Camco 42522 15-Inch RV Awning Stake | Steel Anchor

Anyone who's left an awning out on a gusty afternoon knows the feeling. One strong breeze rolls through the campground and the whole thing wants to lift off the side of the rig. The Camco 42522 is the simple fix. It's a 15-inch steel awning stake that bites into the ground and gives your awning's hold-down strap something solid to pull against. Drive it in, run your strap down to it, and the awning stays where you put it.

This one's built from durable steel and zinc-plated for corrosion resistance. That plating matters more than it sounds. Your stake lives in wet grass, morning dew, and the occasional downpour, and a bare steel peg would start rusting the first weekend out. The zinc coating keeps it clean and strong season after season. At 15 inches, it's a good bit longer than your average tent peg, and that length is doing real work. It reaches down past the loose topsoil into the firmer ground underneath, which is exactly where you want your anchor when the wind is working against a big pulled-out awning.

It's a tent-stake style design, tapered to a point so it drives in easily with a mallet or the heel of your boot. The 42522 is sold as a single stake. Most folks pick up a couple of them, one for each end of the awning where the hold-down straps come down. If you're rigging a full hold-down setup on both sides, plan on buying in pairs so you've got an anchor for every strap.

One thing worth knowing up front. The hold-down spring that tensions the strap is sold separately. This part is the stake itself, the piece that goes in the ground. If your awning already has its spring and strap and you just need a fresh anchor or a spare for the storage bay, this is exactly what you're after. Starting from scratch? You'll want to add the spring and strap to go with it.

So who's this for? RV owners, travel-trailer families, fifth-wheel crews, really anyone with a roll-out awning that needs tying down at camp. It also makes a handy heavy-duty ground anchor for canopies, pop-up shade shelters, and tarps. Steel holds where cheap plastic flexes and snaps, and once you've had a plastic stake shatter on a tree root you appreciate the difference.

Using it is straightforward. Pick a spot a foot or two out from where the awning strap hangs down. Angle the stake slightly away from the awning, maybe 10 or 15 degrees off vertical, so the pull of the strap seats it tighter instead of working it loose over the afternoon. Drive it down until just the hooked top sits above the ground. Then run your hold-down strap and spring from the awning roller down to the stake and snug it up. Snug, not banjo-tight. You want a little give so a sudden gust loads the spring instead of yanking on the awning arm.

Pulling it back out at the end of the trip is easy too. Work it side to side to break the soil's grip, then lift straight up. Knock the dirt off, let it dry, and toss it back in the bay. Do that and a set of these will last you years.

It's a small part that does a big job. A loose awning in a strong wind can bend an arm or tear the fabric in a matter of seconds, and replacing either one costs a whole lot more than a handful of stakes. Keep a few of these on hand and you'll never be scrambling for an anchor when the sky turns dark and the wind comes up. Simple, steel, and it just works.