Awning open or closed during a light shower ?

[theoldwizard1]

My daughter's family bought a 2016 287BHSW and have had some issues with it. Only only there second trip, the awning arm bent after a light overnight rain (no high winds). The dealer is now telling them that they should close their awning any time it LOOKS like rain !

What do you people do overnight or when you leave the campsite for a few hours ? Leave it up or roll it in ?

[33 RLDS]

I keep one side lower so the water wont pool up..

[kerner]

I might roll it up if we know of a huge storm coming but never for a normal rain/wind storm. I'm talking Thunderstorm warnings or Tornado Watch, I might roll it up.

[bankr63]

Don't lower an end because that interferes with the autodump feature. Have had it fully extended through some unexpected heavy wind gusts as well with no issues. Mine is a CareFree of Colorado power awning, and the arms seem much heavier than the manual type awnings.

[bansai]

Probably use my awning about 15 % of the time. If it's getting windy, it's not out. I never leave the TT or go to sleep with it out. No reason to risk it.

[mlucas77]

Even a light wind can lift these awnings up and slam them right back down and bend a arm. Ive seen it done.. If the trees are blowing roll it in. Light rain, lower one side or just simply roll it in.. Now there is a manufacturer defect on certain arms. See if they qualify..

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[DocBrown]

In 14 seasons of having 2 different trailers with an awning I've only had the need to close it on 2 occasions.

Once in West Yellowstone, MT. A "light snow" nearly destroyed the awning, I left it open over night not knowing we were going to get 1/2 inch of snow. It stayed stowed away the rest of the trip.

The second time was this past June. We were on the shore of Lake Michigan in the Upper Peninsula. Lots of easterly wind that weekend right off the lake. One night the awning was bouncing so much I closed it.

Other than that, rain is a big part of the reason I use the awning. As said above, just set one arm lower so it runs off.

[Desert RVers]

Originally Posted by bansai

If it's getting windy, it's not out. I never leave the TT or go to sleep with it out. No reason to risk it.

x2

I might leave it out a foot or two if it's damp or light rain. Any wind and I bring it in.

[bluie5]

Originally Posted by DocBrown

Other than that, rain is a big part of the reason I use the awning. As said above, just set one arm lower so it runs off.

x2
That's why I use the awning. To keep stuff dry or sit under when it rains. If it's storming and windy I bring it in. When away for the day I drop both ends all the way down. Mine auto dumps so I leave the arms alone except when gone.

[blujay40]

The awning's "status" is always under review. We try to keep it out as much as possible and will just lower a corner during light/moderate rainfall unless there is the threat of severe weather close by, then we roll it up.

The only other time we roll it up is if we are leaving the campsite for more than an hour or so.

Since we are almost never out of cell phone range, smartphone radar and weather warnings are a wonderful thing that assist us in keeping awnings out as much as possible.

[ShawnR]

I leave mine out at the beach where it always rains and the wind blows. I have a Vacation'R room attached to anchor it. The dump feature still works. No worries in 20+mph winds. Without the room I would roll it in for wind but not rain.

[Paintinfool3]

I leave mine out unless the winds get real high and I never lock the knobs on the arms I leave them loose to flex if necessary

[Gone campin]

I leave it out unless it really gets windy. I've been away when a heavy rain has hit unexpectedly and came back to one end down, so apparently the auto-dump worked... If I expect rain, I will lower the rear one to shed water away from the camp site.

[bap]

We had ours out this summer when an unexpected storm came up and I forgot the awning was out. We were inside the camper and heard a loud crash and looked out to see that our Carefree Power awning had "Auto Dumped itself right onto the ground at one end and mangled the upright arms mounted on the camper on the other end. The end that came down was actually the roll had broken away from the motor. Point being, I would not trust the auto-dump feature to work properly because ours didn't.

[Bassdogs]

Originally Posted by bansai

Probably use my awning about 15 % of the time. If it's getting windy, it's not out. I never leave the TT or go to sleep with it out. No reason to risk it.

X2, we only use awning when we are at the site and no rain/wind is predicted. Weather report calls for mild rain and out of nowhere a gust comes thru at 2am and your awning is toast.

[TimHolt]

My awning is motorized, so I wouldn't know how to make it lower on one side...I usually put it out all the way...
I bring it in when any winds come up over say, 15 mph or so. Out West, winds change from soft breeze to hurricane in a split second..

[SouthCo]

I've had mine open during heavy rain. It has a dump feature but I lower one side if there is any wind. If it's really bad I'll retract it but it's been out during some pretty good rain with no issues...


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[Parcany]

We spend 4 months in the Show Low are of northern Az and out awning is out for the full 4 months, rain, wind and hail. We have the Arms that I built under the awning and tied down and have not had any problems whatsoever. Had hail tonight and rain and the awning stayed right where it was. I got the awning on position 5 out of 6 and the water runs right off.

[dewey02]

Originally Posted by bluie5

x2
That's why I use the awning. To keep stuff dry or sit under when it rains. If it's storming and windy I bring it in. When away for the day I drop both ends all the way down. Mine auto dumps so I leave the arms alone except when gone.

X3.
We bring our "stuff" - chairs, bikes, grill, firewood, etc. under the awning at night to prevent the dew getting them wet, and also when it rains. We don't have one of those fancy power awnings and hearing the problems people have, I'm glad we don't. Pulling down and putting up an awning isn't hard work.
We just lower one side so rain can drain off. If the wind gets really bad, then we put it up, but otherwise we use it to keep us and our stuff dry, just like bluie5 said.

[Loosenuts]

Our awning is out with one side set for auto-dump. So if it rains hard before I can get to it I know it will be ok. If I know it's going to rain I'll lower one side ahead of time.
If I know it's going to be windy I'll bring it in.
At night or when we are leaving the area we bring it in.

On our old trailer I would leave it out overnight. Woke up one time at 2am to a absolute downpour, by the time I got out the door the awning was sagging big time in the middle. I thought it was going to drown me when I dumped it. The wife said she could feel the trailer lean back to level when it dumped. Never again.