Yikes! Awning breakdown

[lyndercc]

LOL! I’m just glad this happened in our own backyard and not on a trip. Lots of rain came down last night. Besides the obvious replace the whole thing, any suggestions ideas or tips? It’s a 1996 33’ Sea Breeze. Here are the pictures of our disaster…

[Fred and Bonnie]

I know it's crule, but why was the awning out in bad weather?

Fred

[lyndercc]

Not cruel at all, it was pretty much a stupid (and probably expensive) newbie mistake. The RV is in our backyard right now so we can do fix ups and what-not, and the weather only called for light rain. Believe me, it was a big time learning experience! Again, I’m just glad we didn’t make this mistake on a trip! So that being said, do you have any suggestions that might be helpful like how to disassemble and remove it safely? We will try to stay out of the rain…

~Lynda

[Capt. Flipper]

The good news is all needed parts are available through an A&E dealer, either local or online. If you are mechanically inclined, you might get away with $500 in parts if the fabric is OK. One problem is the shipping you will pay for that awning tube $$$. If you're thinking of having it done, the best option is probably a complete new awning for around $1500.

How you remove the damaged awning depends on which repair solution you choose. If you choose a new awning, just get on a ladder or the roof and cut the fabric just below the metal shield and release the arms from the lower attaching brackets. loosen the adjuster knob on the upper rafter arms and slide out the lower sctions. Tape the upper rafter arms to the side of the coach and drive to the repair site.

If you want to repair the existing awning, you are faced with a couple of tricky operations. The first is relieving he tension on the roll-up spring at the forward end of the tube. The second is removing the fabric from the damaged tube without ripping it. Normally, you would slide the tube off the fabric through the open end of the retention grooves but with the tube kinked, this is not goint to work. However you do these operations, it is at least a 2 person job. If what I have said does't make complete sense, have the job done by a pro. There is definitely the possibility of injury here.

Good Luck

[Schmitty]

[QUOTE=Capt. Flipper;658413]
If you are mechanically inclined, you might get away with $500 in parts if the fabric is OK.
If you want to repair the existing awning, you are faced with a couple of tricky operations. The first is relieving he tension on the roll-up spring at the forward end of the tube. The second is removing the fabric from the damaged tube without ripping it. Normally, you would slide the tube off the fabric through the open end of the retention grooves but with the tube kinked, this is not going to work.

Thank you for the response, I was able to get it rolled back up without damage to the fabric and safely secured. Thanks to your info, I looked up the parts diagram through A&E, was releaved I can get the individual parts.
Now the trick, as you said, is to get the tube removed without damaging the fabric.
For safety, I was thinking I'll put pins in each end cap (similar to the shipping cotter pins) to help lock it down. Then I could manualy unroll it and then go ahead and finish breaking the tube in half and remove each half from their end sides.
I'll need to study a little more on removing the end caps, being they are still under load.
By the way I'm the idiot (Lynda's husband with the tail between the legs) that left the awning out in the bad weather.

[GOLDWINGER2]

This link will help you if you want to DIY.
http://www.rverscorner.com/RV_Awning_Repair.html
J

[Schmitty]

Thanks much, very useful info.

[Gary B]

What about insurance?

[RJay]

On thing you may want to consider if you leave your awning up overnight again is to tilt the awning to one side. It doesn't help much with the wind but it does prevent the water from pooling on the awning fabric.

[Schmitty]

Originally Posted by Gary B

What about insurance?

Can you insure on stupidity?
Actually, it'll cost less to rebuild it myself, but thanks for the thought.

[Schmitty]

Originally Posted by RJay

On thing you may want to consider if you leave your awning up overnight again is to tilt the awning to one side. It doesn't help much with the wind but it does prevent the water from pooling on the awning fabric.

Yes, I agree, I just forgot about it being and the storm rolling in overnight.
Bet I won't forget it next time though. Live and learn or is it life is a learning experience!

[Schmitty]

O Oh, the wife Lynda woke up and is giving me a hard time asking me if I have broken anything yet, it's not the weekend till I've broken something, then I spend the rest of the weekend fixing it, humm!

[GENECOP]

Might be a good time to upgrade to a fully automatic awning, G

[Schmitty]

Originally Posted by GENECOP

Might be a good time to upgrade to a fully automatic awning, G

That's a good thought. I'll check it out.
Thank you