Awnings..Untethered..left out overnight..do you ??? (1 Viewer)

[Larrynwin]

Two threads tonight with tales of damaged awnings and fixings.
Do you leave your awning out when not tethered and without enclosed sides bearing in mind the weather is so unpredictable.

 

[Silver-Fox]

Looking forward to all the opinions on this as I was considering what to do next time we are away.
Haven't used the awning yet and dont have sides for it either.

 

[makems]

Always well tethered with five ratchet straps when rolled out. Normally put it away at night, the only exceptions being when the wind has got up suddenly and it is too dangerous to release thestraps to,put it away.
I have had a few bad night sleeps when that happens but fortunately no damage.

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[Bailey58]

As @makems said, if we are sure of good weather and not going too far afield during the day I would leave it out, well tethered. Usually wind it in overnight.

 

[DBK]

I would choose the option "It depends" if there was one. This is because it depends entirely on what I think the weather might do. If there is even a remote chance of high winds then it gets wound in. The rest of the time I generally tie it down unless I'm really sure the weather is settled but will still wind it in if the wind picks up.

 

[CazPaul]

No, definitely not.

Someone might breathe in as they pass by the van and the tissue paper, sorry awning will come tumbling down.

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[Beacons]

We use our pop up much more reliable

 

[Larrynwin]

I would choose the option "It depends" if there was one. This is because it depends entirely on what I think the weather might do. If there is even a remote chance of high winds then it get wound in. The rest of the time I generally tie it down unless I'm really sure the weather is settled but will still wind it in if the wind picks up.

Sort of Michael Fish like

 

[DBK]

Sort of Michael Fish like

Yes, but he was technically correct. We don't get hurricanes in the British Isles. Sadly, he omitted to say we can get hurricane force winds.

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[tonyidle]

If it is tethered and the wind gets up the flapping noises will wake you before any damage occurs. I never, night or day, use it without my own version of storm straps.

 

[WSandME]

Our current MH has an awning which can lock when fully extended - you then wind the awning back to tension it to keep it from flapping and give it some rigidity.
It means, however that if you want to wind it in due to high winds, you have to slacken it off and undo the locks before you can start winding it in, leading to some unnerving flapping. I had to ask SWMBO to hang on to the outer rail until I could start to rewind!
I always wind it in overnight or when leaving it unattended, not least because even leaving the handle out in the hope that a kindly neighbour would wind it in if neccessary, they might not be aware of the lock and cause damage inadvertently.

 

[Neilfg]

Do sides make a difference and would Lillypads netting make it better?

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[teknik155]

I always wind mine in every night and everytime I go out shopping meals etc. It is easier to do this than have my awning wrapped over the top of my van and try and make it safe for my journey home. It aint worth the agro

 

[Kool Kroozer]

A couple of yrs ago while camped on a site in Slovenia, basking in glorious sunshine we decided to hire some bikes and ride up to a waterfall, an hour out and the heavens opened and introduced the Mother of all storms, we decided to head back in the down pour of rain with steam coming off our tops an shorts, got back to the van only to find the awning had been tossed around like a rag doll, the wind had broke the alloy arms in half and bent n buckled everything, managed to cut/shut and tuck what i could back into the housing and strap it up with cable ties, Luckily no damage done to the van, only used the awning twice up until that holiday at a cost of about £600, Now we have another van we never leave the awning out no matter what the weather.

 

[Neilfg]

A couple of yrs ago while camped on a site in Slovenia, basking in glorious sunshine we decided to hire some bikes and ride up to a waterfall, an hour out and the heavens opened and introduced the Mother of all storms, we decided to head back in the down pour of rain with steam coming off our tops an shorts, got back to the van only to find the awning had been tossed around like a rag doll, the wind had broke the alloy arms in half and bent n buckled everything, managed to cut/shut and tuck what i could back into the housing and strap it up with cable ties, Luckily no damage done to the van, only used the awning twice up until that holiday at a cost of about £600, Now we have another van we never leave the awning out no matter what the weather.

Did you use storms straps? We nearly had the same thing happen but a neighbour held it down as we raced to the van to take it in, it was only pegged at the feet. Just wondering whether storm straps are worth it, or should we keep winding in.

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[Kool Kroozer]

no storm straps but the legs/feet where pegged down with 8" stakes (never found them)... pretty annoying that people right next to us sat in their vans and just watched when they could have wound it in (the winding handle was left attached) - Dont take any chances, as pretty as they may look when they are out if a storm creeps in an no one is around to wind it back in it wont be a pretty site afterwards.

