Is An Awning an Important Feature?

[starling]

Love this idea! Do you have any photos you can show off your masterpiece?

[Civilguy]

Originally Posted by Jon in AZ

Curious what brand and style of automatic awning Escape used?

Forgive my unkind acronym. I see it's been used liberally on other forum threads; let's call it a Producer of Sorrow.

We have a Dometic 9500. The manual states that:

This awning is designed with a water shed feature that automatically lowers one side of awning during light rain to allow water run off.
This water shed feature is meant for light rain only.

In my experience it has collected a huge pool of water with no reaction. The frame is entirely cantilevered with no provisions for further support. This places very high stresses on the awning frame, the attachment to the trailer, and the trailer at the point of connection.

It's also supposed to auto-retract in the wind. I've no experience with this. Reace posted on the Escape forum on 4/2/17:

I was playing with the awning in the rain the other day...because it just hasn't stopped raining...

With the awning fully extended, water will collect in the centre and build up until it gets too heavy and dumps. You have to have faith as it fills quite a bit before it finally lets go.

I then retracted the awning about 2' and it sheds the water without it collecting. Left it for a few hours in heavy rain...and nothing!

Give that a try

Something else I was playing with in the show room...

I removed the batteries from the wind sensor...and waited to see exactly how long it took for the awning to realized that the batteries were dead and close. It is supposed to pick this up...

After 8 hours I figured it wasn't going to sense this...

I will contact Dometic about this...but in the mean time...I recommend testing the wind sensor regularly

Reace

One cannot simply adjust this awning to remain at a steeper angle to shed rain as I did with the Fiamma on the Casita. I mistrust things that are supposed to work auto-magically, but don't.

From the Escape forum, 7/12/18:

ETI posted on Facebook today:

There will be some minor changes to the Escape Travel Trailer for 2019.

These changes will include the return of the Carefree Fiesta Manual Awning with Arms as a standard feature.
Effective January 1, 2019 we will no longer be offering the Dometic Power Awning. This change will see the base price of the trailer reduced by $700.00cdn to reflect the difference in cost between the two awnings.

I have some awning poles from REI, and a number of tarps, etc. I'm liking what KC did.

Escape refused to install the manual awning when we ordered, though they had apparently done so previously for others. The Dometic will remain there on the trailer for the present. But, once I get my round-to-it, there will be further investigations, with appropriate consequences to follow...

[Jon in AZ]

Originally Posted by Civilguy

Forgive my unkind acronym. I see it's been used liberally on other forum threads; let's call it a Producer of Sorrow.

No apology required. I knew you would not use such a phrase lightly. Unnecessary complexity begets unintended consequences. Those cantilevered awnings should only be installed on conventional framed trailers, IMO. Sorry to hear of your troubles.

[Ruth C.]

Greg,
How did you remove the original awning without damaging the fiberglass?

[WaltP]

Originally Posted by Ruth C.

Greg,
How did you remove the original awning without damaging the fiberglass?

Ruth
I'll provide an extra answer to that one. By necessity I did damage the fiberglass, no way around it. I then had a super competent fiberglass technician fully restore the fiberglass before installing the new awning. Not cheap but worth it to have a rugged awning that I have full confidence in.

Walt

[k corbin]

Originally Posted by starling

Love this idea! Do you have any photos you can show off your masterpiece?

Not at the moment, my trailer is up on ramps, parked between a van and a big cargo trailer. I am working finishing up the interior renovation. Waiting for warmer and drier weather before I put the solar panel up on the roof.



It will roll off the ramps sometimes this summer



No real hurry now to get it done for for spring camping as all the camping places in Washington State are closed down and likely to remain that way for some months to come.

[RogerDat]

This site is where I got the idea for the awning track hangers I use. https://www.popupportal.com/threads/...hangers.63064/


I also bought a package of large wood beads that I use on para cord to pull the awning tight to the end of the track. Track on my 13 ft is 7'8" that leaves a bit of room on each end for a piece of paracord from the bead that wedges into the end of the track to loop into the end grommet and anchor it to the end of the track. That line of paracord to the bead is in addition to the metal tube and washer hanger in that same corner grommet.

