No one wants to deal with a wind damaged awning in the middle of a windy night, so how can we reduce the chances of damage? The answer is to ensure that the awning itself is structurally stable, which in turn means getting the fabric correctly tensioned.
So why does taut fabric help keep everything from falling apart? The answer can be found in a little geometry and engineering.
Many full caravan awnings and trailer tents are remarkably large these days, yet we still want them to be light and simple to erect.
The frame, whether it is steel, alloy or fibre is responsible for carrying the load of the awning, including the wind load.
If we look at the naked frame it is made up of a number of squares - not a strong or stable shape at all.
 Just think of a cardboard box with the bottom pushed out, there is nothing to keep it square.
 One solution to this problem is to place a brace across the diagonal - think of electricity pylons - this creates triangles which are stable shapes.
 However, adding cross braces would just complicate the frame, make it heaver and more difficult to erect.
This is where the fabric comes in.
You may have just thought that the fabric is just there to keep out the wind and rain, but it has a vital role to play in the strength of the awning itself.
It has little strength or rigidity in itself, however when stretched across the frame and put into tension, we have a rigid structure.
The poles are extended to put the fabric into tension whilst the poles are in compression.
The result is a very stable structure as the tensioned fabric acts as the stabilising brace across the squares created by the poles.
If there is insufficient tension in fabric the whole awning's stability will be dramatically reduced.
Awnings achieve the required fabric tension by providing a number of telescopic pole sections.
These are extended to create the required tension in the fabric.
However, as awnings get larger we are faced with the problem of extending the telescopic pole sections by hand, often at arms length - not the easiest operation to carry out.
And just to complicate things further you need a third hand to tighten up the screw on the pole fitting.
To solve this contortionist problem we need: A third hand and the ability to apply steady pressure on the poles.
This problem has not escaped the attention of the inventive caravanner and at least one has turned the idea into reality.
Mark Baker makes the Awning Companion, an ingenious tool which simply clamps on to the awning pole either side of the fitting.
Then by squeezing the trigger (not unlike those bathroom sealant guns) the tools extends to poles one small increment at a time until you've achieved the correct tension in the fabric.
The tools can apply much more pressure than you can by hand and helps create the rigid structure that gives the awning its stability even when subjected to typical British wind and rain.
Once the fabric is taut with the tool in place you can just tighten up to pole fitting before removeing the tools and moving to the next pole, It's little gems like this that can save all the frustration of trying to get the awning correctly tensioned an therefore stable.
There is much less chance of damage to the awning, or for that matter the caravan side walls, when everything is tight.
You can see the Awning Companion on a number of camping and caravanning sites and more details can be found on the manufacturer's site at www.
awningcompanion.
co.
uk.