We always close the awning at night and
whenever we leave the trailer during the day. Just do a search
on any of the forums for awnings. There are tons of excuses,
reasons, etc, why the awning got destroyed. Now, when you read
them ask yourself if that would have happened if they had
taken the minute or two to shut it. Even when they are well
anchored, a strong wind can damage the awning
fabric and the mountings for the arms sometimes get torn out.
The arms then flail about, and I have seen serious damage done
to the sides of the rig. This can result in major and costly
repairs.
As for second guessing the
weather man, anyone with the crystal ball that will give 100%
accuracy on wind and rain reports is probably a billionaire
and can afford new awnings. After about 30 years experience rv'ing , and one blown out awning a long time ago, I
learned quickly never leave the awning out unattended! Roll it
up and sleep, shop, bike, hike, golf peacefully without
worrying about he awning.
