Hi, I'm Liz from Caravan Guard Insurance
In this video we’re going to bring you some top tips for pegging out your awning in different ground
conditions to get the most out of your investment.
Your caravan or motorhome awning will normally come with a set of pegs, which are usually
plastic and skewer shaped, and these are ideal for pitching on soft grassy ground in calm weather
But we know that not every pitch has the perfect conditions for these standard pegs, and when
on your caravan, campervan and motorhome travels you’ll come across gravel, rocky, muddy,
sandy, even snowy ground, as well as inclement weather.
We’re going to look at the different types of pegs and pitches and the importance of
having a variety of different awning pegs to get your awning set up as secure as it
can be.
Our first tip is to make sure you’re not packing too many pegs for your trip.
It’s worth asking the site owner before you travel what type of ground you’ll be pitching up
on, so you can plan accordingly.
So, let’s look at the variety of awning pegs available and the conditions that they’re
most suitable for.
Eight great awning pegs to have in your collection are:
First of all skewer pegs. These metal pegs are best for pegging out
your awning groundsheet or footprint and work well on firm soil.
If used on awning guylines they can twist in windy weather causing the line to shed
or come loose.
Make sure the peg is pushed down to the ground to avoid any trips.
Second, groundsheet pegs. These are mushroom headed pegs and as the
name suggests are great for your awning groundsheet or footprint, if it’s not built into the
awning, as they’ll lie flat to the ground.
Stake style pegs should make up the vast majority of your peg collection and will handle most
ground and wind conditions if you choose a variety of materials and profiles.
Stake plastic pegs are great for medium to
soft ground like this grassy pitch and to peg down the side straps or guylines along
the side of your awning.
Stake metal pegs tend to have a V or U-shaped profile, which means they won’t rotate in
the wind.
These are great for hard, stony ground, where a plastic stake won’t be able to cope.
If you’re pitching on to very soft, muddy or sandy ground, use longer pegs.
Longer stake pegs are also good for using on the corner points of your awning.
Spike pegs. These versatile pegs will cope with most ground conditions and are a good
universal peg for securing your awning’s side walls.
Tarzan rock pegs. Similarly, for stony, hard ground, as the name suggests a rock peg
is a good peg to use here.
We’ve used these pegs on this shale pitch to peg down the corners.
Screw pegs are often used on gravel hard standings.
These are secured into place using an electric drill – perfect if you find it difficult
hammering and bending down.
There are also screw pegs you can turn by hand.
Delta pegs
These come in nylon, stainless steel or Delta rock and are shaped like a number seven so
that the top piece lies flush with the ground with the guyline or strap attached to the
end.
Here we use the nylon Delta pegs for when conditions are windy and to secure your storm
straps or sidestraps.
The Delta stainless steel and rock pegs are better for hard rocky ground and will last
for years.
If ground conditions are very soft or sandy a long stake peg would be better.
Most awnings will have corner storm straps to provide extra tension for when the weather
takes a turn for the worse.
For storm straps use a metal stake or Delta pegs depending on the ground.
These need to be secure as they take most of the force in the wind.
Other top tips for pegging out your awning and looking after your awning pegs is making
sure you use the correct mallet or hammer for the pegs.
A good rule is to use plastic on plastic and metal on metal.
Don’t use your feet to push in your awning pegs, even when ground conditions are soft,
as they can easily pierce a soft shoe.
Using a mallet will also help to achieve maximum holding power.
Make sure before pitching up your awning that you clear the ground of any debris, such as
leaves and twigs.
Always fully peg out your awning, using all the pegging points, as you never know when
the weather might turn.
And don’t just take one type of peg for every pegging point.
Mix and match your pegs to suit the various conditions.
Here you can see we have a shale pitch surrounded by grass.
Some areas of the grassed pitch are soft and other areas are very rocky underneath, so we’ve
used a combination of plastic stake pegs, spike pegs, rock pegs, and Delta pegs.
Hammer stakes and pegs into the ground at around a 45 degree angle for maximum security
and with the hook away from the awning.
Make sure the awning panels are nice and tight, as well as the awning straps.
Where a panel meets the main part of the awning, you can cross over the pegging points for
extra tension.
Once your awning is fully pegged out, make sure the panels and roof are taut, and if
necessary re-peg those points.
Weak pegs can be strengthened in windy conditions by cross pegging.
This is where a second peg is driven in at right angles to the main peg.
Its head crosses over the main peg to help prevent the wind from ripping it out of the
earth.
In extreme conditions, a third peg can be driven in from the other side to provide even
more resistance.
When taking down your awning, always use a peg extractor to remove your awning pegs as
this will make the job far easier and prevent any accidents or damage to your pegs.
Remember to clean your pegs before you pack them away or when you get home to keep them
in a good condition.
It’s a good idea to store them separately from your awning so they don’t damage the
fabric – but make sure you don’t forget to pack them!
These handy peg boxes are great for this.
And don’t forget, Caravan Guard’s motorhome and caravan insurance policies will pay for
storm damage to your awning or leisure vehicle, but setting up and securing your awning correctly
will help to protect it from unnecessary damage.
So there you go, we hope you’ve found this video useful and you can now get the perfect
pitch and secure your awning, whatever the conditions you’re faced with.
You can also watch our video on setting up your awning for maximum strength by going to the link above.
Please like and share our video and for more hints and tips why not head on over to the Caravan Guard website
Thanks for watching!