The flapping is annoying for sure, Bryan. I usually just bring in the windward slides when it gets really bad. I've often considered what you did as a cure, but #1 I'm too lazy to go out at night when a wind comes up and place the contraptions, and #2 I worry I'd forget about them when breaking camp and try to draw in the slides, breaking something or stressing a motor or pump. You can buy deflappers at Camping World, etc., but they rely on having side arms on awnings to clamp to, so you'd still have to get the expansion rod.
I've also thought about tying 5 lb rocks to either end of a rope and just tossing them over the top so the rope eliminates the slack that flaps. But I'd probably smack the side of the coach with a rock somewhere along the line. Or I'd forget as above noted, and drive off with several rocks hanging from entrapped ropes atop the slideout awnings, and banging against the side of the coach or something. Of course none of that would really happen cuz I routinely do a final walkaround before leaving camp. However, if I was emotionally devastated by having to leave a particularly wonderful location, and had tears blocking my vision, I might conceivably miss the rocks -Grin
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That aside, you didn't mention what smartphone you're using. If it was so smart, it would know what you were trying to do and automatically downsize the image, right? We wish. Admittedly I have not actually done this, so take the following under that advisement: on my wife's Samsung S5, you go to the 3 dots icon in upper right of the picture in question after bringing it up onscreen from the Gallery (albums of photos) app. That's the Menu button, and pressing it brings (theoretically) down a menu from which you can select "Edit". In the lower left then will be an "Adjustment" icon with a picture of a wrench. Clicking that should pop up 3 choices - Rotate, Crop, and Resize. Select "Resize" and take it from there; you may have to experiment. I think most phones are similar in that you have to get the photo onscreen and then get to the Edit function, and then find the feature for downsizing the resolution, preferrably without cropping it to death in the same move.
Alternatively you should be able to pull up the Settings screen for the Camera, and there choose a lesser resolution setting before taking any picture intended for emailing or for here.
-Joel
