Give Your RV Awning Some Support

If you have an awning on your RV greater than 18 feet in length, chances are that it’s sagging in the middle. When traveling down the road, a longer awning roller will tend to bounce up and down every time the RV bounces. Over time, this can cause the awning to sag, put undue stress on the awning support arms, and may even cause the support arms to become detached. This is the extreme case but nevertheless it can happen. So what to do? Do the awning center support mod.

There are a few ways to support the center of the awning. The simplest and one of the most effective is the awning support cradle. This is mounted to the side of the RV under the middle of the awning roller. It has a curved support surface that cradles the roller, preventing the awning from sagging. The cradle pivots out of the way when the awning is unrolled so there is no setup or removal of any parts.

There is also the awning roller strap. While this product isn’t directly designed to provide awning sag support, but does so as a bonus. It’s primary use is to prevent the awning from unrolling during travel. But due to it’s design, it does provide some support. The strap is affixed to the side of the RV just like the center support cradle described above. However, instead of supporting the weight of the roller from the bottom like the cradle does, it wraps around the roller and latches to its mount. This prevents the roller from unfurling and provides some addition vertical support.

Of course, all this could be easily, albeit more expensively, solved by installing an automatic retractable awning. Sunsetter and A&E are manufacturers of these types of awnings. They are costly but I think worth it for the convenience. But that is another mod for another day.