Awning Poles are Back.....

[Krusty]

WOW ... Pretty cool!

[Herk7769]

Originally Posted by TheWolfPaq82

I saved my money and awning by just putting it away when it got windy.

I never did re-install my OC set to the new camper.
I also now just put it away.

I have to say though, it was great when I could put the sun screen on and tie the whole thing down when we were in Florida and the Southwest.

[Platokidd]

I have the OC brackets and use painter poles. They work good.

Cheaper to make your own. Everything you need is at Home depot or Menards.

[simiHal]

Originally Posted by Portagie1968

That rope tie down I have been looking for everywhere. I wonder were they bought them at.

If your referring to the cord lock carabiners, Nite Ize has them. I use them for my hammock tarp when I backpack.
https://www.amazon.com/Nite-Ize-CamJam-XT-Heavy-Duty/dp/B072Q646PM

[simiHal]

I use conduit floor flanges on the bottom of my painters poles. I just use 8 in lags in the mounting holes to keep the poles in place. No ropes or straps to trip on and easy to place and remove with my drill. My poles are yellow also so they’re easy to see.

[jimmoore13]

Getting back to the OP, the SaveAwn appears to be a good design. The threaded pole and socket on the awning arm is a great solution to a difficult problem...keeping the poles in place when the wind lifts on the awning frame.
Carefree's competing product didn't last a weekend, because the design of the pole/awning interface is poor, and the plastic parts are fragile. I returned mine after the first outing.

While my bag awning on my PUP was a royal pain, it was EXTREMELY sturdy, because it had both "rafter" poles (from the camper body to the awning roll drum), AND it had vertical poles (from awning roll to the ground. The structural integrity of that awning was vastly superior to that of virtually all electric awnings.

If SaveAwn comes up with a design that includes rafter poles, count me in. I'm more than happy to climb a ladder to install the RV end of the rafter pole into a socket and then extend the rafter pole until the awning is well supported.

[emm-dee]

Originally Posted by NJKris

You're going to kill the poor guy's business, lol.

What protection do you get when the wind is strong enough to blow the awning down? Saw that happen a few years back during a sudden thunderstorm that blew a large awning down and completely covered the the right side of a motor home. Folks had to come from the outside and cut the awning to let the occupants out.

[NJKris]

None! But poles/buckets with ropes may keep it from luffing till you can bring it in. When you see that roller tube rising up higher than the roofline, and you are scrambling to grab it while screaming at wife to BRING IT IN! You get real careful and watch the weather like a meteorologist!

[TitanMike]

Originally Posted by TheWolfPaq82

I saved my money and awning by just putting it away when it got windy.

Considering how windy it can get where I camp and how quick it can change from calm to "small craft warnings", I just retract my awning.

Definitely don't leave it out when I'm not at or near the trailer.

[jimmoore13]

Colorado is very windy...much of the time.
My old PUP Bag Awning could go out and remain out unless a thunderstorm rolled through...or a major weather front was moving through. In both of those cases, winds can hit 75 MPH or more.

But for most situations, the bag awning, if guyed off properly, could withstand winds of about 35 MPH (very common here). The rafter poles and vertical poles held the frame steady so long as I also ran guy ropes at a 45 degree angle to the vertical poles.

I've been using a variation on the bucket-o-water theme to help anchor my electric awning, but it's a poor substitute for rafter poles and vertical poles. I stake down "tie down straps" and use a "ratchet rope" (also featured in the SaveAwn kit) to tie down the awning roller to the tie down straps.

But the problems with this are significant. Without the vertical poles, one can't put much of a strain on the tied downs. And without rafter poles, the billowing awning phenomenon still happens. Finally, a downburst can still crush the awning frame against the side of the rig. So, for me, this means I can never leave the awning unattended while open...and by that, I can't go 100 yards from my rig, to the beach, when the awining's out. I can't get back in time to retract the unsupported awning before it could be terminally damaged.

I know from years of experience that a well supported awning can withstand quite a bit of wind, but the flimsy, flexible-flyer frames on electric awnings are extremely fragile. An electric awning with both rafters and vertical poles would be far more sturdy than one with just vertical poles. The canvas can withstand far more wind than the stock awning frame can.

Hell, my friend has an older Jayco with a manual awning that's far superior to mine. It has solid rafters, and 45 degree support go from the awning roll to the base of the rig...the whole mess is setup or folds up neat and tidy in a couple of minutes. He just pulls on a rope to extend the awning, and it retracts much like an old fashioned window shade. His awning is VERY sturdy. His is a bit more work, but I'd take his over mine any day, because he actually gets to use his.