skipnchar
Topeka or somewhere else
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Joined: 12/17/2003
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Not sure where you live but in the midwest it's just not a good idea to EVER leave the awning deployed when you're not there. Winds can come up with almost no notice and thunderstormes can destroy ANY awning quite easily.
2011 F-150 HD Ecoboost 3.5 V6. 2550 payload, 17,100 GCVWR -
2004 F-150 HD (Traded after 80,000 towing miles)
2007 Rockwood 8314SS 34' travel trailer
US Govt survey shows three out of four people make up 75% of the total population
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JayWalker2009
I'm not really a
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Joined: 08/11/2009
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JJBIRISH wrote:There may not be a failsafe way to use the awning, but use it I do…
With the awning deployed tight enough and with enough tilt will not pool water… it only takes a little pooling to cause big pooling…
Good staking and tying can reduce most risk but there are differing ideas on how to do that… unexpected wind and falling branches can destroy them for sure, I have even seen they damaged while rolled up even… nature happens everywhere… but very few that are properly deployed and tied get damaged although generally most would argue theirs was when they lost it… if your in the roll up camp that great but rolling it up after its windy can itself be dangerous and not a good option…
The awning material they use today is good for maybe 5 to 8 years before it delaminates and I have seen brand new ones already beginning to delaminate… careful use and rolling up for sever weather will work for most and insurance is designed for peril and our mistakes… your insurance just extended the life of your 09 awning for you…
Someone said learning is a part of the fun… I don’t know…
Ditto.
In most rainstorms they do just fine if tilted properly and tied appropriately.
Obviously there can always be ANY storm that was so great that damage will likely occur somewhere on the unit whether awning is rolled up or not. That is mother nature, and it happens. I've taken my chances many years and will continue to do so, and if the unfortunate circumstance ever does happen I will just have to pony up and get a new one.
I enjoy mine far too much to roll it up everytime I leave. It is probably one of the most useful and enjoyable features on my TT.
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Rhoda C
Illinois
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Joined: 07/18/2012
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My husband and are Newbies, we took our Prowler out on its maiden voyage last weekend, and i heard about all these awning mishaps,these posts really help. Thanks.
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naturist
Lynchburg, VA
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Joined: 04/24/2008
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I am going to soon have to replace mine. All of it, fabric, tube, arms, the works. No, no water pooling, no wind storm, see there was this tree that leaned waaaaaaay over, and I rounded a corner, and couldn't see the top of the trailer. I stayed far away from that tree, just not far enough . . . .
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rockhillmanor
On the Road
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Joined: 12/06/2003
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skipnchar wrote:Not sure where you live but in the midwest it's just not a good idea to EVER leave the awning deployed when you're not there. Winds can come up with almost no notice and thunderstormes can destroy ANY awning quite easily.
You got that right and there is a fine line of a learning curve on those sudden storms....do you take it down or leave it up, do you have the 'time' to get the arms released AND awning rolled up before it hits?
At a CG I was in a tornado warning went out. I was out that door in a heartbeat to get the awning in. Well, the winds hit and I'm here to tell you 'once you release those arms' and the wind hits, you've lost control of the awning and it's new awning time period. That decision to roll it up cost me $800.00. 
I watched my camping neighbor trying to lower his too before the winds hit and the sudden gust of wind grabbed his awning and kept slamming it against the wall and roof of his TT until a guy with a buck knife ran over and sliced it in half to stop it to save his TT. Not only was every single part of the awning totaled so was most of his TT. 
Since then if I don't think I have enough time to get the arms down AND be in the process of rolling it up I leave it.
"We must be willing to get rid of the life we've planned,
so as to have the life that is waiting for us".
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jerem0621
Sequatchie, TN
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Joined: 05/17/2009
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The lesson I learned was
Put your awning up if
1) You are going to bed
2) You leave camp for any period of time
Thanks!
Jeremiah
TT: 1995 Layton 2910
Tow Vehicle: 1999 F-350, v10, 2wd, Crew Cab, Dually
Hitch: Draw-Tite Trunnion WD Hitch
Sway Control: Valley dual friction sway control
Brake Control: Tekonsha Voyager
"It's Kind of Fun To Do The Impossible"
~Walt Disney~
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emersm
Ohio
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Joined: 02/05/2010
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ch-ta wrote:Artum Snowbird wrote:Looked at a fifth with an electric awning. Am I wrong in thinking that they cannot be lowered to a low angle?
The electric awnings are adjustable, but not any where near the angle you can get with a manuanl. If you have electric though, it is so easy to push a button for in / out, why would you leave it out unattended?
I think people leave it unattended because of all of the "stuff" they have set up underneath. They hope for the best.
Emersm
2010 Toyota Sequoia Platinum
2011 Rockwood 2701SS
2012 Volkswagen Sportwagen TDI
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WandaLust2
TN
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Joined: 11/14/2008
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ch-ta wrote:
The electric awnings are adjustable, but not any where near the angle you can get with a manuanl. If you have electric though, it is so easy to push a button for in / out, why would you leave it out unattended?
Not all electric awning are adjustable. The one on my TT is not adjustable. I wish it were a manual awning.
WandaLust. Retired. Middle TN
Heartland 2011 NorthTrail 28BRS
1993 Ford Dutchman Class-C
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Mark and Linda
Smyrna, Tennessee
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skipnchar wrote:Not sure where you live but in the midwest it's just not a good idea to EVER leave the awning deployed when you're not there. Winds can come up with almost no notice and thunderstormes can destroy ANY awning quite easily.
I live in Middle Tennessee. The day it happened..sun was shining..then some rain...then more sun. As a fellow camper told me...they were here in the deluge also. It rained an enourmous amount in just a few minutes.
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Mark and Linda
Smyrna, Tennessee
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Rhoda C wrote:My husband and are Newbies, we took our Prowler out on its maiden voyage last weekend, and i heard about all these awning mishaps,these posts really help. Thanks.
This is one of the reason I made the post. I hope others will read and not let it happen to them. Now...I will always look at awnings. My insurance will replace my damage parts, with no deductible.
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