Awnings in a bad storm (1 Viewer)

philk

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For our present motorhome we bought an Omnistor Safari room. When completed, the sides are tightly and rigidly fastened to the roof and also stop the roof wackering about. They additionally make a solid connection between the front panel and the motorhome and a near airtight seal to the motorhome. The front and sides are fastened together and all is pegged down. Rafter tensioners added along with 2 x tie downs.
In this state, taking down in a hurry would be 3 hours, but I am staying put.

What do you guys do.

Phil
 
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old-mo

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Have not got a full awning.....

But as the forecasts are pretty good...

I wouldn`t put one up if they forecast strong winds... :thumb:
 
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philk

philk

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I know Mo, but suppose its been up for three days in the Dordogne and one of their no warning storms hits, during the last storm we sat in the safari room and it didnt move an inch.

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cmcardle75

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For our present motorhome we bought an Omnistor Safari room. When completed, the sides are tightly and rigidly fastened to the roof and also stop the roof wackering about. They additionally make a solid connection between the front panel and the motorhome and a near airtight seal to the motorhome. The front and sides are fastened together and all is pegged down. Rafter tensioners added along with 2 x tie downs.
In this state, taking down in a hurry would be 3 hours, but I am staying put.

What do you guys do.

Phil

Take it down. You'll soon get better than 3 hours. With practice, 3 of us used to be able to put up a massive 3 bedroom, lounge + kitchen 1970s frame tent in 85 seconds. The entertainment earnt us a few cold beers from the audience, too, on several occasions.
 
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philk

philk

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To be honest i am really reluctant. At a push you would take the sides off at the roof but leave out and just wind in. But that is not what its supposed to be about. It is easily as secure as a tent when completed and i think its meant to stay out.
 

TheBig1

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many many years! since I was a kid
have seen an entire safari room and canopy flipped over on top of a van before. that was in the uk at a temporary holiday site near the coast. as the tide turned the wind suddenly went mad without warning shredding several tents and awnings as well. the ones with most damage were apparently pegged down really well and the wind ripped them across the walls, filled them with air and threw them up and over.

thats just one incident but over the years have i have seen many fiamma and omnistor canopies do the up and over trick, sometimes resulting in injury to people trying to hold them down. my advice is..... if the wind gets up, take the canopy in quickly

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Chris

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We had a really bad storm in Wales about 4 years ago. Our Safari room survived it unscathed but I think only because the wind was coming from the other side of the van. We had loads of storm straps though.

A fair number of caravan awnings were completely trashed.

It doesn't really take you 3 hours to take it down does it?
 
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philk

philk

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awnings

Not 3 hours chris, but if you have 10 pegs in each side and 10 in the front, you tend to leave them in, unfasten the sides from the roof and leave them out in the storm after winding the roof in. Tie downs are simply loosened.

To be honest, when fully built and fastened down it really should be just fine on I simply use a unit that slides into the awning channel and does survive. Such a thing would weigh 30 kg less as well

Phil
 

Chris

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Not 3 hours chris, but if you have 10 pegs in each side and 10 in the front, you tend to leave them in, unfasten the sides from the roof and leave them out in the storm after winding the roof in. Tie downs are simply loosened.

To be honest, when fully built and fastened down it really should be just fine on I simply use a unit that slides into the awning channel and does survive. Such a thing would weigh 30 kg less as well

Phil

We have the one that slides. into the awning channel - much easier to put up than the safari room and as you say much lighter.

Our safari room is the wrong size for the new vans wind out awning but I don't think I am going to get another.

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I have seen these things left up all winter in Spain & Portugal without incident but good storm straps and substantial ground anchors are essential.We don't have a safari room for the 5'er so take the awning in each evening, mainly because even a slight breeze causes rattles and creaks that keep us awake. Ratchet straps for trucks are good but need to be used with care as they have the potential to collapse the whole setup if overtightened.

Having said that there are storms and storms (Oklahoma ) and a very extreme event would probably cause some damage. Many years ago my parents had a static caravan at Silloth that ended up on it's side 25 yds away despite being securely anchored, thankfully they weren't in it at the time. It is not possible to safeguard against every eventuality and these events do happen.
 

Jim

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Talking of awnings....Recently I was given a new peg system to test (one day I'll be loaned a new Hymer for a long term test, but awning pegs are a start::bigsmile:)

I only like my awning out to protect me from rain, unless the sun is really, really hot, I want to be in it, not in the shade. Trouble is, rain normally means stormy weather and as the posts above mention, the wind can trash an awning quickly, so we don't bother with the hassle of getting the awning out, lashing it down only to have to put it away ten minutes later.

So this bit of kit I just tested really appealed. As part of a system you have couple of anchor plates that you secure to the ground, hardcore or grass, and the you attach the awning leg to them. This means that once the awning is out it is secured in seconds, and if the wind gets up you can quickly release the awning leg from the plate and put it away. The plate stays in the ground so you can quickly put your awning out again in the morning or when the wind has passed.
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The only downside is the price, but it is a quality bit of kit. You can see my review here in our online magazine Broken Link Removed
 

Chris

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They do look good bit I couldn't find the price on their website.

Those screw in pegs look good too.

I am dangerous with a lump hammer.

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hilldweller

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It is easily as secure as a tent when completed and i think its meant to stay out.

Kanute tried to defy the waves.

Human vs Weather, the weather wins in the end.
 

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GJH

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They do look good bit I couldn't find the price on their website.

Those screw in pegs look good too.

I am dangerous with a lump hammer.
Here Chris. As Jim said, not cheap :Smile:

PP116 - Fix & Go Plate; £10.99; Pack contents: 1 x Fix & Go Plate

PP109 - Fix & Go Pegging Set; £49.95; Pack contents: 2 x Fix & Go Plates, 6 x Standard Pegs, 6 x Small Pegs, 2 x Large Pegs, 1 x Combination Tool

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Wildman

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One thing to think about, no matter how sequre your awning is the van will still rock in the wind unless it has corner steadies like a caravan. if the van rocks the awning arms will break. By the way I have a 3.5 mtrs Omnistor safari room for sale if anyone is interested. I really cannot be bothered putting it up.
 

hilldweller

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PP109 - Fix & Go Pegging Set; £49.95; Pack contents: 2 x Fix & Go Plates, 6 x Standard Pegs, 6 x Small Pegs, 2 x Large Pegs, 1 x Combination Tool

Are you sure that price does not include the awning ?
 

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