According to some sources, the greatest number of RV insurance damage claims are related directly to awnings. I'd always shaken my head at that one, until 4:30 one morning, a sudden attack of "severe weather" loaded up my awning fabric with water. Despite our carefully tilting the awning to drain off rain, the flow from the clouds was faster than our tilting could manage. The strong awning fabric acted as a swimming pool, filling up, and up, and up--until something had to give. In the end, both awning arms bent, dropping the whole works with a crash, bending the 18' awning roller like a malformed cue stick.

Unhappily, we became another one of those RV damage statistics. After sunrise, I squeezed my bulk out the partially blocked door, surveying the damages. A phone call to our insurance company would soon summon an adjuster, and eventually, someone to take down and haul away the mass of mangled metal.

Accumulated water is one way to damage an awning, but there are other dangers lurking--many of which can be guarded against. As my junior high history teacher was want to say, "Pay heed!"

Flapping Fancies

While a fresh breeze is great for cooling down, too much of a good thing can cause plenty of grief. Constant "working" by the wind can loosen mounting hardware, aside from making an infernal racket. More wind can actually tear awing fabric, or just haul off and rip the hardware right off the side of your rig.

When a strong, gusty wind is predicted, it may be best to roll up the awning. But if you're away when the wind comes up, you may not have that ability. Various products are manufactured to help take some of the dangerous edge off the wind.

Various clamps, often referred to as "de-flappers" tension up the awning fabric between awning arms. These will help to reduce that "flap-a-flap-a-flap" noise that's so grating on the nerves, and will reduce the chances of a fabric tear.

Still, an awning clamp will do nothing to prevent a strong wind from getting under your awning and lifting it upright, endangering the very hardware of the system itself. After years of camping on the desert, we've found the best approach to dealing with unknown winds is to use an awning hold-down strap.

The strap is nylon, about 2" wide, and runs across the entire width of the awning. At each end of the strap is a metal ring, one ring set to adjust the length to fit the need. With the awning set at the desired height, we pass the strap over one awning arm, across the fabric, and over the other awning arm. A metal awning stake is pounded into the ground at each end of the awning, and the strap is ringed off to it. To complete the installation, a large spring is inserted between one of the stakes and its corresponding strap ring, and the strap is then cinched down fairly tight.

When the wind blows, the spring allows for a small amount of recoil, but by and large, the awning is restrained from too much motion. Not only is noise reduced, the wind doesn't "worry" the hardware like a dog working over a juicy bone. We've also painted the ground stake, to make it a little more apparent to idle strollers--this after I "discovered" that the stake was fairly well camouflaged and wound up inspecting the desert soil at very close range.

Dirges of the Door

If your awning is mounted in such a way that when your entry door opens, it comes close to coming in contact with the fabric, trouble can result. You need an "awning roller" kit, which looks like a small furniture caster. The wheel screws onto the top leading corner of your entry door. Should the awning fabric come down low enough to come into contact, the wheel simply lifts it up, and gently rolls under the awning, preventing a tear.

The screen door is quite another matter, as trying to put a caster on the screen door would certainly make closing the outer door a bit impractical. Included in the awing roller kit is a small plastic disc with a screw sized hole bored in the middle. The disc is mounted, likewise on the top leading edge of the screen door, low enough to clear the door frame, but high enough to prevent the sharp screen door edge from scratching and tearing the awning fabric.

Rain's Ruin

In our case, the foresight of setting the awning angle at a slight tip just wasn't enough to bale us out of trouble. After the damage was done, we ran across something that would have stopped the problem before it ever got started. A commercial product called "Awnbrella" is a kit of rib-like devices. Placed between the rig's wall and the awning roller tube, these "aluminum bows" force the awning upward like the spokes of an umbrella. It would appear that water would never have a chance to pool on the awning. Mind you these little riblets aren't cheap, and they do require more work to set up your awning, but if you do much "rain country" RVing they may be worth the cost and effort. Or you could just swear off the badlands and head for the desert!