Carefree Awning - Problems

[RonLC]

We took delivery today on a 2019 Renegade Verona LE 40 LTS and on the advice of everyone here we intended to try out the Carefree Awning.

It failed to completely retract on the very first try.

Stayed there from 10 am to 6:30 pm with them adjusting..it failing...them adjusting...it failing time after time.

I refused to close until the awning was functional.

Finally they said it was fixed. so we closed and took it home.

Might have been a mistake. We'll see.

[Msmoto]

The carefree awning on my new LTV Unity works well. I suspect some of the problems may be the dealer is not doing a thorough pre delivery inspection.

Schaap’s in Sioux Falls does a great job. Tests out all systems before offering it to the new owner.

[rebelsbeach]

Originally Posted by Msmoto

The carefree awning on my new LTV Unity works well. I suspect some of the problems may be the dealer is not doing a thorough pre delivery inspection.

Schaap’s in Sioux Falls does a great job. Tests out all systems before offering it to the new owner.

During my delivery PDI a year ago, it took three different techs to finally get the awning adjusted and working... It failed the second time I tried to open it.

We're leaving for Florida tomorrow and to be honest, I'm afraid to try and open the awning... Since we'll be on our landscaped lot in Fort Myers. thankfully there are enough trees that provide shade.

I'm sorry, but I'm pretty certain it's more about a shoddy product, than a good PDI team.

[JCAT]

An interesting realization.

As it turns out - those of us who own or are taking delivery of a Verona LE in the next few months have the only Renegade installations of the Carefree APEX awning on the roof. All other Carefree awnings are either mounted on the exterior wall or are a different model, i.e. Mirage on the Classic. Although you could order a different awning on the Renegade Classic if you chose.

Renegade is working toward a solution for the roof mounted Carefree awning going forward, but no idea how that will effect current owners. And I haven't seen issues being posted for those with pre-2018 coaches, for whatever reason.

Meanwhile, our coach remains in Service having the awning repaired and a couple other less significant warranty items corrected.

[RonLC]

Originally Posted by JCAT

An interesting realization.

As it turns out - those of us who own or are taking delivery of a Verona LE in the next few months have the only Renegade installations of the Carefree APEX awning on the roof. All other Carefree awnings are either mounted on the exterior wall or are a different model....

So, instead of retracting to a wall and snapping in place it has to go up to the top and make a almost 45° roll over on to the top before it snaps???

That roll is what mine failed to do during orientation. I never saw it work correctly during the adjustments that were going on while they were herding us to the closing office. After closing at 6;30 pm it was parked outside the sales office and declared to be fixed. I have coach stored under cover and have not had time to move it to a place for a test.

Maybe we are blaming the wrong folks here.

[rebelsbeach]

Originally Posted by JCAT

An interesting realization.

And I haven't seen issues being posted for those with pre-2018 coaches, for whatever reason.

Meanwhile, our coach remains in Service having the awning repaired and a couple other less significant warranty items corrected.

FWIW, Mine is a '17 Verona LE LTS we bought from stock at North Trail last year, so I'd imagine there are other 2017's out there like mine with the same issues.

[JCAT]

I picked-up our 2019 Renegade LE today from North Trail today. We had brought our coach there 3 ½ weeks ago for some warranty work after returning from our 2-month, 4400-mile Maiden Voyage. Unfortunately, not all the work could be completed, as parts needed to be ordered.

The major warranty work was, of course, the Carefree awning. I was told there were 2-hours of labor necessary to have it work properly. I tested the awning before leaving North Trail and it did work properly. I extended and retracted (6) times and extended 2-feet, stopped and retracted twice. All was successful. So, I will very cautiously use it, but with great trepidation and a bundle of 24” wire ties on hand.

When we picked up our coach today at North Trail, we were treated the same as when picking up a BMW or Audi from their respective service departments. I am not saying the service process was that smooth; there were some service communication challenges but, there were no surprises when we picked up our coach.

Admittedly, I did have one mortifying surprise. As I was pulling away from the service parking place I heard a car horn sounding off wildly. I slowly pulled over as (2) golf carts pulled up behind me. My first thought – did I pay the bill?

