Awning and Wind

Saw an awning blow over the top of a van yesterday while on Hayling Beach.

Don't know what make of van, just a long PVC in dark grey, non AS.

One hell of a noise as a gust of wind caught it, bang it went right over. Lucky no one was walking by at the time, as the support legs also went flying.

I was going to see if he needed any help, but he just walked off and came back with two ice cream cones!

Funny awning, when he did remove it, he just pulled it from the runner, not sign of bend support arms etc.

Lets hope he pegs it down next time, no one else had awnings out as it was gusty, maybe new to the game.
-----------
Richard

We’ve considered one of these, which sounds like one of the roll into a bag type awning : no metal bits so much lighter, much cheaper, much less prone to wind damage ( as you saw)  and so won’t damage the van and can be fitted more cheaply too. The bag into which it rolls away is less likely to be damaged by scraping againt a building and it won’t jam in the cassette.

If we were buying a new van we would definitely go for it.


[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

Quilter wrote:We’ve considered one of these, which sounds like one of the roll into a bag type awning : no metal bits so much lighter, much cheaper, much less prone to wind damage ( as you saw)  and so won’t damage the van and can be fitted more cheaply too. The bag into which it rolls away is less likely to be damaged by scraping againt a building and it won’t jam in the cassette.

If we were buying a new van we would definitely go for it.


[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

I guess that was the type he had, less pegs  The van did look like a diy job.

Not sure you could choose when buying a new van, unless you also did the conversion.
----------
Richard

rgermain wrote:

Not sure you could choose when buying a new van, unless you also did the conversion.
----------
Richard

We'd ask the dealer to do it as they'd have to fit an awning strip first. Certainly opting not to have the heavy Fiamma cassette awning would make a difference to payload and peace of mind on windy days. 

When we bought our current van the dealer threw in the Cassette awning and fitting as part of the deal. He'd probably be delighted to be asked to throw in the much cheaper Caravanstore one instead !

There's a DIY conversion on a VW Crafter a few pitches away from us with a Fiamma cassette awning rolled out. He didn't strap it down, instead he had two 
poles fixed to the centre of the front edge in an inverted V shape. What use they were I don't know, as he shut his drivers door, the poles fell down.

Quilter wrote:

rgermain wrote:

Not sure you could choose when buying a new van, unless you also did the conversion.
----------
Richard

We'd ask the dealer to do it as they'd have to fit an awning strip first. Certainly opting not to have the heavy Fiamma cassette awning would make a difference to payload and peace of mind on windy days. 

When we bought our current van the dealer threw in the Cassette awning and fitting as part of the deal. He'd probably be delighted to be asked to throw in the much cheaper Caravanstore one instead !

I suppose I am wrong to think they come with wind out cassette awning from the AS factory, or did the dealer take it off?

You use it on windy days, you are brave.
---------
Richard

No,ours came from the factory with no awning and the dealer fitted it. 
W
don't leave it up in wind but we do spend a lot of time in Spain where the wind can go from flat calm to very windy in less than the time it takes to pick up the awning winder.  

Having  a bag awning rather than a cassette awning would eliminate some of the need to keep a constant watch on various mountains etc where the wind usually comes from.