Guest JudgeMental Posted August 20, 2007 Share Posted August 20, 2007 during a thunderstorm one night at lake garda one leg of my awning collapsed and distorted awning wrecking it - thank God for gaffa tape! this was because the leg is secured with a plastic rivet which failed - presumably because of weight of water. I believe the centre tensioner does not help in this regard as I presume water gathered on left side where leg collapsed. my neighbor had an omnistor with steel rivet and four more vans near me escaped without incident. because one of the fold out arms on awning sits above door on my camper it prevents setting a decent run off angle or else you cant open the door... waiting to hear manufactures/dealers attitude as it is a factory fit item and they must take some responsibility for choice of awning and poor positioning. but I don't think I should be expected to put awning away every night just in case it rains..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davenewellhome Posted August 20, 2007 Share Posted August 20, 2007 If you use a safari/privacy room then no you wouldn't be expected to put it away. If its just the awning though I'd say put it away if there's any chance of a storm blowing up, that's what we do unless it really is calm as the rattling and creaking of the awning keeps us awake. D. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
david lloyd Posted August 20, 2007 Share Posted August 20, 2007 I always said Omnistor seemed a better product (even though my supplying dealer said there was no difference) but as a precaution I do try to leave the leg furthest away from the door a little lower than the other in case it rains. David Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest JudgeMental Posted August 20, 2007 Share Posted August 20, 2007 these lake and mountain storms are a bit like Caribbean ones, they come out of the blue and are intense... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest JudgeMental Posted August 20, 2007 Share Posted August 20, 2007 david lloyd - 2007-08-20 6:53 PM but as a precaution I do try to leave the leg furthest away from the door a little lower than the other in case it rains. David I did this but think the tensioner in the middle was my undoing.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clive Posted August 20, 2007 Share Posted August 20, 2007 Only Fiama have the super reflective top coating option- its their patent. But all the distructions say take it down if windy. The Safari rooms do add consaiderable strength though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mel B Posted August 20, 2007 Share Posted August 20, 2007 I seem to recall that you're only really supposed to use the awnings as sunshades on their own, and they're not supposed to be left out in the rain (although I'm sure most of us do use them occasionally as a rain shelter). I've seen what rain can do to awnings and it ain't pretty, even the briefest rain storm can pelt down quite an amount of water and even if the awning survives, it can stretch the material quite badly. I must admit though that even at Malvern we took our awning in, my hubby decided to leave it out one of the nights and about an hour after we'd gone to bed I prodded him in the ribs and he had to go out and put it away because the wind was getting up and making it rattle. It was tied down with a proper awning kit but, as Dave also found out, they do make quite a noise and keep you awake, no way was I going to have a bad night's sleep because he couldn't be bothered to put it away earlier (I did say it should be but he 'knew better!). It was better to do it then than in the early hours of the morning. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlieme Posted August 20, 2007 Share Posted August 20, 2007 Never trust the weather, always close the awning evry night and also when away if there's any chance of a blow Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rayjsj Posted August 20, 2007 Share Posted August 20, 2007 Judge Why not claim on your Insurance ? after all thats what it's for, they will probably say try to get it repaired,and this may or may not be possible ? But you might end up with a new awning. Storm damage is usually covered in most policies. The loss of a years no claim bonus wouldn't add up to a new awning. (^) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Syd Posted August 20, 2007 Share Posted August 20, 2007 I have the Omnistorezip and all parts are available from fiamma. I broke the swivel on the end of the front pole and it costs just under £10.00 to replace the whole swivel, very simple job but mine are nearly all metal parts Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davenewellhome Posted August 20, 2007 Share Posted August 20, 2007 Syd, are you sure the parts for an omnistor are available from Fiamma? I thought they were two separate companies ;-) D. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michele Posted August 20, 2007 Share Posted August 20, 2007 Oh judge thats going to cost, insurance ? better to pay yourself any pics of the damage ?. