need new awning

[ron55]

what is the best power awning?
what is the best manual awning?

[AFChap]

My first response would be, "best" for what???? I think the use will affect answers a bit. Also, the type of fabric used, regardless of the mfg'er, will make a huge difference in how well you like an awning. A&E and Carefree of Colorado are probably the bigger names.

ALL of our awnings, both power and manual, have an alumagard cover which covers the fabric roll and protects it from wind/sun/etc when the awning is retracted. Our slideout topper awnings also have an aluminum cover that protects the roll from wind and weather when the slides are retracted. To me, both types of covers are worth their weight in gold for the protection they give.

I honestly don't know what the fabric is on our Carefree powered patio, powered entry door, and manual window awnings are, but we love it as it looks as good now as it did when new 7 years ago.

Manual awnings need to have a reliable lock to prevent them from being pulled open by wind when driving. Power awnings normally do not need such a lock. Of course, power awnings are quite pricey compared to manual (as much as $4,500 for a 20' patio awning).

Assuming your coach already has an awning, one thing you could look at would be the Eclipse power arms upgrade kit from Carefree. They advertise that it can use the existing roller tube and fabric from ANY Carefree or A&A awning, converting it into a 12v powered awning. We recently used this kit to replace the arms of our older model Carefree awning when the arms were damaged by a strong gust of wind. Parts, tax and shipping cost for us was right at $1,500 for the arms kit. We had to have a special color to match our existing hardware ...standard colors would probably be a bit less. It comes with everything you need (motor, wiring, switches, etc) except for roller tube and fabric.