Great pic's Fran, is that your Teddy in the pic too at Billabong?

Just a tip on the awning, best have the legs attached to the body of the van, I had that model awning too the legs are very fragile and you get more strength for the awning if it is attached in the brackets.  Being on the coast the winds can be very strong at time.

Glad you got to your destination ok, that meal looks great!

Hylda&Jon wrote:

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Vic41 wrote:

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Great pic's Fran, is that your Teddy in the pic too at Billabong?

Just a tip on the awning, best have the legs attached to the body of the van, I had that model awning too the legs are very fragile and you get more strength for the awning if it is attached in the brackets.  Being on the coast the winds can be very strong at time.

Glad you got to your destination ok, that meal looks great!

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 I tend to disagree about the legs attached to the van, ... as long as the awning has been secured properly.

This is how I did my awning:

I put the legs on the ground with pegs through the holes in the foot of the legs to stop them moving then attach 2 spring loaded tent ropes to either pole pegged into the ground. This way the tie down ropes will pull the metal legs away from the van preventing awning movement. I also had 2 long anti flappers on each side to prevent flapping in the wind. Also a curved bar from one side to the other supporting the underside of the annex helps prevent flapping. Another tip is to have one end a few inches lower than the other (one leg set shorter), this lets water run off the low end easily, and not pool on the awning.  That's my 2 cents worth.

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 Well we can agree to disagree, most people in the industry will tell you that an awning has more strength in the fixed to the sides mode rather than the carport mode.

I may add that the type of awning on the van is not the roll out type but the wind out type with hinged supports under the awning that fold out and the legs are a bit more flimsy that the normal roll out awning.  

As I said in my previous post, I had one the same on one of my RV's (motorhome). 

Here is a Fiamma video showing how they are erected, notice the legs are only put in the carport mode to support the awning while it is adjusted;  http://www.fiamma.com/EN/service/video/operation/?video_ID=1&page=1 

A few comments from another forum;

"I've seen what the wind can do and it's not pretty.
Different people have different ideas on how to peg down a roll out awning.
I always add guy ropes with pegs on the usual angle to the rope and also leave the arms connected to the motorhome as it was pointed out to me by a repairer mate that they are locked into the bracket mounting and give a greater resistance than when pegged out to the ground where the pegs go straight down and can pull straight up if the wind gets under the awning as they have no angle to resist the upward pull.
It was recommended that they should only be stood vertical when used as an annexe with multiple pegs holding the whole wall down giving greater resistance as wind can't get under the awning roof."

and;

"We never set the awning out in carport mode with the legs disconnected from the caravan. it's a very unstable and weak way of erecting the awning and makes the awning very susceptible to wind damage. When we roll the awning up depends on wind direction more than wind speed. If the wind speed is forecast to increase we may only roll the awning halfway out as it significantly reduces the leverage the wind puts on the awning, but stills gives us good shelter."

and;

"We always leave the legs attatched to the van, then tie down with rachet straps and pegs, learnt the hard way a few years ago said to xxxxxx in a blow 'hold your end down' looked around and she was 3 mtrs off the ground,but it was okay she was still hanging on, the awning attatching screws at the top pulled out,easily fixed."

I reckon I took this picture on the way to MM...