What are thoughts on carbon fibre poles? Giving some thought to buying some for our awning. Mainly to help drop weight during transport. Do they stand up to high winds? Are there any problems anyone has come across with them? TIA.
We have two Isabella awnings with carbon x poles.
One of them is full caravan width and 3m deep and uses a lot of poles to support. We have used them in all weather conditions including gale force winds, snow and heavy rain.......never had an issue with the poles and the weight advantage versus steel poles is significant.
We have carbon fibre poles for our Countrymans Isabella awning which are a lot lighter than the steel. I can pick up a bag full with no problems. From experience though you have to be careful with insert and twist sections on the end of the poles. If the frame is allowed to collapse whilst being assembled the ends can get damaged. Its not a big problem just be careful the first time you assemble the frame as they arent as robust as the old steel push and spring peg system. When assembled though they are just as robust as a steel frame.
Thank you tonyv8power and pnefan for your replies. The weight issue is top of the list. Thanks for the pointer pnefan about the pole ends. Seriously considering buying them now.
Much lighter than the metal ones and can stand up to a reasonable wind. But when we were faced with Force 8 winds last summer, our carbon X poles sheared in half, while all the old metal poles awnings around us stayed up. But had we read the forecast that is the type of wind we should taken the awning down for really