Its not only the wind under the awning, but the suction created by the wind passing over the awning from the other side of the van. With the area of the van roof and the awning angle to it, there is probably the same lift created as on an airplane wing!! With an awning strap you can apply some tension to the awning frame, to hold it taught to prevent it folding back against, or in bad cases, over the roof.
A good guy rope from each corner, pulled out at 45 degrees to the awning with some strong pegs will go towards preventing that from happening.
The best option is to always put the awning away if in doubt.
Colin

 

Heres how i've always used mine..

On grass....

If theres no wind and your'e staying on site, then i always found it ok to just wind it out and leave it with no pegs.

If theres a slight breeze then secure the legs into the ground with 4 x pegs in the holes provided.

If theres more than a breeze then i used to use the fiamma tie down kit in addition to the pegs in the legs.

If you're leaving site for a while i would in almost all circumstances wind it back in, it only takes a few seconds, far better than returning and finding your van roof gift wrapped with the awning :roll:

On Hard surfaces.....

Same as above but obviously you can't knock pegs in so consider parking close to a tree or lampost if poss and tie the upper awning to that with a guyline.

If theres nowhere to tie it to then fill a 2 gallon container with water and tie that to the front edge of the awning, this should stop it lifting in light breezes.

And the same again, If in doubt, wind the bugger in!

Finally....

If it can be done on your van i'd definately recommend fitting the awning leg side mounting plates to the van (i think they are still supplied with the awning). Much easier than pegging the legs out and if its windy either use in addition to the tie down kit or the 2 gallon container as conditions dictate.

pj

 

Always....Always peg the legs down even if you're there for only an hour or two, as the wind can gust at any time and then its too late.
I use the pegs that are like a 6 inch nail, but with a plastic piece at the top, and use two in each leg, at opposing angles. I find this is OK in fairly strong winds, but for added secruity in stronger winds, USE THE AWNING STRAPS...
The Awning in a very strong wind will not only go UP...but SIDE TO SIDE.
You will need to get a feel for whats OK and whats too risky when when talking of WINDY CONDITIONS. If in doubt, dont leave it out...

 

If in doubt I always fit the Fiamma tie down kit, it has a pair of decent pegs and the ability to tension the 'line' - I think it's a small price to pay to avoid some of the sights I've seen.

 

Hi all

I don't have an awning at the moment ...it was ripped off by passing tree:lol:
I am getting a new one fitted later this month...

But when sitting out on one of those sunny still days I always peg the awning down, if I am feeling energetic I use a tie down too.....on these hot and sunny days thermals (heated rising air) are being generated all the time and if you are unfortunate enough to be in the path of one...say goodbye to the awning. I have seen it happen
I use two screw in dog stakes to fix the tie down to.

Anyway on to why I am posting...somewhere else on this forum someone posted a link to a company which makes screw in tent pegs...having been there I found that they also make a purpose made plate which will hold down the legs of a wind out awning or the tie down, it is fixed to the ground with screw in pegs...looks a great idea...have a look:-

http://www.wurmi.co.uk/

you will find the plates and screws in the catalog.

Maybe if someone has used these they will comment?

Mike

 

As we travel desert areas quite a lot and awning is a must..........and you can (do) get high winds most days.

Lost an awning big time once, but only the once. Now we use rachet straps, long thin ones (not big truck type) and secure these to elastic rings attached to the pegs, or the top, it don't matter. The rings take up the movement and shock from a sudden gust. We got the rings from a trampolean (spelling?) company, can't remember who, but they were cheap, But I recon you can use the ones with more "give" that are in all the camping shops.

 

Hi all

In response to spykal's post, I use the wurmi screw in pegs and the plates. I use the plates in the role in the lower picture, to anchor the legs down. It takes a matter of a minute or so to do both awning feet, and usually just use 3 pegs per plate. If it's blowing a bit, then the full 5 pegs, and i have 3 different lengths of peg to choose from.

I have a re-chargeable black and decker drill, with the attachment to fit the tops of the pegs, and they go in or come out really easy usually, but really soft or sandy ground can be a problem, just like it is for tent pegs.

I do have the fiamma awning tie down kit, but rarely use it. I find that with the feet of the awning solidly fixed to the ground, and a tension bar, the awning is generally going nowhere.

If it's windy enough to think the awning might be in danger, then i think its windy enough to wind it in.

I started to use these plates and pegs after a bad experience with a caravan store awning on my volky. through the night a light wind pulled and pulled on the steel tent pegs, they must have got a bit lose, then a bit more, and at 4 in the morning i could hear the dam thing flying and banging on the roof.

It cost me a new awning leg and 2 new securing clips.

I have used the wurmi system since 1999, in that time i've broken half a dozen maybe. I use them to fix the tent/awning down as well, and got through the terrible stormy night of last august in Vendee, by making up a load more guy ropes to my awning and using my wurmi pegs. while i lashed the old Granduca Ford motorhome to the toilet block :lol:

You might think i'm a fan

Dave

 

Hi All

I take a different approach, I never peg down legs or use straps .. If it starts to be a bit blowy , I wind it in and never leave it out when away or overnight.
My logic is this,
if it's tied down really well and the wind does catch it something's got to give .. I've seen tied down awnings ripped clean off... they are not designed to be used in windy conditions, advice from awning makers is to wind in when it gets windy.
Last month at Bognor CC site the wind was quite gusty, an RV owner had tied his down with straps and it was ripped clean off of the van Straps and pegs still in the ground. ....

