Perhaps you are wondering – how much wind can an RV awning withstand?
There are many reasons why you may be asking that question. For instance, you want to make sure you are not putting your RV awning at risk of damage.
Or, you may be preparing for a trip, and you anticipate some strong winds to be present.
Either way, it is important to know how much wind is too much for your RV awning. This way, you can keep it in good condition and prevent expensive repairs in the end.
So, to answer your question – and to give you helpful tips to keep your RV awning in great shape – keep reading. It’s all you’ve ever needed to know on this topic all in one place!
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How Much Wind Can An RV Awning Withstand?
An awning for your RV is a lifesaver – literally.
Without it, you won’t have the protection you need from harsh sun and sudden rainstorms. These tough elements can wreak havoc on your vehicle while causing discomfort for you.
But at the same time, you don’t want to expose your RV awning to such strong winds. After all, when it’s too strong for your awning, you can expect serious damages. What’s the maximum wind strength can your awning handle then?
For winds exceeding 20 or up to 25 miles per hour, this can be detrimental to your RV awning. Wind at this strength that just keeps pounding away at your awning consistently spells out trouble. Thus, you should not wait any longer to roll it up, at least until the wind dies down a bit.
This is particularly true if you have a self-supported RV awning. In this case, the intense winds can easily rip the fabric right off. Worst case scenario, your awning may end up flying clear and completely detached from your RV!
Wind Speed And RV Awning Limits
If you are a novice RV owner, you may not be completely aware of how much wind is safe – or not – for your awning.
This is particularly true if you have only used the RV awning a couple of times in the past. In this case, you may not have even encountered such strong winds before.
But if you look at an awning’s basic construction, you will notice that it is only crafted from fabric. It is not designed to handle the strongest winds. If pushed to its limits, your RV awning can certainly fall apart. And then you will have to spend on buying a new one.
So to spare you from costly mistakes, let’s talk about wind speeds and how these can impact your RV awning.
At 20 miles per hour, your RV awning can be rattling and shaking from such high winds. But to give you some perspective on what such wind strength actually means, let’s take a look at these scenarios:
Winds that are between 19 and 24 miles per hour cause small trees to sway and waters to break waves. Those situations say so much about how intense this wind speed is.
And if the wind persists and goes up to 25 or even 31 miles per hour, we are talking about serious strength. You can forget about using that umbrella because it will just turn inside out. The wind will only force it out that way as it continues to beat harder.
In fact, branches of large trees will be swaying and shaking at this point. This is the kind of wind speed that you don’t want when you have your RV awning folded out.
With all these being said, strong winds that are over 24 miles per hour are bad news for your awning. By simply observing what the wind is doing to other things around you – the trees, waves, and so on – it’s easy to tell that the last thing you would want to be doing is to use your awning.
When Mother Nature is showing all of these warning signs, you simply need to heed it and pack up your awning before you regret not doing so.
Read More: Expert Tips and Pointers When Replacing Rv Couch With Recliners
What Happens To An RV Awning During High Winds
We have already given you a quick insight on how much wind an RV awning can withstand, which is anywhere under 20 miles per hour.
But if you wonder what might happen to your RV awning when you keep it out despite the strong winds, here are things to be expected.
First, the fabric for your awning will rip. Perhaps it will not tear to the point of being in shreds. However, a hole is expected. With a hole on your awning, this is only likely to get bigger over time when not fixed immediately. Put off any repair work on the awning, and the whole thing will end up tattered. Thus, it is as good as rubbish since you can’t use it in such condition.
Another thing that can happen to your RV awning is some serious breakage to the overall material. If ripped fabric is not bad enough, the rest of the awning will break or bend. When it bends at a really bad angle, the parts can even fly off. This is a serious damage that would require you to buy a new RV awning since it’s beyond repair at this point.
Lastly, you can put your entire RV at risk. If the awning is still hooked up to your vehicle, yet there are loose brackets causing the material to move, that’s a terrible nightmare to watch.
Just imagine having a 70-pound (or heavier) awning banging up against your RV. As this continues, the awning can seriously damage your RV’s exterior and even smash some windows. If there are people inside the vehicle, they can get badly injured, as well.
Bottom Line
With all these things in mind, it is important to know when to roll your RV awning up or keep it out.
Knowing how much wing can your RV awning withstand is important in so many ways. Not only are you preventing damages to the awning but you are also not putting your RV at risk of damages.
Most essentially, you can spare yourself from headaches due to costly repairs or replacement… Not to mention the potential injuries and harm to others, in case your RV awning comes flying off!
