Community Forums

96 Wideglide · 02-16-2014, 08:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AFChap

I have not seen a confirmed case of a power awning unfurling due to wind. Mine has never moved ...Carefree w/aluminum cover. My window awnings have no locks, and have been affected by strong cross-winds.

Never 'seen it', but a friend of mine's powered A&E unfurled last year, AND, he had recently installed the travel lock on the rear of it, that is mentioned in many of these posts

!!

clyon51 · 02-16-2014, 09:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 96 Wideglide

Never 'seen it', but a friend of mine's powered A&E unfurled last year, AND, he had recently installed the travel lock on the rear of it, that is mentioned in many of these posts

!!

Ok, that's it, I'm taking all my awnings off

96 Wideglide · 02-16-2014, 09:28 PM

Too bad nobody around with a video camera while the poor guy was trying to secure it to get to their next stop

.
He tied a rope on it, and was trying to attach it to his frame, and a gust would come along and lift him right off his feet

! His wife had to hold him down a couple of times

!!

windydaboo · 02-16-2014, 09:30 PM

I installed a second set of latches... So far so good

inspector8 · 02-16-2014, 10:21 PM

The only time my awning ever came out is when the awning retract spring on the forward end of tube broke. Replaced spring, end of problem. Have never used any awning locks. That 1985 Minnie Winnie's awning came out in the early 90's. Last year traveled over 5000 miles with lots of wind no problems. Have I only been blessed?

inspector8 · 02-16-2014, 10:27 PM

I would think, you would want to put any locks on front arm or front end of tube. This is my thinking as a former auto mechanic, airline mechanic, inspector and do it yourself-er.

96 Wideglide · 02-16-2014, 10:35 PM

Ideal'y yes, but I believe that end of the tube houses the factory braking mechanism.

Papa_Jim · 02-16-2014, 11:02 PM

A few years ago, we were in our coach driving at about 60MPH. Suddenly a huge blast of wind slammed into the side of the coach. It sounded and felt like an explosion. It scared us so badly that I pulled over to see if there was any damage.

Imagine my surprise to find our awning unfurled, with the arms still locked closed firmly against the coach. In fact, I had a dickens of a time getting the thing unlocked and opened up so that we could get it all back together.

I decided that was never going to happen again. So, I installed the awning clamps and I've never had to worry about that happening again.

Jim

Dunner · 02-16-2014, 11:08 PM

Joe, my awning is newer, but I built mine very much the same way you did yours.

Quote:

Originally Posted by MSHappyCampers

I bought a 1/4" x 3' plated steel rod at Lowes and a piece of clear plastic tubing to cover it with. I put a 4" bend in the top to insert into the hole in the end of the awning tube. I strap the rod to the awning support in two places with flat bungee cords.

This is what my DIY awning lock looks like!

I've got to replace the bungees as I made this last year and they are rotten now!

topdownman · 02-17-2014, 06:41 AM

The mistaken assumption here is that if your awning arms cannot open, the awning cannot unfurl. This is false. The awning arms have NOTHING to do with this phenomenon. True, if your awning arms are NOT locked, there is a greater risk of the awning opening while under way. But, so far as I know, most awnings on the market today have some sort of latch on the awning arms that keep them from pulling away from the RV. The problem is wind that can get under and inside the awning billowing it out. Wind can even get in from the front edge and start to billow an awning. If you don't have some sort of device that locks securely that awning tube (and I'm not talking about the ratchet assembly that's built into the awning), you run the risk of this happening to you.

I've been RVing for many years and never had this happen until about 6 years ago while traveling across Colorado. I had a strong 50+ mph sidewind hitting me. Sure, I should have stopped, but we were under a time deadline. Had slowed my speed down and held her steady. Fortunately, the wind was constant. The wind got inside my Carefree and broke both the ratchet and spring inside. The awning (still closed) billowed upward completely unrolling. I heard the noise, it sounded like a freight train hit me in the side. We pulled off the interstate and managed to secure the awning by drilling a small hole in the middle awning cradle and putting a sheet metal screw through that and through the metal awning cover. It was so windy the wind was sliding me off the top of the motorhome.

The second time it happened was two years ago. We had just bought our current MH (a Sportscoach) and were driving it home from New York to Kentucky. Near Columbus, Ohio, we ran into nearly identical conditions. It broke the ratchet assembly and the awning unrolled (this was a two-step). I managed to pull off at the next exit and get beside a building where I secured it as best I could with zip ties around the awning tube. I had to replace the end of the awning tube (ratchet assembly). This time, I installed an awning lock.

anotherone · 02-17-2014, 07:32 AM

Many years ago A&E was sued over this issue ; Might have been a class action. Also nhtsa ? might have been involved. Anyway there was a national recall on awnings for this very issue. Seems like there are enough issues again for a safety investigation.
In reference to lazy people not putting their awnings up in a storm. Two summers ago in Lexington Va. a really bad storm came up and we had to bail out of the mh to the bath house. For me to bail it had to be ugly ; trust me. Anyway many people were still out on the town and their awnings were out and got torn to shreads ; twelve people were killed. They weren't lazy! The moral of the story "defecation occurs". Sometimes it is just your turn no matter what.

topdownman · 02-17-2014, 07:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by anotherone

"defecation occurs". Sometimes it is just your turn no matter what.

MSHappyCampers · 02-17-2014, 08:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dunner

Joe, my awning is newer, but I built mine very much the same way you did yours.

Dunner, those new straps I got at Wal-Mart yesterday work great! They are made with nylon webbing with velcro. This is what they look like.

inspector8 · 02-17-2014, 11:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by anotherone

Many years ago A&E was sued over this issue ; Might have been a class action. Also nhtsa ? might have been involved. Anyway there was a national recall on awnings for this very issue. Seems like there are enough issues again for a safety investigation.
In reference to lazy people not putting their awnings up in a storm. Two summers ago in Lexington Va. a really bad storm came up and we had to bail out of the mh to the bath house. For me to bail it had to be ugly ; trust me. Anyway many people were still out on the town and their awnings were out and got torn to shreads ; twelve people were killed. They weren't lazy! The moral of the story "defecation occurs". Sometimes it is just your turn no matter what.

Here's the lawsuit, a man got killed: Sady Mauldin | Beasley Allen Law Firm