Another lesson learned

[RLS]

Well, it happened again! We were up at Red Top Mountain S.P. in GA this past Christmas to see our son. Left the site around 10:00 A.M. to go into Atlanta to be with him. We knew it was supposed to snow that day, but really thought it would be no big deal. I just lowered the awning down to it's lowest point so the snow would slide off!! WRONG Got back about 10:00 that night and was shocked at how much snow was just sitting on top of the awning with it sagging like I have never seen before. OK, it hasn't ripped yet, so I get under it to push up and let the snow slide down, WRONG One, this was some heavy stuff, two, it was NOT sliding off!! OK, next I get the broom to try from the top side to brush it off, WRONG, well maybe only half WRONG. I was able to get about 2/3 of it off, but there was about 1/2" to 1" of ice under the snow that was not going anywhere! So again I go under to try and break the ice up so it would slide off, WRONG It was like the ice had been glued to the fabric. By this time it is almost midnight and it had stopped snowing so I figured I would tackle the ice problem the next morning. It was not sagging that much now.
The next day rolls around and I'm ready to tackle the awning again since we are leaving that day. Temp. outside is a brisk 26 degrees. I again try going from the underside to try and break the ice up, WRONG Not much left to try so my only option now was to try the water hose. So here I am spraying water on it which was working but but was also creating a lot on ice on the mat we had down(that was also fun to get up, had to roll it up as best I could with the ice and stick it in the shower!). The water worked. but took almost 3 hrs. to get it melted so it would roll up.
Lesson learned; NEVER, EVER, LEAVE YOUR AWNING OR MAT OUT WHEN THERE IS A CHANCE OF SNOW OR RAIN IN BELOW FREEZING WEATHER.

[loudruff]

Never walk more that 6 or 7 campsites away if you leave the awning out. It is surprising how fast wind and rain can come through. It seems to find those awnings. Larry and I put ours in everytime we are going to leave for very long. Not worth the worry or the expense of replacement.
So sorry you had so much trouble!

[safari57]

A group of us were camping beside a lake. We headed in to town for an ice cream cone, about five minutes away. One lady stayed behind so she still had her awning out. A big one, on a 40' moho. As can happen often, the wind came up and we figured we should zip back and make sure everything was properly battened down at the campsite.

We came around the corner and there she is (fairly small at under 5', maybe a few pounds over desired weight but hey, that is just a number, right?) and she is literally dangling from the awning, the wind is whipping it about, and she is not letting go for dear life .

Turned out no damage thankfully, due to her grabbing hold, but it is not likely she could have held on much longer. We still get a chuckle when the topic comes up, and she is not around or course