Vicious Wind

In June 2024 while staying in Evansville, Indiana we had a very unfortunate event happen. Even more unfortunate, we had NO cameras rolling to capture the series of events that happened, so let me set the stage and try to explain what happened.

It was a normal day for us, a Monday, June 17. It was an unusually cooler day. Some bad weather showed on radar but nothing in our area. Having spent a few days in the camper we decided to make a trip and go out for some groceries and a few errands. Of course, while we were out, it was decided that going grocery shopping would be dangerous if we didn't get something to eat first. So we sought out a restaurant that we hadn't tried. It wasn't our original plan but the weather was nice and we needed the outing. We enjoyed the relaxing late lunch and then made our way back towards the original agenda....groceries. We thought of a few things we stopped along the way but ultimately decided to just make it back to the grocery location near the campground. Along the way, I briefly thought about mentioning that perhaps I get dropped at the camper to tend to the dogs, it was near their supper time. I shrugged the thought as quickly as I thought about it because it was just easier to go all together.

Once we exited the grocery store, we looked up to discover a beautiful colorful sky. I took a picture, that was at 9:25pm CT. We loaded up the groceries and began the 1 mile trip to the camper. Upon arrival, we made a note of the sudden wind that was evident by the small tree in front of us as we parked. As usual, myself and our daughter took to the dogs. I was walking in the general direction of the store we had just left and looked across to see a wall of rain that literally moved across the train tracks in our direction. I turned around and quickly made the 20-30foot trip back to explain to our daughter to "hurry, get the dogs back inside". From there, it is hard to really remember what happened when. I know that we were frantic in getting dogs back inside, closing the door, securing the awning and all the 'normal' campsite items. At some point, soaked from the wall of rain, we found ourselves hugging the awning and frame as it literally ripped apart. Our daughter had been knocked off the stairs and landed on the ground pretty hard. We found later that her hand made contact with a piece of the grill that was blown from the table to underneath our camper. Chairs, rugs, candles and our bodies were blow and we struggled to hold on. Then...it went away. We were left holding the frame of our camper awning and pieces of our awning. Sick to our stomachs, we had to work in the dark and aftermath of a storm gathering and assessing. No dogs were lost, no bodies were broken, no blood was drawn and for that we were thankful.

Once we managed to get the awning completely removed, what was left of it, we assessed the frame damage. Thankfully, it appeared to be in tact. I think our holding it is what saved it! Sadly, we recalled winds in the Gulf Shores that didn't cause this much havoc and damage. It didn't help that we were on a hill, with NO trees or other campers around us to help shield us from the direct impact of the wind. It literally crept up the hillside and hit us square on. Our awning was gone and we needed the shade. The next day, we made the determination that the frame was indeed unharmed and we were going to move to a site under the trees behind us.

Once moved, we immediately began looking for a replacement awning. Our choices were slim but our timeline was a driving factor. We opted to take a chance and order from Amazon. It would arrive within days and we could be back under shade within the week.

When it arrived we were impressed with the quality. It felt a little lighter than our factory awning material and it was blue versus black, which should be cooler on us. Installing it was tricky. Without access to ladders it required climbing on top of the camper while another person stayed below feeding it into the channel. Fortunately, our daughter, a more nimble and able body, climbed on top of the camper and did the pulling as we worked to feed the awning material. Standing on the back of the truck helped with that and being able to move the truck alongside the camper made it easier. It was indeed something we should have documented but again, we were operating in pretty much survive and recover mode.

Once installed, we were impressed. We would absolutely recommend this awning as a replacement for factory. We have a 2022 Cherokee Alpha Wolf with an 18' awning. It fit perfectly and works flawlessly.

Lessons learned....we will follow our gut from now on.

Get yours using this link! ($$ savings)