I use two types of poles. Expensive shock corded aluminum poles. Have 2 for when I use the 10x12 foot tarp and the corners are past the ends of the camper. These are Kelty or similar. About 3/4 inch and very sturdy.

My outer poles are just the $7 aluminum poles that telescope out. The top of the pole fits inside the bottom. The tip goes through a grommet. The guy rope loops over the pole tip. So the tarp is held down on the pole tip by the guy rope. I did cut a small amount off of the inner pole so they would collapse to a touch shorter length. I also added rubber cane tips to the bottom. The plastic caps that come on them are good for about 20 minutes of use. Without a cap the inner tube can drop out the bottom when carrying them.



There is also this person who makes excellent awnings with a rope in the hem that allows it to slide into the awning track. May get one of them one of these days for fancy dress up.

Vintage Trailer Awnings

[Jon in AZ]

Marti’s Awnings is another supplier of rope-and-pole awnings. I’ve heard good things from others, but no personal experience.

Personally, I don’t care for awnings that require guy lines for support. Lots of places- from pavement to exposed bedrock to sand- don’t take and/or hold stakes too well.

[WaltP]

Marti's Vintage Trailer Awnings

Pretty reasonable prices too.

Walt

[Rarebird]

Love a good awning. I like the vintage look but they puddle during a rain. I bought a Volkswagen bus awning (Bus Depot I think) and sewed in a “awning strip” which fits into the awning rail on the trailer. The crisis cross bar of the awning keeps it from filling with water. Got the awning strip from Sailrite.

[Martin.P]

Originally Posted by Rarebird

Love a good awning. I like the vintage look but they puddle during a rain. I bought a Volkswagen bus awning (Bus Depot I think) and sewed in a “awning strip” which fits into the awning rail on the trailer. The crisis cross bar of the awning keeps it from filling with water. Got the awning strip from Sailrite.

I have the same awning. Use it on both my 68 VW Westy and my Trillium.

[Casita Greg]

Originally Posted by Ruth C.

Greg,
How did you remove the original awning without damaging the fiberglass?

I just drilled the rivet heads off with a 3/16" drill bit. As a rule, you should use the same size diameter drill bit as the shank of the rivet you're removing. Those awning rivets are 3/16" diameter. The reasoning is that if you drill the head of the rivet off and don't react to let up pressure on the drill right away, you will drill down through the fiberglass. If this happens, it won't enlarge the existing hole. Not so much of a problem with holes that you're going to seal up, but it's more important where you'll be replacing a bad rivet. You don't want to use a larger bit which, if you slip, will widen the holes creating a problem in trying to simply replace a rivet. Once you have the rivet heads drilled off, just take a small round object and push the remaining shank of the rivet down below the fiberglass and fill the holes with Marine-Tex, (below.)

If you want to remove the squeezed bulb ends of the rivets inside the trailer, you'll have to feel for them under the carpeting. Making a slight razor blade cut over the rivet ends will allow you to pull them out with a needle nose or hemostat, but frankly, it really isn't even necessary because you won't even see them under the rat fur if you leave them there, and they're all inside overhead compartments anyway.

As for filling the holes, I used Marine-Tex epoxy. It is a good filler, dries as hard as fiberglass, and is sandable and paintable. If you buy the white, you won't need to paint the patches, they'll blend in with the fiberglass quite well.

https://www.amazon.com/Marine-Tex-St...8-2&th=1&psc=1

[Jack Walter]

I have a had a couple of Bus Depot awnings as well. They are a fantastic addition to a trailer that have stood up to some pretty good wind gusts. I attach mine to the gutter of the trailer with some 5/16 eye bolts that fit into some holes in the gutter rail.

Here is a shot of one of my previous trailers with the bus depot awning.

[Casita Greg]

Originally Posted by Jack Walter

I have a had a couple of Bus Depot awnings as well. They are a fantastic addition to a trailer that have stood up to some pretty good wind gusts. I attach mine to the gutter of the trailer with some 5/16 eye bolts that fit into some holes in the gutter rail.

Here is a shot of one of my previous trailers with the bus depot awning.

