Power awnings...to lash down, or not

[uncledon]

So this applies only to power awnings that do not have wind detection. I have always lashed mine down with ratchet straps or the.like with bungee cords for some flex. How any agree with this practice? How many don't? Reasons why for either.

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[pegmikef]

I do the same thing, but still pull it in if it is really getting beat up by the wind (e.g., stretching the bungee cords their whole length). Wind has to be kind of high to do that or hitting the awning directly from the front.

 

[redevil]

Thought about this as well since I did this with my tent trailer manual awning. But where would you tie it to the awning on the roller or on the arms?

 

[pegmikef]

Thought about this as well since I did this with my tent trailer manual awning. But where would you tie it to the awning on the roller or on the arms?

I wrap the strap around the roller on each side of the awning. The roller on mine is a couple of inches longer than the awning itself on each end.

 

[uncledon]

That's the way I do it as well. Feel it's a stronger/better position than the arms.

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[Mark-Roberta 051995]

We have used the "claw" for about 9 years now. When we lost our first awning up and over the RV we said never again. We saw it at a trade show and bought it. Last year when hammering the stake into the ground I hit a tree root and proceeded to bang away (wrong thing to do) and it stuck - really good. Problem was I couldn't get it out. I broke my good hammer trying to remove the stake and then broke the arm of the claw. I called the company and they sold me just the arm piece ($7.59) that included the bolt and nut to reassemble it. Back to being like new. I am now ordering a second one as the new LM 365 Charleston has 2 awnings. In really nasty weather I disengage and roll the awning up but I have faith in this unit and keep it out most of the time.

 

[weekender01]

One thing to note here is the pitch/slope of your awning. Some of the newer awnings do not have much pitch even when adjusted so if you get a heavy rain they may not dump correctly. If this happens you can break your awning. Just a word of caution as I have seen it happen.

 

[Lou_and_Bette]

I have heard the inherent danger of tying the awning down is the stress it puts on the attachment points on the trailer. Have seen photos of awning bodies pulling the bolts out of the walls.

 

[uncledon]

That's why I changed from using just a ratchet strap to one with a bungee to get some flexibility when gusts come up. I think it eliminates/reduces greatly any chance of hardware failures.


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[uncledon]

One thing to note here is the pitch/slope of your awning. Some of the newer awnings do not have much pitch even when adjusted so if you get a heavy rain they may not dump correctly. If this happens you can break your awning. Just a word of caution as I have seen it happen.

Our current Bighorn is an older oder with a power awning that has lots of pitch. Our new rig has a different mechanism and way less pitch. It also has adjustment on the arms for pitch. Sales guy says the gas assists also work as "auto dumps", but I need to here that from others before I call it gospel.

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[CDN]

I just roll mine in when wind is expected and we are away. Camping in the forest mostly we do leave it out most of the time. I agree stresses and damage caused by timing it down are not worth the risk of loss.