Awning Tie Downs

I can't believe it took me 4 years to learn how much difference it makes to tie down your awning. I did this last weekend and I was amazed at how stable it makes the awning when there is a little wind. It's a must do!

We have the sunscreen on our awning and use that to tie down the awning. It really helps to keep the awning safe.

considering doing the same on our cyclone. Did you just use a rope from the awning to a point under the trailer? Thought that might me a trip hazard walking around the unit.

The tie down works and we’ve done it. Also while camp hosting, saw other awnings damaged with surprise wind gust. Suggest if tying down you don't leave the rig in case high wind appears.

I use tie down for dogs as the anchors in the ground. Then use bungee cords to hold the screen down, with the cords it allows some give for wind gust.

I use parachute cord, springs, and a tent stakes. Some RV parks the ground is so hard that it takes a stake. The springs allow some movement so the awning material does not take the entire force of a gust. You do need to pay attention to park rules. Some do not allow staking or tying down of the awnings as well as the screw in dog tie downs in their parks. Only a few, but do pay attention. One such park is the Oasis in Los Vegas. We go there several times a year to visit my mom.

We use ratchet straps and stakes where allowed. If we setup on a solid pad or as in a few cases where ground driven stakes are prohibited we use 2 of these as our anchor points
But depending on camping location, position of camper to prevailing winds, weather forecast or if we leave the camper the awning is in and secured

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david-steph2018 said:

I use tie down for dogs as the anchors in the ground. Then use bungee cords to hold the screen down, with the cords it allows some give for wind gust.

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Been doing the same thing for several years.


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emery395 said:

considering doing the same on our cyclone. Did you just use a rope from the awning to a point under the trailer? Thought that might me a trip hazard walking around the unit.

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I just drove stakes in the ground under the awning not back under the trailer. It is a trip hazard for sure. I bought 4 bright red pool noodles to put on the ropes for my next trip out.

We have the sunscreen on our awning and use that to tie down the awning.

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Even with that we still use tie downs on both ends. I have seen the screens pulled out of the ground by a good wind.

There was a couple of days during the rally that we put the awning in because it was so windy. But most of the time I left it out. During the really windy days I did notice that the tie downs had actually backed out of the ground some or had lossen up in the ground.
Anybody at the rally can tell how windy it was there.
Lynn what straps do you use for the extra tie downs?

I have a store bought system but that kept coming out and I have found that either parachute cord or some nylon rope that I had from my boat worked the best. I loop it over the end of the awning arm and down to a screw anchor in the ground. Between that and the shade it seems to stay without banging the awning arms around.

Sorry to be the one spoiler in the crowd, but at one of the rallies, we had a representative of Carefree there to talk about, along with other things, awning operation and care. He had some warning about staking awnings down, and had photos, of awning tracks being ripped away from the RV side. If the wind is strong enough, and the free end is fixed down strongly, the pressure is exerted on the track end and may cause damage. With that info, I have never tied my awning down. Roll up for sure whenever we leave the immediate area of the RV or if the wind is strong enough to make the awning really flap while we are there. I know tying the awning down is a common practice and causes no damage UNTIL it does and then it is really a problem. Similar to running on the TowMax tires...some get away with it for years and some have problems without many miles. Your choice.

I am always skeptical of information given by manufacturers so I tend to "research" once I hear claims of this or that with their products. I am sure this person was well meaning and I consider the information good. The questions comes, how many have had that problem (damage when tied down) so I went on my usual info search to see what I could find. Now, granted it is our choice so do what you believe is best and searches on the Internet can be deceiving, but I found nothing about damaged awnings on RVs because they were tied down. That does not mean it has not happened. I am sure, I say SURE it has but at least with my awning, there is major flex built into the arms and I have watched in winds as the arms flex with tie downs, to take pressure off of the arms (don't lock the arms in or ...)

So, like most things, as mentioned, your choice, but someone in one of the posts I viewed also said, if it breaks, I get it fixed. Things break.

And yes I had a Blowmax blow up on me, but I also had another brand blow up too so it can happen with about any brand. Do what makes you feel right about it.

