Rather than the very lightweight awnings, we have a Ventura Cadet - which is quick to put up, and can be protected with a storm strap and extra guys. It did manage to be almost the only awning (or tent) left standing one year in Anglesey but it was only left up because we were out for the day, otherwise we'd have taken it down given the wind conditions. As already stated, an awning is only a bit of canvas (at the heaviest) or pacamac nylon (at the lightest) so no-one would expect them to stand up to conditions which can actually overturn mobile homes sometimes!
I remember being in north wales 5 years ago when the tail end of the american hurricanes hit my 12yr old daughter and her friend where sleeping in the awning as it had been a nice october, us and countless others ended up taking them down at about 3am as the caravans where being violently rocked everyone ended up helping each other out the following day to fold them up though that was the end of that awning as it was damaged beyond repair
the other thing when putting up an awning, is to use the right pegs, the little bent wire ones that come with most tents/awnings are as much use as a wire mesh watering can in most grounds, I carry 3 types of pegs, the V-shape metal ones for soft grounds, some Good Wire ones for Harder/stoney Ground, and some rock pegs for H-standing.
Its also suprising the number of people who just knock the pegs straight down so they will pul out rather easily, its best to put them in at an angle away from the awning/tent, so it has the whole side of the peg to pull against.
Ive had tents and awnings up in all weathers, not had a problem yet (common sense prevails though)
we had a pdq when we went to devon ilfracome was mild wind which moment you started to put the awning up turned heavy wind ,, WRONG thing to do,,blasted thing just wouldnt go up and we could see damage ahead so that never got used again.gave away in end .
mablethorpe took pyrumid porch awning again windy so after couple attemps where wind kept catching we did without.while we were away bought a light weight one..
one of our most recent last trip away we took light weight nylon porch awning lovely day put up no probs but still put up storm straps and ankered well..that night got guite wet and windy we were on isle of wight in may .other people had lots of flooded awnings and damage but ours was fine..think if gale force wind was predicted we would take down ..you have to remember its tent fabric so fairly robust..its damage to van we worrie more about than the awning to be honest ,,
as for drying up to our recent move use to open out in garage now we are going have to cross that bridge when come to it..hang over line when get home seems to be best option ..
if we know that rain is predicted in night we are due to leave then we take down and pop in car its only size small bag when folded..
I have to say some of the comments posted in this thread are the very reason that we bought an Isabella Snowboy. Some of the lightweight awnings are fine for summer sun, but in the winter you need something far stronger.
and have never had any problems with it in snow, ice high winds or torrential rain.
It is, as they say, designed for winter use, but we tend to use it for all short breaks because its quick and easy to erect, and is such a great awning.
an awning is only as good as the person putting it up , i use a lightweight awning for some of our trips , and as we caravan all year our awnings get well used , take a look at my gallery images you will one covered in snow , we have also been on sites where ours has stayed up during a gale ,and traditional awnings with steel poles have buckled , probably due to the person erecting it ,but if the the wind is strong enough ,nothing is safe as the storms in the south east proved years ago , that storm years ago kept me in work for months
Some excellent advise asalways on here. I have used an awning in a force 10+ gale in the highlands of Scotland, granted it was unexpected as the forecast said strong winds nothing like what arrived. The awning stayed up throughout with only the slightest adjustmnt to tension on one of the guyropes that I had the foresight to use. Taking the option down was not an option in the middle of the night as it was pitch black outside and our lad was sleeping inside the inner tent of it at the time, he slept right through. Granted this was an older more substantial awning with decent poles on it and was secured both in and outside with pegas and had 5 guys on it two either corner and onein the middle. The morning following the storm was very calm and we surveyed the damage to our unit and found none, althoug hwe were missing a waste water but, never did find it.
looking round the rest of the site we saw many newer lightweight awnings crumpled up under vans or in the back seats of cars. I think we were the lucky ones! Nver been worried about using the older awnings since then or canvas ones with decent poles, I think a lot of the new lightweight ones are just for summer use, ours is an all year round one although we never have used it in winter time, unless you can count easter as Winter which is the only time we have ever had snow on sites!
re the warning, i seem to remeber seeing a warning on Prep h ointment warning not to be taken orally, no doubt added after someone decided to give it a try!
Having used it for the first time in bad weather this weekend in Keswick, wind 50 + mph gusts, torrential rain & hail. I was concerned about the warnings, but decided to take a chance and leave it up. Had no problems at all with the awning, in fact someone else on site had an heavy duty type and theirs got damaged, I think the fact that ours was more flexible was the reason it survived. The only problem we did have was the flapping against the caravan on occassions during the night.
We had a seasonal pitch and put the awning up at the end of May. When we went to the caravan for the weekend there had been some strong winds and 75% of the caravan awnings were torn or blown away from the caravans. What the manufacturers don't tell you is the stress that the awning puts on the side of the caravan, pulling away at the side of the caravan to which it's attached, leading to severe damage to the awning side of the caravan, water ingress and a very poor trade in price when you come to exchange. We lost loads of money when the trader went in our 5 year old Odyssey his damp meter never stopped bleeping around the awning side of the van.
Our Sunncamp Ultima 260 got trashed by strong winds in Anglesey in early September. The fabric ripped off the awning beading.
Mind you losing a lightweight awning is much less costly than what happened to the caravan next door. They had a stronger awning, but their awning channel came away from the Caravan side. Ouch!
Welcome to the forum Anne, yes they can do a lot of damage to awning rails allowing them to part from the van and letting in water, if we did not need an awning then I would certainly not use one, unfortunately they are a very handy thing for storing the electric buggy in or for allowing family to go with us and not have to pay too many extra fees.
Hi Huw, we have alo witnessed the destruction of awnings in high winds, fortunately ours was the one that was not affected on that occasion and a quick check with the damp meter every month afterwards kept our mind at ease about damp ingress, nothing quite like a force ten plus to give the van a wee shake!
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Topic: Restrictions on using an awning
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