Date:         Fri, 21 Feb 2014 18:46:10 -0800
Reply-To:     Don Hanson <dhanson928@GMAIL.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Don Hanson <dhanson928@GMAIL.COM>
Subject:      Re: was: That bad in wind? Friday wind story
In-Reply-To:  <CAHTkEuLo_XvJUnPpf0yAnFFckYrkm_5jyjKSJFxCgqA0P=HQyA@mail.gmail.com>
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A friend was co-driving the Baja 1000..waiting in a remote pit in the
outback for his car to arrive.  They had gas, tools and an EZ Up shade
canopy.  A gust picked up the canopy, starting to blow it away.  Tom jumped
and grabbed it, but the wind took it and before Tom knew it he was flying,
right into a huge Cholla patch.  If you've ever encountered this cactus
(might be what US people call Prickly pear) you know it's very nasty and
super difficult to get out of your body.  Tom was covered in the stuff.
There was an EMT present who offered pain killers before they got busy with
the vice grips on literally hundreds of spines in poor Tom.  He toughed it
out cold turkey and in a short time jumped into the racecar and drove his
stint......Said that was one of the most painful mishaps he has ever
endured.

VW content.  The car was an 1800 cc Baja and Tom's family rig was a nice 90
westie with a Mazda transplant
On Feb 21, 2014 5:15 PM, "Loren Busch" <starwagen@gmail.com> wrote:

 RE: Awning in The Wind
Just got to jump in on this one.  Awnings in the wind? BTDT, in spades.
ANY awning can be subject to damage to total destruction in the wind, not
just the Shady Boy.  I've seen Shady Boys blown all the way over the top of
the van.  I've also seen one other popular and even less expensive (Bus
Depot) awning that loves to reverse itself (pop the dome part down) in the
right wind.  And I've stood and held onto the struts on my Fiamma for dear
life for about half an hour when very strong winds came up so fast that
there was no time to roll it in!  When it comes to awnings and wind apply
the sailors rule of thumb on reefing (reducing the size of) the sail:  When
do you reef?  When you first think about it!
One advantage of the roll out type awnings that I love is the ability,
especially with the Fiamma, to extend the awning just as far as you want.
 Just a couple of feet for a rain porch in some weather.  Very handy.
The other enemy of awnings is rain/hail/snow.  The weight buildup on a flat
awning from rain can be extreme and faster than you think.  And can cause
severe damage to total destruction.   Don't ask how I know about damage
from rain on a flat awning, BTDT too :)