 

Peejay
You mention using the side plates in your earlier post, now I have these (still in their unopened plastic bag) and have not been able to make up my mind whether to fit them or not.
I can see big benifits when using the roll-out, when winding in or out, if on hard standing etc etc but have not been able to come to terms with the strength of the wall, for wall read thin glued aluminium sheet, for holding in the event of a sudden gust of wind, having seen the result of the wind pulling an awning completely off the side of a m/home ripping and bending the fabric and aluminium stays in the process, not to mention the now 4inch holes in the side of the vehicle!!
Do you use them? Have you experienced them? What is your recommendation based on?
I am not disagreeing with you I am probably looking for a bit of reassurance that my fear of damaging the van is groundless. What say you?

 

Hi Paulway, apologies for late reply, just returned from a long weekend away....

On our first 'panel van', an A/Sleeper Symphony we fitted the sideplates into the metal of the sidewall and used them all the time with no probs as per my previous post, on my second coachbuilt van we didn't have them fitted mainly because the location of locker doors etc made this awkward but we would have if we could have but i take your point that fitting them to sandwich type coachbuilt walls ain't gonna be as strong. However if used sensibly, they are a much more convenient way than getting pegs out each time and the legs can be much more quickly detached if the wind gets up. If you're worried about the strengh of the sidewall you could maybe fit spreader plates behind to spread the load a bit (?) and as i said previously, if in doubt, wind it in, so, as long as you use them sensibly, they're far more convenient than 'pegging out'.

Incidentaly on the Symphony, when the wind got up, instead of rolling the awning in completely we used to leave the legs attached to the side, undo the screws on the legs and just wind the awning in leaving about a foot of awning sticking out until it calmed down then wind it out again, much easier and quicker than unpegging etc.

pete.

ps, on our latest van (A/S nuevo), we haven't had an awning fitted yet as we have seen a few others with them on and think it spoils the look of the van so the jury's out at the moment. I do miss having one though and if we do eventually decide to have one we'd definately fit the side plates as well.

 

Thanks Peejay, no prob on wait.
I can fully see the benefits of the plates and have nearly fitted them twice, I would use a spreader plate and also tubular inserts to stop crushing the side wall, enabling maximum tension on fixings (I did this on the awning itself as I felt that the wall was starting to crush before the fixings were tight enough).
However you are the first person that I have heard of that has used them so I was seeking your resons behind your opinion.
Clearly on a steel sided van the strenght is there, I am still a little uneasy on our coachbuilt, but hey after your post I may well go for it
Cheers

 

I've just fitted a pair of awning feet clips to the aluminium skirt on our Hymer with brackets to the chassis to stiffen it all up. Like others, I don't reckon the side wall is strong enough.
If the wind gets up now the only problem I can see is how to get the van back on her wheels! 8O

 

hymaway's probably correct,

the sidewall or any type of wall for that matter, probably isn't strong enough to resist strong winds so in all circumstances, if it starts blowing, then the only safe solution is to wind the awning in, no matter how its fixed down, better to be safe than (very) sorry.

pj

 

awning tyedown

Hi hymaway

We have a large free standing awning
i use 4 9" rock pegs
I fasten these by four ratchet straps to the top of each leg
I put them in place (but dont always fasten them down) each time we put up the awning - it has been used some 450 days in the last 3 years

I have always had a dislike for those straps that go over the canvas on roll out awnings

We worked markets for 15 years befors returning to camping. We used to asten down our frame and not the sheets as some did. When a wind got up you couldnt take the sheets off without removing the straps first

 

Hi
If the strap is fitted correctly per the instructions it doesn't go over the canvas. It should be fed over the top of the leg attachment and along the inside of the aluminium housing exiting the other end over the leg housing.

 

Whatever you do please don't underestimate the speed at which disaster can strike.
I have personal experience of losing an awning to the wind.

Last June in France we stopped for lunch on the motorhome field in Brantome after shopping in Perigueux. It was a hot, clear and, I thought windless day and as I was unable to park near any of the trees a day for shade from the wind-out awning.

I wound out the awning first and then went back inside for the pegs.
As I came down onto the ground from the van, pegs in hand I realised that the awning leg nearest to me was lifting.
Unfortunately my son who has some learning difficulties was not quick enough of thought or action was to react by grabbing the leg_or_to get out of my way so that I could grab it. In a matter of a couple of seconds it was over the van roof.

There was no discernible wind and I was just being cautious in going back inside for the pegs. Nevertheless I was caught out and learned a very salutary lesson.
The pegs and hammer come out first now and after the awning is wound out someone holds a leg until I've got the pegs in.

Needless to say we didn't stop for lunch after taking down the awning off the van with the much needed help of a French and British motorhomer who had seen our catastrophe.