For most of us spring is a welcomed change of pace. We put away our snow blowers and ice melt in favor of a much more enjoyable past time, camping with our family and friends. If you’re like me and my family we use our camper just enough to barely remember how everything works. Our first outing of the season is filled with one part enthusiasm, usually by the wife; and one part anxiety over whether or not we will make it to campground in one piece. Will the tires blow out? Did I remember to close all the bay doors? Etc etc.

One thing I’ve learned over the years owning our camper is that my fellow camper enthusiasts have more stories and tales of disaster than marshmallows. Perhaps the most often repeated, after water leak stories of course; is the tale of a runaway awning. Yes, you’ve heard it before. The wind came up or the latch came loose or some other unforeseen occurrence and the rest is history.

Truth be told, losing your awning can be expensive and most of the time it is preventable. No one likes to see their insurance premiums go up so it pays to spend a little extra time checking over the camper before hitting to road. Perhaps you can make a checklist to go through every time you plan on leaving. Most pilots and sailors follow this routine, so why not campers? The same idea can be applied before leaving your camper, say for a picnic. Lock up valuable items and make sure the awning is stowed in case the wind picks up. The old saying “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure” is so true when it comes to using our beloved campers.