There are probably few owners that have not had awning problems. If you have not had them yet, you will.

I'm not familiar with the newer cantilevered awnings, but the old style Zip Dee awnings do require certain things if you are to travel with them in high winds. You should have working locks on both ends. You should have the claw type pivoting lock that is secured to the side of the coach and the awning aluminum slats as a back up lock. Since we experienced what Jeff did in Barstow CA one time and had to hang ove the side of an embankment to try to re-roll our awning that opened while we were driving we also use the velcro wrap type straps on the awning arrms to supplement the end and claw locks.

The comment about the spring is that if you choose to disassemble your awning yourself you really need to understand about how much energy is stored in a coiled spring, and that once you detach the aft awning arm things are going to get exciting unless you can hold it and unwind it carefully. It may not kill you, but an awning arm flailing around will beat you about the head and body.

But....do not be afraid to work on your awnings. They are simple, and usually the only repairs which need to be made involve a replacement of the brake. Brake replacement is not difficult and it generally takes about 1/2 hour to unwind the spring, drill out the old rivets, install the new brake and rewind the spring. It can be done by one person, but it is far easier with two, especially if one of the two is someone tall like JDUB.