FWC Fiamma Awning

I would like to get the center strut, but I can't help but think to myself that it's one more thing to pack around, and more time to set up/tear down.
the speed snd convenience of the awning vs. using our old ez-up shelter with our old camper is what I like about it

I was looking for a FWC video on the Fiamma awning but couldn't find one that shows how to deploy it. I looked at videos on the internet that show the deployment of the center strut on some of them but not on others. We always deploy the center strut when we use ours as well as hold the legs down in some fashion. A sudden gust of wind can do a lot of damage.

Wallowa said:

Our '16 Hawk Fiamma F45S does not have the center strut...so far no bellowing up and have not been in a heavy downpour so can't say if the awning would sag and hold water...when opened it is very taunt and by shortening legs a downward slope is possible to shed water.

Like others...any appreciable wind that is really buffeting the awning and we stow it away...we also put the awning on the downwind side...great extra and it seems well made..

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I had an awning on our 2014 Hawk and I did leave out in some good rain. When I awoke in the morning I thought for sure the awning would be broken since it hadn't drained really any water. Yes I did lower one leg to help drain but it didn't work. The way the awning scissors out help catch water in a few spots and this created large pools. Nonetheless it didn't break but it taught me that I would never leave it out again if there was going to be any rain.

I love mine, which came with our 2017 Fleet. They are tough, and I know this from being stupid and leaving it up when I went to bed while camped in Olympic National Park.

It was only misting when I went to bed. I made sure one leg was lower than the other so water would run off. Apparently not enough. The sky unloaded in the middle of the night. It rained so hard it was like laying in a snare drum. Next morning what looked like about 50 gallons of water was hanging in a big dip in the awning. One leg was pushed over at a weird angle. Figured I had broken the thing on first usage. Emptied water, put the one leg back in its plastic socket and it didn't seem to be the worse for wear.

I'd be curious if any of you leave it up overnight if there aren't high winds or an incoming storm forecasted. Most of my use will probably be for rain, and it would be really nice to leave that area next to the camper dry for morning use.

EnviroProf said:

I love mine, which came with our 2017 Fleet. They are tough, and I know this from being stupid and leaving it up when I went to bed while camped in Olympic National Park.

It was only misting when I went to bed. I made sure one leg was lower than the other so water would run off. Apparently not enough. The sky unloaded in the middle of the night. It rained so hard it was like laying in a snare drum. Next morning what looked like about 50 gallons of water was hanging in a big dip in the awning. One leg was pushed over at a weird angle. Figured I had broken the thing on first usage. Emptied water, put the one leg back in its plastic socket and it didn't seem to be the worse for wear.

I'd be curious if any of you leave it up overnight if there aren't high winds or an incoming storm forecasted. Most of my use will probably be for rain, and it would be really nice to leave that area next to the camper dry for morning use.

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Perhaps place a ground tarp over area you want dry in AM? Weighted down with rocks of course..

Awnings Awnings awnings....!

Its funny how we most all think we would like one but.....

I bought one for my camper van of many years and even installed it....but never ever used it on a trip.

Kind of an "Adventure hat"

There was no collusion/ confusion...I mean I am a genius, mostly.

David Graves

I never wanted an awning either. Seems like I can barely find a flat enough spot for the truck much less for an awning as well. Plus I am either out and about all day and only at the camper at night. eating and sleeping.

cwd

I have one, and like it (mostly). It's great when you're in hot country and want a spot to get out of the sun. My only complaint is it rattles when driving rough roads. Not an issue when the windows are up, but annoying with them down.

We use ours almost every time. Shade is nice but so is having a rain free if not dry and warm place to sit in inclement weather. No cabin fever if we can be outside if the weather isn't perfect. Smells are different and small feathery & fuzzy critters behave differently in the rain.

Large cranky ones may behave differently,too.

Paul

I just recently ordered a Swift shell and during my research/decision process ran across a neighbor who has a Kestrel. He was very generous with his time and gave me a full tour and shared his experience. I originally had not planned to order an awning. After the internal tour and a few camping stories he said he had to show me one of his favorite things about his FWC. He proceeded to deploy the awning. I was really amazed at how much it enlarges the footprint of the rig. I immediately decided I was going to include it on my build sheet. I did comment to him....."you do realize how much extra money you have cost me"

Can't wait to get my FWC!

