This is our first travel trailer so our experience is limited to a few trips in our Ollie, totaling about three weeks. We have the curbside power Dometic awning. Oliver advised that a streetside awning is not available on an Elite I, related to structural capacity if I remember right. We use the awning every day after having adjusted the wind sensor so that it doesn't close with just a whiff of wind. Unless the wind is strong we keep the awning out during rains and find that it is tilted enough to efficiently drain the water off the lower end. We also had the awning out during a snow: big rookie mistake. Luckily we noticed in time for me to clean off the snow that had accumulated and retract the awning to prevent it from collapsing. We typically retract the awning when the winds pick up rather than relying on the sensor, though it does do its job. We haven't bought the support poles/tie downs. I'm not ruling it out but at this point we're happy without them. The look is clean, there are no poles/tie downs to trip over and it extends and retracts with the push of a button. If I had to do it again I'd stick with the power awning. - Brian