Behind my Renegade was a 50amp power cord dragging behind my coach like some sort of trolling line. I neglected to “clear” the coach before departing and the coach had been plugged into power. No damages. I can say this was the first time anything like this ever happened despite many miles and RV Parks. Never again.

And the helpful horn – well that was none other than the owner of North Trail. When I got home I sent an appreciative email to him and within minutes he returned a very nice email.

[rebelsbeach]

Originally Posted by JCAT

And the helpful horn – well that was none other than the owner of North Trail. When I got home I sent an appreciative email to him and within minutes he returned a very nice email.

Alan is good people.... If you're lucky, one day you'd even meet "AL" his Dad who is the founder of North Trail and they're both awesome guys.

Third generation is in the house as well, as son Kyle is in sales and his brother, whose name escapes me, is in the service department.

I've been a North Trail customer since 2007....

[lslblues]

I tried to be their customer, but they wouldn't come close to the price other dealers were giving me. Plus they were ordering Renegades with options I didn't want to have to pay for. Not exactly sure how they figure out who/how much discount to give. I drove to TX because Longhorn RV gave me a much better deal on price/trade ($20K better). I met someone from TX who drove to North Trail because they gave him a better deal. If they had given me the deal they gave the guy from TX I would have bought from them. Makes no sense to me...

Originally Posted by rebelsbeach

Alan is good people.... If you're lucky, one day you'd even meet "AL" his Dad who is the founder of North Trail and they're both awesome guys.

Third generation is in the house as well, as son Kyle is in sales and his brother, whose name escapes me, is in the service department.

I've been a North Trail customer since 2007....

[rebelsbeach]

Originally Posted by JCAT

An interesting realization.

As it turns out - those of us who own or are taking delivery of a Verona LE in the next few months have the only Renegade installations of the Carefree APEX awning on the roof. All other Carefree awnings are either mounted on the exterior wall or are a different model, i.e. Mirage on the Classic. Although you could order a different awning on the Renegade Classic if you chose.

Renegade is working toward a solution for the roof mounted Carefree awning going forward, but no idea how that will effect current owners. And I haven't seen issues being posted for those with pre-2018 coaches, for whatever reason.

Meanwhile, our coach remains in Service having the awning repaired and a couple other less significant warranty items corrected.

As I will be calling North Trail this week to schedule yet another appointment for awning repair, I wonder if you in fact learned this from North Trail?
I remembered seeing this post and went back and quoted it, so it'd be fresh in my mind....

[JCAT]

Originally Posted by rebelsbeach

As I will be calling North Trail this week to schedule yet another appointment for awning repair, I wonder if you in fact learned this from North Trail?
I remembered seeing this post and went back and quoted it, so it'd be fresh in my mind....

Did not learn anything about the awning from NT. Learned this from Renegade but I haven't heard anything recently from Renegade confirming a solution going forward or for the current owners experiencing problems. I believe Renegade is still considering what to do, but I am fairly confident they will address the problems with Carefree awnings.

[RKML0007]

Hi guys, just joined today but took delivery of our '17 Verona LE LRB back in February.

On March 10, 2018 - it started raining in the middle of the night while the awning was extended. I woke up to a thunderous boom and realized that the arm structure collapsed under what I assume to have been the accumulation of water weight. I couldn’t see any fallen trees or branches around my site. The rain wasn’t hard or even windy because I slept soundly throughout the night.

Woody was kind enough to extend cost on replacement parts, but haven't been able to get it repaired throughout the year for various logistical reasons and multiple attempts to get it done in the area. However, I'm glad to report that the awning has been successfully retracted and secured for the road until service can finally commence. Currently traveling home to CA from GA.

After reading through this thread, I thought to share my experience, while hoping for the best possible outcome for all of us with the Carefree APEX on Verona LE's.

-Ron

[cment]

Pretty sure I am going to start carrying a Mikata grinder with a cut-off wheel this summer specifically for the Carefree.

[rebelsbeach]

Originally Posted by cment

Pretty sure I am going to start carrying a Mikata grinder with a cut-off wheel this summer specifically for the Carefree.

I sure as heck hope that one of us here in Florida can get a resolution from Renegade/ North Trail long before you leave for your summer trip.

With all the knowledge and info we've been sharing amongst ourselves, I think that Woody and Renegade will be hard pressed to turn their back on us, but I've been surprised before.