I ordered the Fiamma with my Hawk that I am waiting on... why? I am not really sure, maybe resale value? Or in the very rare instance I want to get out of the rain.

I had the ARB awning on my truck over 2 years and used it twice, PITA to deploy solo and horrible in wind.

If the Fiamma is as easy to deploy as stated, I may use it more info.

WARNING: Do not leave awnings up overnight. I have now been on 3 trips where the winds picked up at night and buddies got their awnings DESTROYED. One did a number on his brand new 4runner too with the poles hitting the sides.

Looking forward to checking out the Fiamma soon

So Cal Adventurer said:

I ordered the Fiamma with my Hawk that I am waiting on... why? I am not really sure, maybe resale value? Or in the very rare instance I want to get out of the rain.

I had the ARB awning on my truck over 2 years and used it twice, PITA to deploy solo and horrible in wind.

If the Fiamma is as easy to deploy as stated, I may use it more info.

WARNING: Do not leave awnings up overnight. I have now been on 3 trips where the winds picked up at night and buddies got their awnings DESTROYED. One did a number on his brand new 4runner too with the poles hitting the sides.

Looking forward to checking out the Fiamma soon

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I ordered it for mine, I was hesitant until it was demoed for me at overland expo east. It cranks out really easily and the legs drop done and adjust easily.

My granby shell was supposed to be finished today, I should have it in a couple weeks. It’s all I can do to not call the dealer (O’Neal overland in Atlanta) ang say “ is it done, is it done, is it done, is it done?” I’m worse than a kid at Christmas.

We've been camping with awnings now for 31 years, first an A&E TransAwn 2000 on our '86 VW Vanagon, I would also use it on my 1998 FWC Ranger II Shell. In 2008 we acquired a Casita fiberglass trailer with our Fiamma F45, and December 2016 we acquired a new 2016 FWC Grandby FC with the new Batwing Awning.

We use our awnings a lot. The Batwing was a real lifesaver on our recent 3 month trip to Alaska where we never went more than 2 days without rain. On our Baja trips the awning is essential to block the sun, not just off of ourselves, but also off the refrigerator. We will often stay in place for two weeks or more and we set the awnings up to be survivable. If the sun undercuts them I have a couple of 6 x 9 nylon tarps that I hang from the outer poles and can move around as necessary.

I have a bag of 14-1/2" galvanized stakes I use to guy the awning down, staking them 4 or 5 feet directly in front of the awning legs and guying them with nylon shroud line and a cinch knot. I also employ two sturdy cloth grocery bags that I can fill with rocks or sand that I hang from the top of the awning legs. These bags can be used at lunch stops to make sure the awning doesn't take off with a sudden gust. With the Fiamma, the bags themself will not keep the rafters from colapsing in a high wind, but the guy lines will help. Care needs to be taken with the Fiamma not to break the plastic parts in the leg hinges. I once cinched them tight and then decided to pound the stake down in a little more and that broke them.

We also will run a line up over the awning from a stake on each side and cinch it to keep the awning from flapping. We don't hesitate to roll the awning in if the wind looks like it will be too bad, although I have had awnings survive some pretty bad winds because they were staked out properly.

We have done extensive camping in Baja and the West for many years and have yet to lose an awning.

camper rich said:

We also will run a line up over the awning from a stake on each side and cinch it to keep the awning from flapping. We don't hesitate to roll the awning in if the wind looks like it will be too bad, although I have had awnings survive some pretty bad winds because they were staked out properly.

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It would be interesting to see pictures of how you guy this out and the line to minimize the flapping.

So Cal Adventurer said:

WARNING: Do not leave awnings up overnight. I have now been on 3 trips where the winds picked up at night and buddies got their awnings DESTROYED. One did a number on his brand new 4runner too with the poles hitting the sides.