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest JudgeMental Posted August 20, 2007 Share Posted August 20, 2007 ita all sealed up with gaffa tape now so no piccys I'm afraid. its the 4 m one so should be able to get for around £350 ish? will look at omnistor first to see if arms in same position. suppose plastic rivet must be a safety thing? - rather then pull the wall of the camper *-) ...... The whole thing is distorted and ruined - not fixable I would think weather was 39 deg, not a sign of rain - just the one deluge in middle of hight :$ as said if angle was lower it would of been OK others where fine..... I suppose i could lower angle and use cab door - a bit of a pain. But to pull up fixings and put away every night - surely not nesesary? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Way2Go Posted August 20, 2007 Share Posted August 20, 2007 Being new to motorhoming (this is our first season) I actually read the manual on the awning 8-) It states (as mentioned above) that it is only a sun shade and that in the event of wind or rain, it should be closed. Imagine our surprise in Germany a few weeks ago when we saw several MHs arrive and immediately wind out the awning in the pouring rain!! If its still raining in the morning and you are moving on, how are you going to dry it out? Doesn't it end up rotting? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jackal Posted August 21, 2007 Share Posted August 21, 2007 Also... beware of helicopters! Whilst staying at the ex-airport "free" site just North of Cortina in the Dollys, Italy, we happened to be parked right opposite the Helipad with the awning up, chilling in the afternoon sun, when a mountain rescue helicopter had to make a landing to drop off some injured climbers... Other helicopters had been and gone and up to then, we hadn't experienced any problems but this one's down draught got a bit too close and there was me clutching hold of the wee one in one hand whilst holding on to the side of the awning with the other with it flapping around like a flag. Fortunately nothing was broken but when I looked around behind our vehicle later on, there was at least two awning casings, both Omnistor, strewn across the floor, where the same thing had happened, to previous incumbents. Of course, seeing me react like I did, my son now seems to have a complete phobia to helicopters but at least the awning's OK! ;-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
olley Posted August 21, 2007 Share Posted August 21, 2007 Ours got damaged at the Lincoln show last year, freak gust/small tornado took it over the top and broke both arms, roller was ok but £350 for new arms. Several others damaged as well. Beautiful cloudless sky not a breath of wind and then all of a sudden wham. Olley Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Git Posted August 21, 2007 Share Posted August 21, 2007 At risk of telling Gran how to suck eggs . . . . but newcomers may not know about them. Fiamma do an awning tie-down with a strong spring at one end to take the sting out of sudden gusts, and to maintain the tension so it doesn't shake loose. Contrary to what some salespersons may tell you it is available in bright yellow, which is a far more sensible colour than the ubiquitous black trip wires set to catch the unwary at night. £7.50 plus postage. Scroll down this page http://www.agentfiamma.co.uk/erol.html#1863X0 The pegs that come with it are pretty good, but if the ground is not too hard or rocky those big corkscrews meant for tethering the dog are even better. Using one of these tie-downs is very comforting if you have left the van for the day and an unexpected storm brews up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Basil Posted August 21, 2007 Share Posted August 21, 2007 Being one of those that reads instructions and (normally) obeys them we wind ours out and then put it away if we are not using it. Bas Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Git Posted August 21, 2007 Share Posted August 21, 2007 JudgeMental - 2007-08-20 6:39 PM because one of the fold out arms on awning sits above door on my camper it prevents setting a decent run off angle or else you cant open the door. . . . . . . . but I don't think I should be expected to put awning away every night just in case it rains..... One suggestion Judge - a bit desperate but it might save you having to roll in your awning every night. You could try raising the legs so you have a gentle backward slope. If you have a flush fitted (i.e. built in) awning this might not be such a brilliant idea, but if yours is a bolt-on it would simply cascade the water down the side of your van. Not exactly desirable I admit, but in a storm there will be plenty of water sloshing about anyway so a drop more shouldn't make much difference. It might at least prevent it from pooling on your awning and breaking it due to the weight of water - which you quoted earlier as the probable cause. An awning tie-down would be desirable if you decided to try it, as it might otherwise make the awning a bit unstable. Be gentle if you think I've finally dropped over the edge, but it would stop the water gathering. