Fiamma Awning Leg Broke

[Foy_Mirna]

We've had our Oliver (Roamy) for a month and last week we took our second trip to the Sarasota, Florida to enjoy the beaches.  We camped at Oscar Scherer State Park, which was quiet and clean.  Campsite all setup, I put out the awning to keep the sun off our picnic table for our return meal.  We headed to the beach and as is the case, late afternoon thunderstorms are the norm in Florida.  As a storm came in, we packed up and head back to our site, but the storm beat us there.  A good inch of rain fell in about 15 minutes and by the time we returned the storm had moved pass our site.  However our awning did not make it.  The left leg broke off at the bracket on the trailer and it then bent into an L-shape.  Yes, I can still hear Rich Carroll telling me to angle the awning for water runoff!

 

So a quick search of the Internet for Fiamma and find that they are in Orlando, FL. Then this all turns very sad and tragic.  Fiamma is close indefinitely do to a workplace shooting that took 5 people's lives. Fixing my awning seems unimportant, our thoughts and prayers to everyone involved.

 

 

[PAndrews]

Hi there Foy!  I really hate to hear that about your awning.  I won't tell Richie, so your secret is safe with me, haha!  I'm going to refer you to Jason Essary our Service Manager if you haven't already contacted him.  Just follow the link below:

 

http://olivertraveltrailers.com/service-request/

 

P.S. I expect to see pictures from Sarasota for the newsletter!

[SeaDawg]

There may be a leg for your awning in the boneyard. Or not. Worth asking.

You never know.

 

Sherry

[ScubaRx]

On a related note, I need the little locking knob for one of my awning legs as it wiggled out somewhere between Utah and Washington and was lost.  If anyone is traveling thru those areas, please be on the look out for it.

 

I too had called Fiamma back in early June and learned of their troubles.  Strange that I had talked to the fellow that did the shooting several times in the past and he was as nice as he could be on the phone.  I was told by the folks at Oliver that they were having to look at other awning brands for the new builds.

[KarenLukens]

Jfyi, the legs are a lot stronger when nailed into the ground and the rail has been guy wired also. They have high wind awning hold down kits, but I've been using paracord with great success in high winds. Then depending on the soil, I have both the 8" & the 12" tent stakes that are basically nails with the little plastic foot on the end. Remove the plastic foot, hammer 2 in each leg at angles, all the way down solid into the ground. I also like running a couple of straps over the top, lengthwise, to hold the awning fabric down and keep it from acting like a sail. Then when it starts getting windy, I toss the broom and mop up top, under the straps and between the support poles and that eliminates the sail. You want to stop it from bouncing in the wind. Then I carry a 3' crow bar in the storage to pull the stakes back out of the ground with. This video shows it on our Casita and I have changed it up some for Goldilocks but I don't have any pics yet :)

 

Reed

 

 

 

 

 

[Foy_Mirna]

Hello Reed,

 

Thank you for the insight. I have the nails that came with the awning and will think twice about using the trailer mounts in the future.  It would seem that with a couple pounds more of extruded aluminum, they could make these more robust. Your video is just beautiful, what a magical place to camp.

 

Foy

[Foy_Mirna]

Thanks ScubaRx,

 

I have an extra nobe if you still need one :)

 

Foy

[Foy_Mirna]

Thanks Sherry,

 

I put in an email to Jason to ask that very question.

[Foy_Mirna]

Hey Phillip,

 

Thanks! Good to hear from you again and yes I will send you pictures of Sarasota beach.

[bradbev]

RE missing Knob.  It's a 6 mm metric as I remember.  The one in the center braise is the same, take it into the hardware store to double check.  I bought a plain bolt to use until a better replacement was available.

 

Brad - Santa Fe