- Feb 24, 2013
- 13,070
- 101,432
- Funster No
- 24,833
- MH
- Hymer S800
- Exp
- not long enough
I think we had, more accurately I had, a feeling of over security now that we generally fit our safari room for longer term use when using our awning
The other weekend parked up facing the Irish sea the wind picked up just as we needed to take the awning down to leave
I did spot the predicted wind increase the night before, but chose to ignore, back to line one again
We had removed all of the side panels, but the legs were still pegged down, (steel rock pegs with threaded detail, but hammered in) this totals four legs (8 pegs) across the front and one of the side beams was still fitted, keeping the whole thing well braced, or so I thought
I was about to remove the beam from the opposite end which needs the awning winding out slightly, Bev monitoring ready to hold down when a sudden gust pulled out the rest of the pegs and lifted the whole canopy to almost exactly vertical, then very luckily the wind eased and it all came back down again
Initially I thought that was very lucky, it actually was very lucky, if it had gone any further the damage could have been huge
Ably assisted by an observant funster female we got the rest down and it wound away without drama, the only obvious issue is that the mounting bracket bent away from the MH at the rear end, the same end that lifted with the beam still attached, this did pull back a bit when the awning wound right away, but we still need attention
I tried a local MH place who said we could maybe do this or maybe do that, left me with no confidence, so I have been back in touch with Rose Awnings who fitted it, but in the mean time I started investigating for myself
I am still hopeful that the main issue is only the mounting bracket, this is actually in 2 sections
Talking to John and Dan Rose they confirmed that back in the noughties when this would have been fitted the maximum length of bracket was 3m, they could now fit a whole piece if needed
That got me looking at where the fixings were and has possibly confirmed why the end bent
the first photo above shows a fixing in the top of the wardrobe, the second is with 2 speakers removed revealing the internal awning support and also confirming no fixings, the wardrobe fixing is approx 30" from the end of the awning
The first fixing looks pretty weedy, possibly only a 6mm bolt, but at least with a backing plate, no sign of any movement at all at that point though
There is a small wood screw close to the end that will be virtually no use, it would appear that the fitters depended on a couple of fixings and sealant
Next Tuesday I am at Rose Awnings for removal and full inspection, there is a chance with 2 more fixings through the speaker holes might pull it all back flat, if not we will swap the rear section of bracket, then get the awning fully checked while there
Labour intensive but we are hopeful of no major damage and feeling extremely lucky, for now at least
I will let you know how we got on next week
I will of course in future be using the storm straps we have and carry but I had decided we didn't need, although I still I might just fit them when taking down and it is windy, the safari room really is incredibly stable when fully pegged down and has been up in 50mph winds at Twin Lakes on first time used
The other weekend parked up facing the Irish sea the wind picked up just as we needed to take the awning down to leave
I did spot the predicted wind increase the night before, but chose to ignore, back to line one again
We had removed all of the side panels, but the legs were still pegged down, (steel rock pegs with threaded detail, but hammered in) this totals four legs (8 pegs) across the front and one of the side beams was still fitted,
keeping the whole thing well braced, or so I thoughtI was about to remove the beam from the opposite end which needs the awning winding out slightly, Bev monitoring ready to hold down when a sudden gust pulled out the rest of the pegs and lifted the whole canopy to almost exactly vertical, then very luckily the wind eased and it all came back down again
Initially I thought that was very lucky, it actually was very lucky, if it had gone any further the damage could have been huge
Ably assisted by an observant funster female we got the rest down and it wound away without drama, the only obvious issue is that the mounting bracket bent away from the MH at the rear end, the same end that lifted with the beam still attached, this did pull back a bit when the awning wound right away, but we still need attention
I tried a local MH place who said we could maybe do this or maybe do that, left me with no confidence, so I have been back in touch with Rose Awnings who fitted it, but in the mean time I started investigating for myself
I am still hopeful that the main issue is only the mounting bracket
, this is actually in 2 sectionsTalking to John and Dan Rose they confirmed that back in the noughties when this would have been fitted the maximum length of bracket was 3m, they could now fit a whole piece if needed
That got me looking at where the fixings were and has possibly confirmed why the end bent
the first photo above shows a fixing in the top of the wardrobe, the second is with 2 speakers removed revealing the internal awning support and also confirming no fixings
, the wardrobe fixing is approx 30" from the end of the awningThe first fixing looks pretty weedy, possibly only a 6mm bolt, but at least with a backing plate, no sign of any movement at all at that point though
There is a small wood screw close to the end that will be virtually no use, it would appear that the fitters depended on a couple of fixings and sealant
Next Tuesday I am at Rose Awnings for removal and full inspection, there is a chance with 2 more fixings through the speaker holes might pull it all back flat, if not we will swap the rear section of bracket, then get the awning fully checked while there
Labour intensive but we are hopeful of no major damage and feeling extremely lucky, for now at least
I will let you know how we got on next week
I will of course in future be using the storm straps we have and carry but I had decided we didn't need, although I still I might just fit them when taking down and it is windy, the safari room really is incredibly stable when fully pegged down and has been up in 50mph winds at Twin Lakes on first time used