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robin Posted August 21, 2007 Share Posted August 21, 2007 david lloyd - 2007-08-20 6:53 PM I always said Omnistor seemed a better product (even though my supplying dealer said there was no difference) .... David I tend to agree, our current van has a Fiamma and previous two had Omnistors - I can't say anything particular bad about the Fiamma apart from the fact it feels less substantial (and a couple of pin holes have mysterioulsy appeared). I never leave the awning out unattended, (it is so quick and easy to wind in and out) but do use it as a rain shade if not too windy and I watch that puddles don't form in the roof - I reckon it can be rolled away wet for short period as long as it can be tried out within a day or so. I remember we had an Isabella sun awning fitted to a caravan in a meditteranean deluge once, the roof captured such a large puddle that I had a real job emptying it - it didn't suffered any ill effects - pity they don't make Motorhome awnings. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chas Posted August 21, 2007 Share Posted August 21, 2007 We use the Fiamma Pro rafter on ours, which forms a upward bow to stop rain water collecting, together with the tie down strap, but we still never leave it out at night, just in case. chas Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Dwight Posted August 21, 2007 Share Posted August 21, 2007 Judgemental, We have the same problem with the bar fouling the door. I have been told that the bars can be moved along the awning box. Fiamma told me that the awning can be moved along on its hanger, in our case it means drilling out 5 pop rivets moving the awning about 6 inches, replacing the pop rivets and all should be ok. Not got round to it yet as need space to wind out the awning to do the work, and our parking is a bit tight. Even when the awning is up I still manage to get a bit of slope on it to one side so that water can drain off. David Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JayKay Posted August 21, 2007 Share Posted August 21, 2007 Way2Go Awning covers are made from an Acrylic fabric and as such have some rot resistance so it is safe to house the awning when wet but as soon as conditions allow the awning should be rolled out to its maximum to allow it to dry naturally. Judgemental Roll-out awnings for the leisure industry are of light construction and as such has light load bearings limits, hence the need to use support poles and hold down straps. I would never recommend to leave any awning out at night or when un-attended as the front profile is put under extreme pressure if it rains and once puddling occurs on the awing cover it generaly gets worse until either the cover splits or the awning frame distorts and is unusable. With regard to gusting wind the cover tends to balloon up putting the frame under extreme pressure and can distort the frame or push it up and over the van. A 4m.X 2m. awning is 8 sq. m. not bad if you are sailing, please do not take me wrong Judge I am not gloating or laughing I really do feel sorry that you had to find out the hard way. If you are planning to move your awning along the mounts please contact the manufacturer to find how much it can be moved by. I say this as the mounting plates are normally mounted very close to the hinge pin of the folding arms for maximum strength. The plastic pin you mentioned seems to be a bad design idea as a steel pin would add to the strength of the frame but add very little extra weight to the unit. John D. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Syd Posted August 23, 2007 Share Posted August 23, 2007 davenewell@home - 2007-08-20 9:06 PM Syd, are you sure the parts for an omnistor are available from Fiamma? I thought they were two separate companies ;-) D. Yes definately but Fiamma refer you to their shop outlet which is "Johns Cross at www.johnscross.co.uk Tel 01580 881288 Fax 01580 881588 I found them Very helpful Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Syd Posted August 23, 2007 Share Posted August 23, 2007 Syd - 2007-08-23 12:09 AM davenewell@home - 2007-08-20 9:06 PM Syd, are you sure the parts for an omnistor are available from Fiamma? I thought they were two separate companies ;-) D. Yes definately but Fiamma refer you to their shop outlet which is "Johns Cross at www.johnscross.co.uk Tel 01580 881288 Fax 01580 881588 I found them Very helpful The Johnscoss catalogue, page 13, is selling awnings named as "Fiamma Caravanstore Zip awnings" so it looks as though Fiamma have bought out Caravanstore. Im not certain but i think that most spare parts are the same. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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