There’s a small moment that happens at almost every campground: You pull in, shut off the engine, and look up. That awning is right there, waiting. For some RVers, it goes out almost immediately, becoming part of the campsite whether anyone is sitting under it or not. For others, it stays tucked away unless there’s a chair out and someone is actually using it. Which one sounds more like you?
If you keep your awning out most of the time, it’s probably because it just feels right. It adds shade, keeps the sun off your windows, and makes your campsite feel finished, like you’ve settled in.
On the other hand, some of you are more selective. Maybe you only roll the awning out when you’re sitting outside with a cup of coffee or enjoying an evening by the fire. Wind, weather, and the risk of damage are always at the back of your mind, so if no one’s using it, why leave it out?
Of course, many of you probably fall somewhere in between. The awning goes out on calm days and stays in when storms threaten or when you’ll be gone most of the day.
So what about you? Is your awning almost always out once you park, or do you only use it when you’re actually outside enjoying it?
Take our poll and let us know, because if there’s one thing RVers love to compare notes on, it’s how we each make our campsite feel like home.
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RVT1240b
We put out the awning slightly in the Arizona heat to shade the refrigerator and windows. Seldom put out otherwise. The awning is built to go straight out, not angled and doesn’t offer much shade underneath. Having lost one awning to unexpected winds are very careful, even with auto retraction to not leave out in wind or when away from RV.
We put it out only when at the campsite. I also bring it in, in the evening before we go to bed. I don’t trust these new power awnings. I wish the old manual ones were an option.
Read your manual, awnings are only for shade. If you don’t need shade roll it in and avoid the insurance claim.
Most of the time, the awning does not provide shade where we are sitting, especially in the evening hours. It does help shield you from light rain though.
We always pull it in when we are not at the campsite, even going for a walk.
I’ve seen sudden storms or wind gusts, rip an awning apart. The power awnings framework is extremely weak.
I wish my TT had the old style manual awning. Sturdy supports and able to be tipped to a greater angle.
I agree, Bob.
I remember the old manual awnings that were built really well with full adjustability. We used to put ours out and leave it out the whole time, unless really severe weather threatened.
Our last two RVs have had armless Girard awnings. The armless design makes them weak in comparison. Giant sails. They only go out if we are at the RV to really watch the wind, even though they have auto-retraction for high wind. If we leave, they get put in.
Inside or outside the RV doesn’t matter if the wind is low and we can reduce solar gain with the awning. If we leave the campsite for more than a few hours (less if the weather is iffy), and at night, the awning is in.
We always retract it at night because we don’t want to worry about the wind coming up while we are asleep..
The (manual) awning on our small TT has instructions to roll it up when the wind hits something like 20 mph. We mostly camp where wind is a fact of life. It is never left out if we’re not right there. We do use it at times to give shade from our high altitude sun. For rain, the only place it shelters is right at the door. We often use a separate shade/rain shelter in the campsite, where the views tend to be better than sitting next to the trailer anyway.
The new awnings would be torn apart in a 20 MPH wind. Ripped fabric and bent arms!
We saw one come off in a moderate wind gust. Not even enough to move our lawn chairs.
The awning ended up on the roof and the hardware pulled loose from the side.
Plus, these awnings are a real pain to clean!
I feel the new awnings they make are junk. Mine is up too high and you can’t tilt it down like the older style awnings. They need to design a better usable awning. When camping I see a lot of awnings left up all the time. I’ve also seen some take a beating when windy. Seen one blow right over the roof, then blow back.
We keep it out unless it is windy as it shades the reefer from the sun. We will roll it up the night before we leave.
Oh the number of people who came to me when I was a warranty guy at a dealership who wanted the warranty to cover the awning that they had left out and then the wind destroyed it. Nope. Not a warranty issue.
Even worse are the RVers who stake-down their awning. They must not know that the wind will seek the least resistance which is often awning arms screwed into a fiberglass wall.
I keep an eye on the weather every day. Bad weather coming, up it goes.
What’s an awning? If I need shade and there are no trees I just move my chair to the shady side of the trailer.
I do the same.
My wife is always worried that the slightest breeze will tear the awning to shreds, rip the awning arms out of the RV’s walls, and the world will end. We almost have never used the awnings in 20+ years of RVing.
We put our power awning out if we need shade or there’s light rain. It drops down and provides shade when fully extended. It always comes in at night. No more jumping out of bed after being woken by a flapping awning.
Only takes a sudden heavy gust to ruin the whole thing.
We rarely used the manual awning in our previous RV as retracting it quickly was a hassle. Our new RV has an electric awning, which we use frequently, but only when we are able to monitor the weather conditions.
The rear and street side awning are small, but the curbside is large and expensive.
Ours rarely goes out. The cost to repair far exceeds the value of what little shade it provides.
no awnings question’s moot
We spend the winter in Florida and our lot faces west so the passenger side of the RV is in the sun all day. So both awnings are out if the weather is cooperating. If wind is moving the awning they are retracted, if it’s mostly cloudy we don’t put them out, if we leave the RV they are retracted.