Looks like it seems to work pretty well for you, but unfortunately most fiberglass trailers don't have that top gutter to attach anything to. Which is why I installed a section of aluminum Keder rail to the side of my trailer for my slide-in "Rope & Pole" awning.

And as a side note, the awning was made by Marti's Awnings.
https://www.facebook.com/pg/Martis-A...05065/reviews/

[Yvimij]

I used to enjoy the awning that came on my older Casita. Then one beautiful balmy evening we went to sleep without retracting the awning. During the night a very slight wind came up and collapsed the awning, trapping us inside the Casita. Luckily my granddaughter was small enough to use the "emergency escape" window. She was able to wrestle the awning away from the door. Otherwise we would still be trapped inside the Casita. I removed the awning and hauled it to the dump.

[Yvimij]

Originally Posted by Jack Walter

I have a had a couple of Bus Depot awnings as well. They are a fantastic addition to a trailer that have stood up to some pretty good wind gusts. I attach mine to the gutter of the trailer with some 5/16 eye bolts that fit into some holes in the gutter rail.

Here is a shot of one of my previous trailers with the bus depot awning.

My Casita did not have a butter so I put two tarp hooks on my trailer. I just drop the busdepot awning rail into the two hooks and run a couple of bungee cords from the awning rail to the belly band on the trailer.

Got the hooks at Lowes for a couple of bucks: Item #20772Model #N220-608

[Geronimo John]

Originally Posted by Raspy

....I think I've finally learned to never leave it out at night, never leave it out if we are not there, and put it away early if there seems to be a weather change coming. .

I agree with Raspy's sage thoughts. We also have a "legged" awning. I set it up using the legs to the ground, and almost never use them partially deployed to the side of our Oliver. 99.5% of the time, I have our awning in one of three deployed positions. They are: Stowed, about 30" deployed, and Full Open. (NOTE: The 30" is not set in stone. It is different for each trailer type. The position is for entry rain protection, as modified to provide awning and door clearance as Raspy noted.)

At night, or when light winds and/or light rain are expected, we leave it at the 30" setting. If stronger than light winds/rain are anticipated, we stow it. We never leave it full open if we are not outside using it.

HOWEVER, we travel with 3 Fortex 18 quart feed buckets. they are handy for lots of purposes. My first deployment action is to fill the buckets with rocks (80% of the time), or rocks and water (10% of the time for bad weather locations), or just water and/or sand (10% of the time if rocks are not available).

I made three dedicated 550 Paracord leashes each with a carabiner for quick release if needed. I connect the leashes to the leading edge frame of the awning at the center, and each side leg location. I set the awning at about 30" and make quick loops in the paracord to attach the bucket carabiners to the leashes. Then I repeat the loop tying process with the relocated buckets and the awning at the full open position.

Basically this process results in three cheap, but effective, near "weight free for travel anchors". They allow for quick deployment, adjustment or stow of our awning. In an emergency, if I must, I could cut the lines and crank it in really quickly. In such situations, I don't worry about the legs still being extended. After I get the awning 98% stowed, I shorten the legs and poke them into their stowed position and then crank in the last two inches.

At the end of our stay, I return the fill material to their found location and the buckets to the cellar.

All this said, there are some locations that I would NEVER even consider using our beloved awning. Ask your neighbors. Look around and see if awnings are deployed. If you don't see any, then be even more weary of the situation and don't put yours out.

One last suggestion. When you deploy your awning, leave the crank handle in a designated location near where you or your partner may need it in an emergency. Cheap insurance.

Mahalo,

[stevebaz]

Any more than 2 days the awning is out a 13 foot trailer it to small if its hot, cold or wet out. In allot of places we camp there is no shade so it becomes a life saver.

[Markz]

Classic awnings are adorable, but not useful in my camping style. I like to place a picnic table next to my camper and I don't want to be bombarded with bugs while sipping my coffee in the morning or dinner at night.

I use a pop-up screen-room snugged-up next to the camper so I can essentially more than double my living area. I can firmly attach it to the camper through heavy-duty suction cups.
I found that I never used the awning rail, so I took mine off. In my opinion, it was interupting the smooth lines of the camper and would look nicer without it when painted.

That being said, I am selling the original Boler bag awning in Blue if anyone is interested.