Any regrets on power awning

[Jan Nentrup]

As we finalize our build sheet on our Escape 21, we are curious if anyone regrets getting the power awning. Our concerns are how water drains off if you cannot tilt one side, whether you can push it in if power switch fails, and is there a function that it auto shuts if it starts to rain. I appreciate all recommendations on making this final decision!

[LRL]

Well, you're about to get an ear full of opinions. I'll just say that we have one on our 2107 21, and love it for its simplicity, effectiveness, and for its clean lines... none of those poles sticking to the side of the trailer. On our maiden voyage, we didn't know about the whole rain water collection issue, and had left the awning opened all night during a rainstorm. The next morning I went out to discover that our awning had been turned into a swimming pool. It all worked out, though. the awning regained its normal shape/size, and I learned that if the awning is going to be open when it's raining, only have it out 1/3 or so of the way. Then it works great. If we had it to do over again, we'd stick with the power awning for sure. Now, just sit back and wait to hear from the masses about how wrong I am!

[padamas]

I agree with LRL; the power awning has worked just fine for us, for the year we have had our 5.0 TA. In my opinion, it looks much neater than the ones with the arms. But there are a lot of people who prefer the older models. To each his own.

[Kent]

Originally Posted by Jan Nentrup

we are curious if anyone regrets getting the power awning. Our concerns are how water drains off if you cannot tilt one side,whether you can push it in if power switch fails, and is there a function that it auto shuts if it starts to rain. I appreciate all recommendations on making this final decision!

Have not had mine long enough to say if I have any regrets, but so far so good.

Supposedly and according to owners manual the awning has Water Shed feature (page 4) is supposed to tilt to one side if water collects, but cannot speak if that works or not.

Again according to owners manual, the awning can be cranked in if the electric does not work, but requires the removal of left end cap.

Will only auto retract if wind causes the awning to flap beyond sensitivity setting, preset at factory and owner adjustable. The is controlled by battery operating module that sits in the lead rail of awning. Manual can be download at the following link.

https://www.dometic.com/en-us/us/pro...wning-_-164371

[casejh]

So far we like the power awning. If it is raining we only deploy it 40-50% of the way and that works fine. If we are leaving for several hours we put it in, and with high wind we put it in. All of this is very quick and easy.

[cpaharley2008]

I remember reading my awning manual years ago on my first trailer, it stated that the awning is for shade, not rain and use during rain, particularly heavy rain was not recommended. My manual awning was always brought in halfway during rain and the power awning likewise. The arms are scissor like and fully extended there is no middle support, 50% extension allows middle support. The wind sensor is a nice feature and retracts if a gust of wind occurs (seems like it happens around 3 pm at Osoyoos) there is a manual retraction procedure.

[Jim Bennett]

I pretty much agree with what is said. I love the clean lines it offers, the ease of operation, and the auto-retract. It is a fantastic sun shade.

Where is lacks is its capacity in the rain. I too keep it near 50% open and the arms are close enough for good support to not allow pooling and sheds the rain. If I am around when it is raining, I have devised a simple T using an adjustable tarp pole and a 4' cross member which will fall out of place should the awning retract, yet sheds water at full extension.

If I was ordering now, I would still go with the power awning as it's benefits out-weight its drawbacks.

[snowmtn]

When we picked up our 21 this past January, the gal doing the orientation said that some people solve the rain drainage problem by putting a construction hat on top of a telescoping pole and sort of tent the awning slightly in the middle. Personally, since we live in the Northwest we don't want the awning to get damp and moldy so we don't deploy the awning in rainy weather. If we are packing up in the morning we make sure the awning is closed up the night before to avoid morning dew.

[Iowa Dave]

You read the book? That’s it! Turn in your man card.
Iowa Dave

[Jim Bennett]

Originally Posted by snowmtn

.....the gal doing the orientation said that some people solve the rain drainage problem by putting a construction hat on top of a telescoping pole and sort of tent the awning slightly in the middle..

I used a hardhat on a tarp pole once and posted a photo of it here. That was right after they started installing the electric awning. I kinda doubt anyone else did that though. This is what gave me the idea to do something better on the post, I just used the hardhat to protect the fabric from the tip of the pole, because it was what was around.

