Electric Awnings

[Fritz]

We too found that a partially extended Girard forms pools in the rain (we have the sunbrella material).  I noticed that a partially extended awning does not have as much of a front-back angle as a fully extended one (which could contribute to the pooling), but I'd be reluctant to leave the awning fully extended in a rainstorm.

[Ray and Susan Huff]

We discovered another disadvantage to the newer, cantilevered awnings.  With the old manual style, you had to drop the awning down in order to roll it up.  This facilitated the removal of fir needles and such, after camping in forested areas.

Our 2021 Elite II was ordered with the standard powered Girard awning.  I understand there is a way to adjust the pitch, thus lowering the front rail of the awning.  However, this is achieved with tools and a manual adjustment.

We rarely use the awning to create a shaded living area, mostly because we don't want to worry about wind.  When we do use the awning, it is to shade the side of the trailer to help keep the fridge cool.  I'm beginning to think these new fangled powered, legless awnings are not idea.  They look good, but lose many of the practical features, such as being able to adjust the tilt and lower the awning to better shade the side of the trailer and allow for cleaning off the upper surface before retraction.

We try to park the trailer such that the street side does not get direct, afternoon sun, when temps are warmer.  But this is not always possible, if you are restricted by the orientation of the campsite.  Open for suggestions

[SeaDawg]

I agree.

For western owners in windy conditions, particularly,  a manual or "delete" option would be really nice. 

We have used our manual awning almost every day this season, in western North Carolina. We've had a LOT of rain, but not a lot of wind. (We roll it up if it gets gusty.) Honestly,  our Fiamma manual was up during much of  the 12' rain in 28 hours, last month. We raked it considerably,  might have introduced some stretch, but it sure was nice to sit outside on our redneck deck that we built to keep our feet out of the mud.

We've  been here on our camping property in wnc 4+ months, since April. 

Dropping the Fiamma manual low allows us to reach the leaves and detritus with an extended carwash soft brush, and clean it out prior to roll up.  Can't open the trailer door, but a few minutes is not axbig deal. We're both outside working, with the awning,  anyway .