Awning Supports and Tie Downs

Here are some pictures of the supports that we use to keep the awning from blowing away. The supports are made from a 1/2" conduit slipped inside a 3/4" conduit with a nut welded to the side and an eyebolt inserted into that nut to hold the 1/2 pipe up. This makes it adjustable and also easy to store in the down position.

The bases for these supports are simple conduit connectors attached to a shallow conduit box. This can be removed for storage when moving the RV. 

The hold downs for the awning screens are springs from trampolines found at garage sales. 

The supports have two diff types of attachments. On the end supports, I made a circular band from aluminum that goes around the awning roll. 

The center pole I attached to the awning roller with a single heavy self tapping screw. 

I do not have pics for these but the awning bows or awnbrellas are key to this setup as it leaves the fabric taught and bowed up so rain does not collect and the awning can be level across the front. These cost $65 each and you need 4 on a big camper. They are often on sale. 

New Smoker Arrived

Having a pellet grill for many years I searched long and hard for one that could easily fit in my RV cargo hold. They are generally designed for back yard patios and so I was stumped until I found the Green Mountain Grill brand of pellet grills. 

These grills are the perfect size for travel of any kind and make such activities as tailgating, picnics, Rving and other applications easy to accommodate. For those of you unfamiliar with this style of grill they use state of the art electronics to maintain a constant temperature while cooking or smoking and utilize wood pellets as fuel. 

These pellets are available in most hardware and chain stores so there is never a problem with supply. I am paying about $19 for 40 pounds and in this size grill, that lasts a long time. 

The grill consists of a fuel hopper that holds 9 pounds of wood pellets which is sufficient to cook several meals on depending on what temperatures you are using. The grill itself is plenty big for smoking large quantities of meat as can be seen in the pics I provided. I used a rack that I made from a store bought grill rack and was able to double up on the pepperoni we made. 

It will hold two good sized hams, turkeys or other items so its not a typical RV size grill. Yet it stores away with the foldable legs. 

The unit weighs in at 56 pounds and is easy to clean with take apart grills and drip pans. 

I cannot tell you enough how great this unit is and customer service is second to no one. They always answer the phone and the two year warranty is question free which I like.

They retail for $399 but you can find them on sale in the $300 range on sale. The models now have a Wifi connection to operate the grill remotely and if you get caught at church or out fishing you can change the settings on the grill without going home or ruining your meals. 

I recommend that you find a dealer near you by visiting their website to find the closest dealer at http://greenmountaingrills.com/