Looking forward to checking out the Fiamma soon

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I agree never understood leaving awning up over the night? Makes me wary of it up and don't sleep as well No BS story... was camped in spot in Death Valley and big wind / dust storm came through. Guy in BIG bus type RV had his awning up. Wind blew it completely up and over the top. Poles and such were beating the rig up I guess. Wife said he got out and decided to cut it off at material line. Long story short he gashed himself with knife and had to be evacuated to Lonepine. Camper was still there when we left

XJINTX said:

I agree never understood leaving awning up over the night? Makes me wary of it up and don't sleep as well No BS story... was camped in spot in Death Valley and big wind / dust storm came through. Guy in BIG bus type RV had his awning up. Wind blue it completely up and over the top. Poles and such were beating the rig up I guess. Wife said he got out and decided to cut it off at material line. Long story short he gashed himself with knife and had to be evacuated to Lonepine. Camper was still there when we left

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We’ve seen something like this happen almost every year at DVNP. If we are not around the rig, the awning is in, and almost never left out at night anywhere we camp.

GO 2XPLR said:

It would be interesting to see pictures of how you guy this out and the line to minimize the flapping.

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Sorry I can't find any photos, plus my camera shoots too high of resolution for this forum.

Essentially I have two lines running straight out from the top of the awning legs and down at approx. 30 degrees to 14-1/2" steel stakes (any shorter will pull out of the sand). I pull them taught with cinch knots (careful not to break plastic parts on Fiamma). Then I run a line up over the awning from a stake on each side, about 10 feet out and pull it taught again with a cinch knot, althought not overly tight. It stops a lot of the flapping but not all.

Another thing we do for shade is hang a 4 x 8 nylon tarp at whatever end the sun may be undercutting the awning. I will leave a loose line attached to a stake so the tarp can flap and spill the wind on one corner.

Another thing I have done with the Fiamma is to run a very taught line from the top of the leg to the case, and then, midway a short loop around the strut hinge from the line. This helps keep the strut from collapsing in a wind causing the awning to billow.

When we purchased our new Grandby last year we purchased the Easy Awn Batwing Awning, not only because it provides an awning over the back door, but, a big selling point for me was all metal parts for staking it down. That is also true of the Trans Awn 2000 awning I have on my VW (it is 31 years old).

I'm not saying you shouldn't take your awnings in at night, I just telling you what we do. If we stop for lunch and put the awning out we always will hand a bag of rocks (or sand) on the legs to save it from a sudden gust. The awning always has something holding it down when it is deployed. I think that most of the time when awnings are destroyed it is because of a lack of something holding them down.

XJINTX said:

I agree never understood leaving awning up over the night? Makes me wary of it up and don't sleep as well No BS story... was camped in spot in Death Valley and big wind / dust storm came through. Guy in BIG bus type RV had his awning up. Wind blue it completely up and over the top. Poles and such were beating the rig up I guess. Wife said he got out and decided to cut it off at material line. Long story short he gashed himself with knife and had to be evacuated to Lonepine. Camper was still there when we left

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I don’t understand it either. Every time I see it, I think “oh, must be someone new to camping In the desert and not familiar with the frequent completely random winds at night”

Wandering Sagebrush said:

We’ve seen something like this happen almost every year at DVNP. If we are not around the rig, the awning is in, and almost never left out at night anywhere we camp.

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On our last trip out to DVNP a few weeks ago, we stayed one night at Texas Springs camp.

When I went to bring the trash to their dumpster there was a smaller ARB awning and a HUGE very expensive looking full size RV awning in pieces piled next to the dumpster.

Zirdu said:

I have a bit of a contrary opinion on awnings. I had one on my old Eagle, and never used it. I finally removed it and sold it to save weight and air resistance.

Since I mostly camp in the Southwest, you would think I would like the shade from an awning. Don't get me wrong, I do like shade. My problem with awnings are (1) a bit of a hassle to put up, (2) very often, the sun just shines under them anyway, (3) the height of the camper usually gives a lot of shade, and I just move my chair(s) around to where the shade from the camper happens to be. I do carry a triangular shade cloth that I very occasionally set up with a single pole. Anyway, I just don't quite see the big advantage of having an awning.

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we have weight issues, how much does the awning weigh I wonder!?