Another camper was away on a day trip. A big storm came up off Lake Superior and started to kick the devil out of his awning. You could hear it all over so everyone in that half of the campground knew what was happening.
But no one felt comfortable messing with someone else's stuff. It was like maybe, what if the awning is destroyed anyway and the guys says, "It might have been better if you left it alone."
Well, none of us did anything, and the awning was pretty much destroyed. It took five or six people a long time just to wrestle the awning back up so he could get his trailer home.
This happened several years ago and I still don't know what I would do if the same situation occurred again. What would you do? If a storm was starting to inflict damage, would you go over to a stranger's rig and retract their awning in their absence?
I sure would not have minded a stranger putting up my awning.
Perfect weather one minute, ran out for lunch, I come back to camp to this. Happened at Disney's Fort Wilderness campground.
My neighbor with one of those auto dump power awnings was dealing with his while mine was failing. The storm took his out too. Told me he simply could not help for obvious reasons.
Thanks
Jeremiah
TT: 1995 Layton 2910
Tow Vehicle: 1999 F-350, v10, 2wd, Crew Cab, Dually
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Brake Control: Tekonsha Voyager
"It's Kind of Fun To Do The Impossible"
~Walt Disney~
At the time this happened, I was exclusively a tent camper. So having never owned a trailer, I had never dealt with any kind of RV awning before in my life. I was hoping someone else would make a move, and I could just go help them.
But I would not have known what I was doing. In fact, since I have only owned one awning, and it is electric, it is safe to say I probably would still be somewhat clueless as to exactly what I was trying to do.
I would and I have. And I acted quickly before any damage was done. It was in Utah and you could see the dust from the wind storm heading towards us. When the people came back I went over and told them what I did, they were very appreciated. Now I don't expect it to ever happen to me because I never leave the awning out when I am gone or ever at night.
I have also assisted new campers who evidently had no clue how to operate their awning and didn't even know if they had an awning pull rod or how to use it. When I explained what the rod looked like, they found it in one of their compartments and I showed them how to operate the awning. They could not thank me enough. I was glad to help, isn't that the neighborly thing to do?
Just as and additional thought,if you do not have any knowledge of how manual awnings operate you would be wise NOT to step in and try to retract it but msybe you could go around the campgrund and find someone who has that knowledge and see if he/she would be willing to assist.
* This post was
edited 08/03/12 01:50pm by othertonka *
Othertonka
2004 Southwind 32VS 8.1 Workhorse chassis
2002 CRV Toad
U. S. Gear Unified brake system
Retired Fire Captain, SFD
I see no problem with it. If it as a power awning, check to see if they locked the door. We keep ours unlocked most of the time. I would be pleasantly surprised if someone saved my awning from a storm.
Keep the Shiny Side Up!
2011 F150 Supercrew, 4X4 3.5 Ecoboost, 145" wheelbase, 3.73 gears, Max trailer Tow package
JRS & B wrote: At the time this happened, I was exclusively a tent camper. So having never owned a trailer, I had never dealt with any kind of RV awning before in my life. I was hoping someone else would make a move, and I could just go help them.
But I would not have known what I was doing. In fact, since I have only owned one awning, and it is electric, it is safe to say I probably would still be somewhat clueless as to exactly what I was trying to do.
Out of sheer curiosity, if you still don't know how to retract the awning, why wonder now if you should do this the next time? Doesn't sound like you can anyway...
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