Awning Security

Awnings are a wonderful part of an RV. They allow you to lower the temperature inside and out by providing instant shade. Awnings come in several styles and many colors. Some awnings are fully automatic and retract when the wind meter detects that it is too windy. Most of the others are manual. Wind is the biggest enemy of your awning followed by rain. I recently saw the remains of an awning that the wind had broken loose and blew over to the other side of the rig. You can secure an awning by detaching the legs from the side-wall holders and securing them to the ground (carport style) and then secure the ends with a ropes tied to steaks. You should also add "anti flapper" clamps (available at WalMart and any RV parts store) and you've got a well secured awning. Unfortunately, even this amount of securing will not be enough in a big wind (40 knots or more). The best thing to do when you leave your RV for any length of time is to stow the awning.

Rain is another enemy. A freind who bought my previous 5th wheel from me failed to lower one side of his awning and it filled up with rain water like a wading pool. When he tried to lower one leg to drain the water the entire awning ripped and drenched him! So, always lower one end of your awning to allow for rain to drain :)

When you travel, be sure the awning posts are secured. My rig has squeze in clamps (pictued above) and the roll tube lock holds the rolled canvas tight to the side of the rig. However, as you can see, I also strap the awning leg and arm together (pictured above) as an additional percaution to prevent the awning opening should the main clamps fail while I'm tooling down the road at 65 mph. Some people use zip ties and just dispose of them when they want to open the awning. I've seen awnings come apart while people are traveling - not good!