RV Awning Fabric

RV awnings are not designed to last the life time of your motorized home. They will fade, become brittle and eventually break apart. Soon, you will find yourself having to replace them. This is when you need to start thinking about what kind of awning fabric to buy. There are two types of awning materials available, and each comes with its own advantages and disadvantages. These materials are:

* Vinyl fabric – this is the most popular choice of RV awning fabric on the market today. Typically, vinyl fabric is made of a woven polyester base layer that is laminated between two sheets of vinyl. The vinyl fabric is then linked on one or both sides before being given a clear protective coat. It is usually formulated to resists fading – the awning will normally be exposed to the elements when in use – and has anti-fungal properties to protect it from mold and mildews. However, due to the fact that vinyl fabric is made up of multiple layers, there is a high risk of the fabric delaminating over the course of time and with repeated use.

• All vinyl fabrics come standard with vinyl Weatherguard. This is a heavy duty section of vinyl that wraps around the fabric when the RV awning is retracted. This prevents UV rays, road grime and other pollution from penetrating to the actual awning canvas, thereby extending the lifetime of the fabric.

* Woven fabrics – acrylic and polyester are woven fabrics. This means that just like in clothing, the awning fabric is made by weaving yarn of various colors to form a specific pattern, texture or color. RV awnings made of woven fabric offer a premium feel and look, but they are also accompanied by a higher price tag. Polyester is the cheaper woven fabric alternative, while acrylics typically suits high end RVs. Both fabrics are treated with protective coating to resist water penetration, discoloration and staining, but neither offers the same resistance to water intrusion as vinyl does. Thanks to the way they are made; these woven fabrics can start to unravel if not cared for properly. To help prevent these, we typically sell them with a metallic weather-shield that protects the awning from the elements when they are rolled up.

• It is important to note that woven RV awning fabrics are water repellent, but not water proof. This means that you should avoid touching the underside of the awning when it is wet else the water will seep through the fabric.
• To get the right awning for you RV, you first have to decide what you wish to accomplish with it, if you are only looking to create shaded area where you can simply sit and enjoy a drink, then a relatively small awning will do. However, if you are looking to create an area you can enclose with screen or walls and eat your meals, then you will have to invest in something bigger.
• Thanks to the choice of materials, your RV awning is a low maintenance product that enhances your enjoyment of the outdoors, but you still have to do a few things to ensure that you take good care of the fabric and get the most out of your investment. These include:

Cleaning: Expect your awning’s hardware to boat a durable powder coat finish. As such you can clean it in much the same way you wash your motorized home. Caring for you RV awning fabric is a necessary step required to maximize the life of your awning. Regardless of the type of fabric you choose, always ensure that it is dry before you put it away. Even though all RV awning fabrics are designed to resist mold, mildews and water intrusion, stowing a wet awning is still asking for trouble.

Inspection: Inspect the fabric once or twice a year to look for tears or cracks that might affect its integrity. Remember, it is always more expensive to replace an entire awning that’s failed due to poor maintenance of the fabric assembly than to replace a worn fabric assembly.

Lubrication: Awning fabric is prone to developing minor squeaks, and when this happens, simply use a small amount of silicon spray to correct the problem.