RV Awnings with a Wind Sensor
One thing RVers love is sitting under their awning, watching the sunset and enjoying time with their friends. And if there is one thing RVers hate is, the wind catching their awning and destroying it.
If the wind unexpectedly catches your awning, it could cause thousands of dollars in damage, and even prevent you from leaving your spot; unless there is a mobile RV repairman close-by, you may be forced to cut your awning off and just leave it.
A wind destroyed awning is not just a matter of ruining the awning fabric; the arms can also be damaged, and even break off and wreck the siding of your RV.
Much older, as well as less expensive RVs, come equipped with manual awnings. These old fashioned manual awnings are the most problematic; they can be difficult for one person to operate, especially in the wind. If the area you’re in is known for wind, don’t put out your awning, even if it’s currently calm. Wind gusts can kick up at any time in a windy area.
Rather than all of the steps required to deploy a manual awning, with the push of a button, an automatic awning can be deployed. Furthermore, if the automatic awning is equipped with a wind sensor, it will automatically roll up if there is wind. That is why automatic RV awnings with wind sensors have become so popular. While they may be more expensive to buy now, they may save you repair money in the long run.
These automatic awnings are wired into the RVs electrical system and run either on AC or DC power. The type of power an awning uses is something you’ll want to be aware of. You’ll also want to get a power awning with a manual over-ride, just in case you lose power.
Many automatic awnings come equipped with a wind sensor, but you can also buy one as an add-on to an existing power awning. Unfortunately, wind sensors won’t work on a manual awning. The wind sensor will detect motion on the awning, and automatically retract it if the motion becomes too extreme. The wind sensor will automatically retract during heavy rain too; heavy rain can also cause damage to an RV awning.
However, common sense is still needed; if the weather report says there will be rain or wind later in the day, think twice about putting the awning out.
An automatic awning with a wind sensor can certainly make life easy and give an RVer peace of mind. In fact, automatic awnings with wind sensors are among the most popular upgrades made on older RVs.
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