Looking after your Awning

An awning effectively doubles the living area of your second home and is one of your most useful caravan accessories. Awnings come in all shapes and sizes and most importantly price. Good quality prestige caravan awnings such as
Isabella Awnings can set you back as much as £1500 but there are more budget priced awnings such as
Royal Awnings which you can get for a much more affordable £300 to £500. Regardless of price though, careful handling and good maintenance of your awning is crucial to getting maximum use out of it.

Assembling your awning

Begin assembling your awning by placing the groundsheet in approximately the correct position - having the poles and awning on the groundsheet will minimize the risk of them getting dirty during assembly. Lay the poles in roughly the right positions and remove the awning from its bag onto the groundsheet. Make sure the awning will be the right way around before you feed the beading into the awning rail. If sliding the beading down the rail proves difficult, you will need to get lubricated. A good lubricant to use is Awning Rail Lubricant which you simply spray some in to the rail when required. If the does not help, the rail may have been damaged. Look for any dents and in particular for sharp edges that may damage the material of the awning.
Once the fabric is in position, you can assemble the frame. Manufacturers recommend putting the central ridge support pole and leg in place and tension that first. Follow with all the two side-end poles and legs. If your awning has end or side panels that unzip, these should be partially undone for tensioning. A useful tool for getting the tensions correct is an Awning Companion. Before putting any pegs in the ground, ensure the awning is level and also the side panels have been zipped back. Start pegging the corners next to the caravan before moving on to the far corners and so the sides.

Cleaning your awning

The best time to completely clean and look after an awning is when it is up, simply because it's easy to reach each corner. Most awnings could be cleaned with plenty of water and a soft brush. Anything harsher than that may damage the waterproof coating and leave you having a soggy groundsheet next time it rains. A good thorough cleaning product is Awning Awning and Gazebo Cleaner 1 Ltre (Fenwicks) which easily removes grass stains, mud dirt and food marks and comes in a handy 1litre spray bottle. Exposed parts, such as roof, sides and corners, need extra attention. Give the awning this sort of thorough cleaning twice yearly. The same goes for the PVC windows; anything too harsh, including spirit or polish, could turn them misty, that is unsightly and makes them hard to see through. Using a responsible UPVC cleaner such as liquid UPVC cleaner is the best way forward. If your windows already are damaged in this manner, try Starbrite Plastic Polish Restorer, This restores shine and clarity to acrylic, polycarbonate and most other types of plastic surfaces. If this doesn't work, take the awning to a repair centre to have the windows replaced.
As important as the awning ishift it. Using a person at each end of your fabric will make you less likely to drag it along the floor or force it in to a too-small space. Such treatment can tear the fabric, that will then need professional repair.