Community Forums

Bamagene · 10-30-2006, 11:48 AM

I'm presently in St. Louis and the winds are HIGH! So high the S/O awning cover was blowing up in the air & actually starting to tear in spots. I put the S/O in. It's cramped now, but maybe I saved the awning. Is it normal for the awning to just blow up like that? I've never noticed it before. Is there a lock-down on the awning that may have come loose? Or, is it always feel to roll up & down as the wind blows? Thanks!

Bamagene · 10-30-2006, 11:48 AM

I'm presently in St. Louis and the winds are HIGH! So high the S/O awning cover was blowing up in the air & actually starting to tear in spots. I put the S/O in. It's cramped now, but maybe I saved the awning. Is it normal for the awning to just blow up like that? I've never noticed it before. Is there a lock-down on the awning that may have come loose? Or, is it always feel to roll up & down as the wind blows? Thanks!

rebelsbeach · 10-30-2006, 12:01 PM

Bamagene, I've just experienced the very same issue with my slidetopper awning and I think it was a little too sloppy...I also brought the slide in and am dealing with a bit of cramped quarters,but the good news is that I'm sitting at the factory service center here in Nappanee and will have it fixed tomorow... I am going to ask them to make sure the slidetopper awnings are within their specs as far as tightness as well.

Our Cow · 10-30-2006, 12:19 PM

That happened to me in So Dakota in September. I duct taped the tear in the awning to get me home. I have new fabric ordered. There was no locks on mine, just spring tension, they are A&E/Dometic awinings. I'm going to invest in a couple of locks that will keep them from unrolling in hight wind.

Happy Trails, Jim

Bamagene · 10-30-2006, 12:58 PM

Thanks, guys! I guess there just isn't a lot one can do to stop the wind from blowing the S/O awning up away from the top of the S/O. If anyone finds a means to stop it, I'd love to hear about it.

NeilV · 10-30-2006, 01:26 PM

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Bamagene:
Thanks, guys! I guess there just isn't a lot one can do to stop the wind from blowing the S/O awning up away from the top of the S/O. If anyone finds a means to stop it, I'd love to hear about it. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

The manual on my Winnebago states that if it gets too windy for your patio awning then it is too windy for your slide toppers and it then would be a good idea to retract your slides.

Bamagene · 10-30-2006, 03:28 PM

Thanks, Neil! That makes sense. I've had to put the patio awning up numerous times b/c of high winds, but I've never had to put the S/O in b/c of it. I'm not having that problem with the bedroom slide...just the sofa/table slide...but it IS much longer & goes out further. Plus, it seems to be "catching" a lot more of the wind gusts than the other side! I don't like being cramped up with the S/O in, but I'm sticking with it since the wind is still gusting & it could cause more tears.
I just thought maybe some type of lock had worked loose, but as someone else said...it is spring loaded and basically free to move under high winds.

ghamblen · 10-30-2006, 04:15 PM

I have seen some RVers place a patio awning strap over the slide out topper and fastened it to the ground with springs to keep the slide out topper from flying up in the wind. The ones I have observed seemed to work OK. May be an idea to try out.

Joe-K · 10-31-2006, 02:51 AM

The patio awnng strap sounds like an idea that would work for those set up for long periods of time.

When I replaced both of my slide toppers recently, I was surprised by the difference in tension between the toppers on the two different slides. I wonder whether the installers vary in their installation techniques on various rigs. One additional turn seems to make a big difference in how tight the topper is and keeps it from flapping.

Bamagene · 10-31-2006, 06:28 AM

Thanks for the idea on the strap-could be a solution.
Joe, I tend to believe that the tension on my S/O topper has just lost some tension somehow. It just seemed much looser than it used to be. But that topper was flying high and looked like a tent above the S/O. Of course, it was pretty strong winds in here last evening.
I may see about getting the tension made a bit tighter on it though.
Thanks to all for the suggestions/ideas!!

Gary RVRoamer · 11-01-2006, 04:19 AM

The problem depends to some degree on the depth of the slideout. The A&E awnings are made in a single length, so shallowewr slideouts don't extend (unroll) all the way. That leaves a lot of material still wrapped around the roller tube and high winds can cause it to unroll further. Deeper slides (36" or more) cause the topper to extend pretty much all the way, which eliminates much of the extra material on the tube and increses spring tension as well. Ergo, deeper slides will typically not exhibit this problem as much as shallower slides.

You may be able to wind the awning tube an additional turn or two to increase tension, but be very careful if you try to do so. The spring tension is considerable and you can get injured if the lever you use to turn the tube slips.

A strap is a good idea, if the flapping is a problem. Usually its just noisy, though.

Retired and Happy · 11-01-2006, 04:35 PM

I was caught recently near Mobile in what I thought was going to be a short rain. Turned out to be a hail storm with 60 mph winds recorded at the nearby airport. My patio awning blew up to the roof on the forward end. The slide topper/awning broke the forward strap and the rear strap hook. Fortunately the main awning bracket had just slipped loose and only slightly bent the strut, but it's still usable. On the slide I had to replace the rear hook and the front strap, but I had extra of both from when I replaced the slide awning a couple years ago. Until that episode, I had never had a problem with the slide topper/awning. The straps seem to hold a fair amount of tension on the topper. In fact it seems to work better when I use the awning rather than just the topper portion...better slope, tension.