 

[Anthea M]

We always wind ours in over night or if leaving it , we have seen the damage on an awuning where the owners left in a calm sunny day and 3 hours later came back to it broken by a freak rain storm.

 

[Mikey RV]

Always wind it in at night or if leaving van for any amount of time. Seen too many knackered with the wind.

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[Abacist]

I wonder if the rain might cause the initial problem then the wind finishes it off. We left ours out in Germany overnight and it rained very hard in the night and we slept through it. The awning bagged as the rain collected in it and the weight made the whole thing collapse and we woke to a visual disaster in the morning. Once the water was let out and the legs unbuckled we were lucky to find it had suffered no damage at all.

I now set it with a considerable slope from one side to the other to ensure that the water can run off and use a caravan awning tie down strap and 2 ratchet straps and leave it out unless storms are forecast. One side has to be set high to enable the hab door to open or it won't clear one of the awning stays.

Neve had a caravan awning take off so trusting my straps will keep it secure.

 

[buttons]

When you have had an awning turn back on it's self, you tend to be a bit more aware of awning fixings. It doesn't take a hurricane to lift a untethered awning......it was lovely and clear when we went to bed.

 

[Cal54]

Never leave mine out if I'm not around and definitely never left out overnight. In all, honesty I hardly ever use it and much prefer my Quest pop-up. If I was ever buying a new van again I wouldn't be including a windout canopy as a 'must have' accessory.

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[MichelleRyall]

Can't stand the flapping noise. Drives me mad. Have done a few nightime rescues in the past when we did decide to leave it up, even with the storm straps it still flaps around.

 

[The Dudess]

Never leave mine out if I'm not around and definitely never left out overnight. In all, honesty I hardly ever use it and much prefer my Quest pop-up. If I was ever buying a new van again I wouldn't be including a windout canopy as a 'must have' accessory.

Totally agree. We've just bought a new van and do not plan to have an awning fitted. There has been an awning fitted on our last 3 vans and quite frankly the worry of it just isn't worth it. We use our Quest spring up all the time - it's much more stable and a whole load cheaper than an awning.

 

[RowleyBirkinQC]

Management insists on having/using a wind out awning for 2 reasons, shade for her given she is of pale complexion consistent with her Celtic flame haired disposition, more importantly (in my view) shade for the 3 dogs (although some of whom retreat under the van if hot). We (now) peg the leg feet down with heavy duty pegs and use a tie down kit, but still wind the awning in at night or if away from van for an extended period. We also leave the handle out and accessible just in case...

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[Don Quixote]

Love using the awning, but we never leave the awning out over night no matter what the weather. This has paid off a few times even in Spain were we have seen the wind come from no were and wrecked a few MH's.

 

[aldhp21]

This thread poses a good question, as I'm paranoid with these things.

I've seen one go right over the top of a van doing substantial damage to the Burstner and writing off the awning. We had a close escape two vans ago when trying to roll in the fiama. It had been pegged down and storm strapped but the wind was getting up. Lyn was holding onto the awning as I started to wind it in but a gust of wind lifted her off her feet. Luckily the man camped next to us leaped to our aid. We managed to get it wound in but the awning had a slight kink in it and never shut properly after that.

Since then I have two storm straps and three of those tension poles bought from @jezport . Now these are good and hold it very steady but my concern is if the wind did get up then it is more likely to damage the van with the tension poles.

So we strap everything, even on a calm day and wind it in at night. I can sleep better that way.

Cheers
Al.

 

[Rosemary1]

Wind in overnight or leaving the vehicle for any length of time. As others have said it's not worth it just to save a few minutes.

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[sdc77]

Rarely use ours. If were in situ for a while we use the kampa air awning. If it's an overnight stop then we may put it out - strapped and pegged down but it has to come in at night because of the flapping

 

[Deleted member 29692]

We use a Fiamma tie down kit.

Once it's out it stays out unless there's an obvious strong wind or storm brewing. They're designed to take a certain amount of wind.

I don't understand the people that go into a blind panic and rush to wind it in at the first hint of a gentle breeze.

The times we have decided to wind it in its been because the noise of it flapping has woken us up rather than because of any worries about it coming untethered.

 

[funflair]

We have the legs fastened in clips on the side of the van and only wind the awning out about a third to half its length, if the wind does get up it can't lift and go over the top as it can't lift the feet, this makes it dead easy to wind in and out as I dont need a second person to hold it down.

I do use straps as well just to add a bit of tension, I would add a caution that I used the Fiamma tie down kit with the quick release buckles and they released a but too easy when the buckle snapped so if you are going to trust your awning to a tie down make sure it is going to do the job when it gets windy.

Martin

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