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ghaynes755 · 05-17-2019, 07:25 AM

When I used to do the outdoor art festival circuit we had a different name for the Easy Up covered awnings. They were known as Easy Gone or the crash and burn setups. Wind hit a show in northern Colorado as folks were setting up at the show. After the quick storm event there was a pile of about a dozen Easy Gones and multiple cars with damage as the various parts went flying. Even professional tents with 50-100 lbs of weights on each corner and staked to the ground had a tough time. Bring that awning in and be safe.

Rounder44 · 05-18-2019, 10:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ghaynes755

When I used to do the outdoor art festival circuit we had a different name for the Easy Up covered awnings. They were known as Easy Gone or the crash and burn setups. Wind hit a show in northern Colorado as folks were setting up at the show. After the quick storm event there was a pile of about a dozen Easy Gones and multiple cars with damage as the various parts went flying. Even professional tents with 50-100 lbs of weights on each corner and staked to the ground had a tough time. Bring that awning in and be safe.

Yep!

I have an industrial strength KD Kanopy with half a dozen 2 foot concrete form stakes and trucker straps is the only way I feel safe around it!

Survived Quartzsite but not a bad wind year this past one....

Too heavy though... 68 lbs... and hassle for one person to set up. If I get a long term spot I'd put it up though!

No stakes!

Thanks!

R44

Cobalt · 05-22-2019, 10:54 AM

If I’m away from the campsite, I roll’er up. Than includes the tinted stone plastic on the front end. I’ve seen the wind grab them and want to go flying. Scary. Very easy to do, don’t mess with tie downs.
On the same note, if questionable weather, I bring her in. Forgot to tilt one nite, slow steady rain came in and I almost lost it because I had about 100 gallons of water in it (ok, maybe 20).

Msherw · 05-22-2019, 11:37 AM

My 2 Cents:

When in doubt - roll it up. After pricing a replacement for 'just in case accident' I found Zip Dee wanted about $3K for mine. Suddenly, rolling it up in a breeze seemed pretty sensible to this guy. I have other things I would rather spend the money on..

Kittycatcat · 05-22-2019, 12:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ghaynes755

When I used to do the outdoor art festival circuit we had a different name for the Easy Up covered awnings. They were known as Easy Gone or the crash and burn setups. ...

In our festival days, we called the Easy Up tents Easy Downs. Same idea - I've seen more than one destroyed - our Craft Hut tent which weighed about 60,000 lbs (and needed 4 carry bags to transport) survived several high winds - and at least one Easy Down festival neighbor tied 2 of their tent legs to ours (with our blessing) to keep theirs in the neighborhood! LOL

Seriously, we have never staked any of our awnings - it goes in if there's a threat of wind. It stays in if we're not at the campsite. When it's out, we tilt slightly downward toward the side farthest from the door, rain or shine.

jpaine4 · 05-22-2019, 01:23 PM

I have a Carefree Latitude 20’ power awning, which has an auto retract feature if gets jostled around by the wind. It works well and seems to be a well made unit.

mike28 · 05-22-2019, 01:41 PM

I had an opportunity to ask the President of Zip Dee what their thoughts were on using tie downs for their patio awning. His reply was they do not recommend it. He went on telling me about the strengths and weaknesses of their product and said if you think you might get some wind that could cause damage, roll it up. He also said the call was mine and they love selling awnings!

robearl733 · 05-23-2019, 06:58 AM

Last year at Alumapalooza the Zip Dee rep said they did not recommend staking your awning.

lsbrodsky · 05-23-2019, 07:27 AM

Well of course they do not recommend staking out their awnings. No doubt there is someone who figures a staked awning is impervious to any wind and of course ZipDee does not want to be responsible for the damage.
However there are wind conditions where the wind speed is ok for the awning but it is puffing and bouncing the whole assembly. Sure you could just roll it up. But staking it out does not jeopardize the awning and reduces the stress on the assembly from the bouncing. You just have to have faith in your competence to recognize when it is time to put it away.
Larry

**jcanavera** · 05-23-2019, 07:51 AM

I've never tied down the Zip Dee yet, but I do have from my previous SOB an awning tie down strap. It's a long strap that goes up over the awning down by the roller, and is the length of the roller. The strap has loops that connect to large springs and ties that are staked down on each end. I used to use it on beach front camping that was subject to lots of wind. Stopped the flapping and served its purpose. But I have never beach front camped with the Airstream though so I've never use it with this trailer.

Like others I roll the Zip Dee up if there is any chance of storms if I am gone or when I go to bed at night. Rain isn't an issue because I dip the awning to allow it to drain. However when wind is present or can occur, and I'm gone or in bed, it gets rolled up.

Jack

mike28 · 05-24-2019, 05:06 AM

Zip Dee experts say that when you tie down their awning the wind changes the dynamics and transfers stress to areas that could cause damage. Like they said, the choice is yours and they will be glad to sell you a replacement!

robearl733 · 05-25-2019, 08:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rocinante

I've seen an awning separated from the RV, at the RV, in an unfortunate neighbor's campsite. Sheared completely off and flipping around the roller. Stake it all you like, but stakes won't prevent that.

Thus, if we're not actually going to be at the trailer, we always bring in the big awning before we leave. Often we also bring in the other two, especially in places known for windy conditions or sudden storms. In fact, we're so crazy that we generally bring in the big awning before going to bed in case a sudden blow comes up in the middle of the night, which could do damage that wakes us up - just as the damage is done.

That said, as always: it's your awning and your money, so do what seems best to you and share your results.

I think this sums it up very well.

Rhino33 · 05-29-2019, 01:09 PM

Staking vs not staking - does this apply when the lower awning arms are set up in the 'car port' configuration? We never used the main awning on our 1980 31' International in that manner, but I have been thinking about it with the 1966 22' Safari since her awning is quite a bit smaller than Big Betty's was.

And I am hoping it will be easier to figure out how to deploy the awning with the arms on the ground...

Thoughts?