[sclifrickson]

We had, and used extensively, a manual awning on our 17B. We have the electric awning on our 19. I'll take the electric awning every time. Every gadget can be broken if misused, including both manual and electric awnings. Just learn proper use for whichever you get, then use it appropriately.

[gbaglo]

I used a canoe paddle to prop up the middle of a tarp once. Had the blade wedged into the top of the picnic table. Wind came up overnight and I had a very short canoe paddle.

[EscapeBoulder]

And... To speak to the manual awning... We had a manual awning on our 16'er Scamp for 10+ years. Used it only twice. It was a "pain" to put out, and we couldn't leave the trailer without retracting it - in case of wind. So, it just wasn't worth the hassle. We pick up our new Escape 19'er on Dec 6th and really look forward to having an awning which we'll actually use! The electric!

[gbaglo]

Originally Posted by EscapeBoulder

And... To speak to the manual awning... We had a manual awning on our 16'er Scamp for 10+ years. Used it only twice. It was a "pain" to put out

Not sure what awning the Scamp used, but the Carefree Fiesta manual awning on my 17B can be deployed in three or four minutes by one person. Less time if there are two of you.

[steve dunham]

Originally Posted by EscapeBoulder

And... To speak to the manual awning... We had a manual awning on our 16'er Scamp for 10+ years. Used it only twice. It was a "pain" to put out, and we couldn't leave the trailer without retracting it - in case of wind. So, it just wasn't worth the hassle. We pick up our new Escape 19'er on Dec 6th and really look forward to having an awning which we'll actually use! The electric!

The awning on our used 1999 Scamp 16 ft was a Dometic
It was such a PIA to use that we deployed it only once . Also something was bent , evidently the OP did not get it taken down quickly enough when the wind picked up .
We have the powered awning on our new trailer but can’t pass judgement because we haven’t used it yet . Maybe next year ?

[CADreamin]

We're with gbaglo ... we can deploy or retract our manual awning in mere minutes. And, we certainly enjoy the fact that we can have it out during a rainstorm, lowering one corner to let the water drain off.

[rubicon327]

Originally Posted by gbaglo

Not sure what awning the Scamp used, but the Carefree Fiesta manual awning on my 17B can be deployed in three or four minutes by one person. Less time if there are two of you.

Older Scamps used a Dometic Catalina 2500 and newer Scamps use a Fiamma F45. Both are a bit flimsy and a pain to deploy. These are absolutely no comparison to the manual Carefree Fiesta which is a phenomenal and bulletproof awning. Nice that you have an option for a screen room too with Carefree. Electric wins only on aesthetics and that is not enough for me. I’m a function over form kind of guy.

[cvanzan]

Having come from a 16' Scamp with its horrible awning set-up, we really like the power awning. We only extend it 1/2 way or less if it's raining or moderately windy.

It is difficult to sweep off. With the manual awning on the Scamp we could drop the supports down and with the awning near vertical it was easy to sweep off. Haven't found an easy way to clean the power awning - even with a 6' ladder to stand on.

[sclifrickson]

Originally Posted by rubicon327

Electric wins only on aesthetics and that is not enough for me. I’m a function over form kind of guy.

I also am a function over form kind of guy, and completely disagree that electric wins only on aesthetics. It also wins on ease of deployment, ease of redeployment, which means I, for one, use it all the time, instead of only some of the time, as I did with my Carefree Fiesta. The electric also wins for having a fully contained cassette that keeps the awning dry when driving down the road in the rain, and for having a wind sensor that autoretracts if you leave your awning deployed while down at the beach when the wind comes up.

[Tam2004]

Originally Posted by Jan Nentrup

As we finalize our build sheet on our Escape 21, we are curious if anyone regrets getting the power awning. Our concerns are how water drains off if you cannot tilt one side, whether you can push it in if power switch fails, and is there a function that it auto shuts if it starts to rain. I appreciate all recommendations on making this final decision!

We are very happy with ours -- not a lot of experience yet - but we didn't want the bars across the window and we often just won't bother with the manual one anyway. It is so easy to use and as far as we can tell from the debriefing we got - there are good ways to deal with any power issue. But, we are people who don't use one a lot anyway and just love the ease.