at our unit).

This summer, we were in Casper, WY (even windier than CO) and DH went to Walmart while I took the kids to the pool. The weather was great, sunny, no wind. In about 5 minutes the wind picked up to gale forces. I had to pull 2 non-swimmers out of the pool and tell them to SIT THERE while I RAN to take the awning down. Fortunately the RV park people were riding around on their golf cart & came to help me. There was no way I would have been able to get it down by myself in the wind.

-Coleen


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## Devildog (Sep 8, 2005)

Costly mistake I hope I never make!


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## outtatown (Feb 15, 2005)

This summer, a big rain came up unexpectedly in the middle of the night...by the time it was raining hard enough for me to hear it, I looked out and saw the awning heavy heavy with water. I was able to (barely) get out of the camper to go over (in the middle of the rain, thunder, wind, lightning etc...hey, it's Missouri) and lower one side. Let me tell you...the water was so heavy and I was not prepared for the weight of the water to come my way....almost dislocated my shoulder due to the rush of hundreds of lbs. of water. Be careful. Had I known how heavy it was and the potential danger to body and limb, I would have awakened DH and made him do it.


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