Lou_and_Bette said:

Sorry to be the one spoiler in the crowd, but at one of the rallies, we had a representative of Carefree there to talk about, along with other things, awning operation and care. He had some warning about staking awnings down, and had photos, of awning tracks being ripped away from the RV side. If the wind is strong enough, and the free end is fixed down strongly, the pressure is exerted on the track end and may cause damage. With that info, I have never tied my awning down. Roll up for sure whenever we leave the immediate area of the RV or if the wind is strong enough to make the awning really flap while we are there. I know tying the awning down is a common practice and causes no damage UNTIL it does and then it is really a problem. Similar to running on the TowMax tires...some get away with it for years and some have problems without many miles. Your choice.

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I am sure what he is saying is true. The problem is that I had a small gust of wind rip the arm off the trailer when the awning wasn't tied down. I was not suggesting that anyone should tie down the awning and leave it. I too bring the awnings in when the wind starts to get bad but the tie downs help support the awning with small gusts. Just as with anything you have to use common sense with what you are doing. There is no doubt that tying the awning down can be benificial.

Sharing our tie down idea we got from Jim Beletti last fall. Ordered both pieces - the anchor and the tie down with spring - off Amazon. Work really well and the spring helps in the give when the breezes blow
Camco 42593 Awning Anchor Kit with Pull Tension Strap, The Claw C200 Aircraft Tie Down Kit,Faswin 3 Inch Stainless Steel Spring Snap Hook Carabiner, Set of 4

So I've tied my awning down, and I've left it untied. I use two large corkscrew stakes for dog leash stakes (got 'em at the pet store) screwed into the ground under the awning arm end points and then just run a ratchet strap from the awning down to the stakes. I try to be gentle when ratcheting it, you want it snug, not pulling hard. My straps are bright green, so while it could be a trip hazard you'd be hard pressed to miss them.

Now, that being said, I'll share my bad experience. Was coming home from a bike rally several years ago with our old toyhauler. Stopped in Wyoming for the night and tied the awning down (we like to park the bikes under the awning so they don't get rained on or dew in the morning). The wind kicked up pretty hard and it actually blew the awning, not up, but "sideways". So it kind of folded the awning and the arms back against the side of the rv. It caused some minor damage to the arm mounts at the bottom and the end caps in the main roller rail at the top where the arms folded up weird. I was able to fix it so that it still worked correctly, and unless you looked hard you really couldn't tell anything happened. But in the end, my advice is, if the wind looks sketchy at all, roll that awning up!

Now days we generally camp (19 times out of 20) at our family property out near the coast and it is surrounded by a line of trees that break the wind real nice, so I don't have to worry about tying it down there. But I do still keep an eye on the wind. You know, just in case. Don't wannna do that again!

Mrsfish said:

Sharing our tie down idea we got from Jim Beletti last fall. Ordered both pieces - the anchor and the tie down with spring - off Amazon. Work really well and the spring helps in the give when the breezes blow
Camco 42593 Awning Anchor Kit with Pull Tension Strap, The Claw C200 Aircraft Tie Down Kit,Faswin 3 Inch Stainless Steel Spring Snap Hook Carabiner, Set of 4

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I wish you had not made this post. You just cost me $124.00 because I have to have 2 sets of those Claw Tie down kits. They look like the perfect anchor for the awnings.

jleavitt11 said:

I wish you had not made this post. You just cost me $124.00 because I have to have 2 sets of those Claw Tie down kits. They look like the perfect anchor for the awnings.

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your welcome - lol. I spend wayyyy too much money from ideas on this forum but at the end of the day I have no regrets...most of these ideas have been far superior to an6thing I would come up with by myself and they’re tested by people I know. Enjoy and hopefully we will meet down the road since we’re both in AZ

Last 4th of July I was camping with a friend who had taken two 5 gal Home Depot buckets, filled them with water and tied the awning down to them. We were siting outside under the awning, it was breezy but not really windy, when all of a sudden a strong gust of wind blew through and flipped the awning and both buckets of water three or four feet off the ground. Thank goodness no one was hit by a bucket of water, the awning was not damaged, but it also blew both of our fiberglass flag poles out of the "ladder holders" they were in. Broke my pole in half, and destroyed his solar light. The only other damage was that it took several washings to get my shorts back to normal.