John,
I would solve the problem by not rolling it up. I can think of only a couple
of times in the last 10 years that I would of even considered rolling ours
up. Usually if I take it down while still parked, it is because of an
inpending storm (or one that wakes me in the middle of the night!) In that
case I quickly loosen the ropes, let the poles fall pull the awning out of
the rail and put it in the back of my truck. However if you wanted to I
would just have some ties on hand to tie the loose ends together to keep
things looking as neat as possible and just let them flop down. Forgo the
bag all together except as a storage container while in the back of your
truck or in the garage over winter.
I have seen those canopy things used before. They have a nasty habit of
blowing away. Not sure but I think that one did some minor damage to a
trailer at an International a few years back even though it was tied and
staked down. Then it ended up breaking.
Scott
> Scott,
>
> The trapezoidal awning is an interesting idea. I think you've seen the
> bag awning we have on our Pacer. The awning rail is only 6 feet long, so
> likewise the awning. Even at that size it's a lot better than nothing.
>
> The problem I see with a trapezoidal awning is, how do you roll it up? If
> you roll it up the conventional way, the rolled up awning is twice as long
> as the awning rail. I suppose you might secure the ends to hooks on the
> ends of the shell or something like that. (I am thinking here of
> temporarily furling it for a storm or whatever. We remove our bag awning
> and put it in the back of the truck when we hit the road.)
>
> A simpler solution for us awning-challenged Airstreamers might be to just
> buy one of those free standing canopy things that the camping stores have
> on sale every summer.
>
> Of course, I really can't talk. . . we solved the problem by buying a
> bigger trailer!
>
> See you down the road,
>
> John & Barb Sellers
> WBCCI/VAC #1587
> 1960 Pacer 16 ft
> 1980 International Caravelle 22 ft
> Dayton, Ohio