Although this is purely anecdotal, I'll share it anyway...
Several times when we were camped with trailers around us that had the case awnings (no support arms on the trailer body) we watched with amusement as the owners scrambled to close their awnings because of rain or wind. Several have come to warn us to put the awning away. We've left it deployed in most of these situations, and it doesn't even phase it. If my awning had no support other than the telescoping arms along the top, and it cost over two grand, you can bet I'd have been scrambling too.