Traveling at 65 mph with a quartering headwind of 25 mph gusting to 40 mph would produce a vectored effect of around 80 to 90 mph of wind energy acting upon these 5 square feet of awning.
Rv awning max wind speed.
Your retractable awning was purchased for protection from the heat and uv rays.
20 at 90 mph 29 8 at 110 mph 41 8 at 130 mph.
For example a 30 ft rv 8 ft high the sheeting only will have a 7154 lb force pushing on it in a 110 mph wind gust not average.
The wind force on your rv is.
Wind force lenght x height x f.
As such they are not built for extreme wind conditions.
The highest wind speed our automatic awning will take before it closes itself is 12 mph.
I would think this would be a good giude line for any awning.
D on irv2 forums for example.
Winds near 30 mph and higher may not be safe for some rv s to travel at highway speeds and this is especially true if the conditions include imbedded gusts.
The wind speeds that most self supported awnings are tested to is about 20 25 miles per hour but that does assume a steady wind and not a buffeting irregular wind which can be far more dangerous.
More commonly used now are the motion sensors as they detect movement in the awning rather than the wind speed which can be irrelevant.
If this is more than the weight of the rv it will likely flip over.
At wind speeds of 15 to 20 mph the effect increases dramatically.
Having an awning out in a variable wind it can be quite risky.
Your rv can be effected by as little as a 10 mile an hour breeze.
When extended rv awnings can collect puddles and become heavy with rainwater.
There are retractable products like retractable roof pergolas that have been rated higher and will withstand wind speeds of 55 63 mph beaufort 10 when open and 150 mph when closed.
Since awnings are vulnerable to wind you require an electric awning that has a wind sensor.
Oftentimes that testing was completed without ongoing or irregular wind conditions.
By the time it senses and reacts to the first gust the second gust has already torn it off.
Motorized retractable awnings often use a wind sensor or motion sensor that automatically retracts the awning to prevent damage to the arms if the wind speed gets too high.
Imho you did the right thing at the right time.
In fact most self supported retractable awnings have been tested to meet the wind speed of only 30 40 kilometres an hour.
We have learned in 5 years of full time traveling and always using the awning tied down that 25 mph sustained seems to be our stow the awning point.
When we bought the motorhome the salesman point blank said don t trust the automatic awning.
