I respectfully disagree with what Jim said about Girard awnings. I have had a Girard awning on my coach for 5 years and have not had one minute's trouble. When we first used the awning we were in Wichita Falls, TX. Wichita Falls is known for its constant high winds.
I extended the awning > went inside to get something and when I came out the awning had retracted from high winds. I have heard stories about the wind flipping awnings over the top of the coach; if the wind blows that hard it will break the cast aluminum claw that holds the Zip Dee type awnings (this happened to me in Colorado on my '87 Newell w/Zip Dee awning).
My point is this: high winds will damage any awning. Girard is the best awning made IMO. Girard has a remote control that fits in your pocket. This remote makes it really easy to extend/retract your awning. There's no locking/unlocking the roll up mechanism to contend with and no support bars to hit your head on when walking by.
I know that many on this site have had trouble with Zip Dee electric/air automatic awnings and personally I would never have one, but Girard is in a class by itself IMO. If you want a trouble free easy to use patio awning, Girard is the best game in town.
Just my .04 (inflation)
Tuga & Karen Gaidry
2012 Honda Pilot