Awning Problem

[sam and ann]

We purchased a new 06 2720 SL about two weeks ago and had it set up in our yard putting our stuff in it we had extended the awning for shade and had the end near the front lowered so any water could run off a rain shwer came up with a little wind and the awning fell off bending the support posts. upon examining the case I found the awning was attached with five 1/2" sheet metal screws that only went into the outer aluminum skin that is not much for a awning that weighs almost 60 pounds.Has anyone had this problem and how did you solve it.

[Bill]

I'm not clear about which part "fell off". Do you mean that the awning case pulled off the three support brackets (shown on page 6 of the awning manual)? Or that the support brackets pulled out of the upper sidewall of the trailer? If it is either one of these, I am surprised - I haven't looked closely at these support points, but it always seemed pretty solid to me.

Or do you mean that the fabric part of the awning somehow fell off the support arms/legs/posts/whatever you call them? Or that the bottom end of the support arms came unclipped from the wall of the TM? Did you have the center rafter extended and tensioned? Did you have the corners of the awning staked down, as shown in the manual?

At any rate, you handled the rain-drainoff OK by lowering one corner, but you have learned that awnings and wind don't mix. A relatively small wind on a large canvas sail can produce a lot of force - enough to rip out screws or tear the awning fabric. Most folks make it a rule never to leave an awning unattended for more than a few minutes, unless they are really sure of completely calm weather.

Sorry not to be more help. Let us know a bit more about what broke, and we'll see if there are some ideas out there. Perhaps for clarity, it would be helpful for you to look in the manual and point us to a picture of what broke.

I'm sure you can get replacement parts from Fiamma, but it is a shame to have to go through this.

Bill

[Speckul8r]

I use a corkscrew type stake along with a guy line and a tauntline hitch to help secure the awning. Like this:
http://www.campingworld.com/browse/skus/index.cfm/Outside-Your-RV/Awnings/Awning-Accessories/Tie-Out-Stake/skunum=24435
Got mine at WalMart.
Sometimes a wind can get up mighty quick. Don't leave the awning up if you are going to be gone, and I leave it up at night only if I'm in a well protected campsite. Hate getting up in the middle of the night for the Chinese fire drill! :)
As you unfortunately found out, that thing has a large sail area and it doesn't take a whole lot of wind to turn it into a pretzel.

[sam and ann]

TM does not use the brackets that Fiamma shows in the installation guide. I found that my awning was attatched with only the 1/2" sheet metal screws srewed into the awning case it's self.Living only about 50 miles from Orlando We went to the factory and bought our parts $120.00 worth The factory does not honor the warranty because the awning is not properly installed.

[Magdefrau]

Yes, any wind is a problem. I suppose several lines are needed to inclue a net like rig over the sheeting to hold it in place. I have found that rolling the fly like a jib on a ship is the best management. I have a storm roll up so that during a rainy/storming afternoon or night I only unraval three feet of tarp. With tie down I am in control of the wind and rain, able to leave and enter the TM with out getting wet.

What is the hardware the fly manufacture need us to instale?

[Queeniereads]

Yup! Left our awning up for 2 hours on a lovely sunny day south of Cleveland while we went into the city. Came back to discover a freak storm had passed by and our brand new awning was broken beyond repair. Expensive thing to learn. We replaced it but are nearly afraid to use it. LOL Queeniereads aka judi

[MidwestDave]

Yep! Left awning up one night, little or no wind and went to bed. At 3a.m. Guess who had to get dressed and go out a put down the awning because it was raining and blowing? I plan to use awning only when we are around to use it from now on. Have heard too many horror stories for the $1,000 awning!:errrr:

Midwest Dave:cool:
QCUSA

[sam and ann]

Looking in the Fiamma installation manual it shows three brackets that the awning is attatched to TM does not use them for some unknown reason.

[wbmiller3]

After some bad awning experiences in the old popup (like going out at 3 am to knock the snow off to keep it from collapsing...) we opted to not get one on the TM. The salesman was quite surprised that we didn't want the awning or the TV antenna, but we eventually came to an agreement...Haven't missed either one.

[commodor47]

Does your Fiama manual show different types of attaching hardware? Also wondering if the top, back of the awning case is/was attached to a large metal plate which in turn was anchored to the outside top corner of the shell? Take a look at the picture in the link. It shows how our awning is attached.

http://community.webshots.com/photo/552931678/2062878610095282683KQvFFv

I think most members of the forum have experienced close calls with their awnings -including us. Sorry to hear about your bad experience. We purchased the add on screen room from Fiama and used it while we stayed in Benson, AZ. It helps if you can track weather conditions and try to securely anchor the awning outrigger poles to the ground. The addition of 3 ratchet straps anchored to a large screw type (used to anchor a dog leash) implement kept the awning even more secure. There were a few times when the forecast caused us to take the screen room apart and stow the awning. Otherwise the screen room offered a cozy extension of our living area.

[Magdefrau]

This past week during the afternoon a quick wind came up. No storm clouds just a summer afternoon. It must have been the up draft from one of those puffy white summer clouds. It gave the TM's fly a proper jerk. The light frame gave no defense. I was happy to find it rolling up nice and tight as we left a few days latter. I most likely will not unroll the sheet without employing tie down lines from now on. Just like "chock those trailor wheels" I'm going for "lash and trim that awning" also. We could have a good set up song before long.

[sam and ann]

Our awning was not attatched to the aluminum angle you show in the picture (it is now) I also ran 1" screws into the angle replacing the 1/2" screws that were in it and rivited the awning to the angle. I also replaced the 1/2" screws from the factory with 1" screws and added several more.The 1" screws will go into the aluminum top frame rail making it a lot stronger.