Hull #435 on the loose

[wolfdds]

We love our new Ollie II. Will make it back to MA tomorrow. We already met new Ollie friends (Kevin and Kathy) at David Crockett State Park.

[SeaDawg]

Hey, Congratulations!

Love the colors of your graphics. Glas you are having fun!

[GraniteStaters]

I really like your graphics colors!  Safe journey back home. Paula

 

 

[Mavis2]

Ditto, the graphics look really nice!

 

We are a little over 2 months out, and counting down the days. Congrats, and happy/safe travels.

[topgun2]

Checklist - got the grill going, got the awning out, got the chairs out and the table cloth out AND best of all got the smile out.  Looks like fun to me!  Hopefully this is amongst the first of many happy journeys for you guys.

 

Bill

[GBBest]

How do you like the manual canopy? Do you have a feel for what wind gust it can handle? Does it crank out/in fast? We are doing our build sheet and wondering how sturdy or handy it is to deal with.

 

GBBest

[topgun2]

I was/am a firm believer in the manual awning.  I felt/feel that I didn't need another motor in my life nor did I need the expense of the optional motorized awning.  However, just prior to this options introduction last year I had a conversation with Scott Oliver about this and he was so positive about this "new" awning and its benefits that I now find myself sitting on the fence about it.  With the wind and rain sensors that provide at least some measure of protection against these potential hazards I just might find myself using an awning more than I do presently.  However, I still like the simplicity of the manual one which is not difficult at all to deploy or retract.

 

I'm guessing that the real answer to your questions comes down to money and how and where you plan to camp.  I would think that no matter how good that wind sensor is, a sudden burst of wind would be very expensive.  Therefore, it is still safe to retract any awning if you are not right there using it.

 

Bill

[Overland]

So with the power awning, can you roll it out just a few feet to keep rain out of the windows or is it an all or nothing deal?  And if you can, would it just roll back in if there’s wind or rain?

 

The ones at the rally did seem pretty sturdy.

[KountryKamper]

We had the Dometic electric awning our Escape. It can be deployed out to any point and then stopped. The problem we had with ours was it would not tilt in the rain so water would pool in the middle and would sag the fabric. It was suppose to have a dump feature but we never saw it work. There were a few that bent the arms from water weight of pooling water. Escape finally put out a notice to only deploy it 3 feet in the rain because at that point the arms would bow up the middle and allow the water to run off. The wind sensor did work but it had to shake for 6 seconds before it would retract. If it was a quick guest of wind it could be a problem. We probably used it more then we do the manual awning but never left it out unless we were siting under it. I am curios to see how they hold up on the Oliver's.

 

My opinion of the new awning is I would get the electric because it does have the retract feature that the manual does not. The electric also has a LED light strip. The new manual awning is the same as the electric and is self supporting and does not have support arms like our older ones do.

 

 

[Ray and Susan Huff]

On 5/24/2019 at 6:03 AM, KountryKamper said:

We had the Dometic electric awning our Escape. It can be deployed out to any point and then stopped. The problem we had with ours was it would not tilt in the rain so water would pool in the middle and would sag the fabric. It was suppose to have a dump feature but we never saw it work. There were a few that bent the arms from water weight of pooling water. Escape finally put out a notice to only deploy it 3 feet in the rain because at that point the arms would bow up the middle and allow the water to run off. The wind sensor did work but it had to shake for 6 seconds before it would retract. If it was a quick guest of wind it could be a problem. We probably used it more then we do the manual awning but never left it out unless we were siting under it. I am curios to see how they hold up on the Oliver's.

 

My opinion of the new awning is I would get the electric because it does have the retract feature that the manual does not. The electric also has a LED light strip. The new manual awning is the same as the electric and is self supporting and does not have support arms like our older ones do.

 

 

Glad to hear the manual awning is self-supporting so no need to extend support arms.  Still haven't decided, electric or manual.  Does the electric awning have a way to crank it manually, should the need arise?