Date:         Sat, 14 Nov 2015 10:13:36 -0800
Reply-To:     Loren Busch <starwagen@GMAIL.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Loren Busch <starwagen@GMAIL.COM>
Subject:      Re: A Westy awning
Comments: To: Dennis Jowell <dennisjowell@gmail.com>
In-Reply-To:  <31EE6788-BE55-4DE3-BBC1-CD5168F7C8C9@gmail.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8

​ RE: Awnings and Wind And Rain and such

ANY awning (when deployed :) ) is going to be vulnerable to wind and rain.
Any, not just the Fiamma.  I know from experience.
The very first time my 10 foot Fiamma was deployed (and not staked down or
attached to the side of the van, it was nearly destroyed by a sudden rain
and hail storm.  That awning was repaired and is in use somewhere today.
Another time I did not tilt the awning as much as I should have one night
and the water that accumulated pulled the whole thing off the van.  The one
part that broke was replaced (great parts diagrams for ordering such things
from Fiamma) and that awning is still on my Westy and is used all the time.
I have seen Dometic, Shady Boy and Fiamma awnings broken or destroyed.  And
I have seen Ezy-Up canopies pulled 20+ feet into the air and hurled across
the landscape.
STAKE OR TIE YOUR AWNING DOWN!!  OR ATTACH TO THE SIDE OF THE VAN WITH THE
DEVICES SHIPPED WITH THE AWNING.  That will save a lot of regrets when the
sudden wind comes up.  And if the rain is coming tilt the awning.  Tilt it
more than you think you need to.
BTW, Fiamma offers a kit for more effective/secure staking.  Two plates
that fit over the feet on the bottom of the legs and stake in place with
four large stakes.  And in fairly firm ground makes a very solid hold
down.  There is also an even more robust kit from Fiamma that uses a long
strap and ground anchors.  Go Westy lists both of those kits and I assume
that Van Cafe can also get them.