Bedroom slide-out awning replacement

[thesoundguy]

Although I've owned my motorhome a little more than a year I still truly consider myself a newby, so excuse my ignorance.

This is a question about my 2000, 40' Monaco Diplomat.

We had a very windy here in Saint Cloud, FL yesterday and the two piece awning that covers my bedroom slide-out, and extends down to partially cover the window, tore in two. Actually the thread that held it all together just gave up. This is Florida after all. To be honest, the canvas is in decent shape, and could probably be resewn, but I'm not sure I want to go to all this trouble without replacing the fabric as well. It is made from two pieces as well, which I don't quite understand either, and that's where it came apart.

I removed the awning from the side of the motor home, took the end cap off of the retractable mounting tube, and removed the old cover.

Now, the question(s)

Is there a good reliable supplier online that someone here might suggest for a replacement?

Are the ones I saw on Ebay that claim you can cut them to width size any good?

Or, should I take the old one to a local canvas shop for repair or replacement?

I'm including a photo of the old awning. It's 82.75" x 53" overall

[MSHappyCampers]

There's a couple that a lot of folks on here use, ToughTop and Stone Vos. I used Stone Vos to replace a couple of my slide-out awnings because they could perfectly match the material that came on my MH in 2002! They were a little more expensive but the quality of the fabric is evident!

[jtermini30]

Check out the RVGeeks website and YouTube videos. I believe they have some great vendors for materials


2009 Fleetwood Expedition 38F
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[gemert]

| RV Awnings &amp: Slide Toppers The Nation's Leader Stone Vos
The owner Chris, is an owner of a Monaco also. He has the best material and will help in anyway he can. He is less than 100 miles from you but will ship anywhere. Great folks give them a call.

[Mr_D]

Stone Vos is in FL. I have fabric samples on the way from them as of yesterday.

[rmarv1]

tough top awnings.com

[Mr_D]

Originally Posted by rmarv1

tough top awnings.com

Tough Tops are made right here in Vancouver, WA but they don't make tops for our Girard toppers so I have to get them made and sent from FL!! Plus Tough Tops doesn't have the fabric we have.
I did use Tough Tops on our '02 Dutch Star and they were a good product.

[thesoundguy]

So, now a couple of days later, here's my progress.

Emailed both Stone Vos and Tough Tops. Got great replies from both. Chris (Stone Vos) sent me a small novel telling me what to do and what not to do, but not in a pushy way. Gave me lots of great information. Tyler from Tough Tops sent a nice replay as well. Chris quoted $285 and Tyler $184. I think Tough Tops uses a vinyl product, hence the difference in price.

I also went to a local awning shop in Kissimmee, FL, and he quoted me $360, and then as I was grabbing up my old awning and running out the door - $240. So much for "use local products and merchants" idea.

For now I've decided to have the old one re-sewn, if I can find a shop to do it at a reasonable price. I disassembled the old one, soaked it in a bucket of soapy water for an hour or so, and scrubbed it as clean as was possible. Used a Zep product for oil and grease removal - amazing stuff. It will also remove all the oils (and some skin) from your hands. It looks pretty good to be honest. The material is in very good shape considering how long it's been up there. I marked the corresponding corners where it will be re-joined and removed all the old thread. The thread is where all the failure was, that and the old polycord that holds it to the motor home. The meathead previous owner repaired it by screwing through the polycord and material into the aluminum C track after it must have come loose - what a shoemaker

Found some 1/4" polycord on Ebay for $1.00 a foot plus shipping. The only source I came up with.

I'll keep you informed as this progresses.

[MSHappyCampers]

Originally Posted by thesoundguy

So, now a couple of days later, here's my progress.

Emailed both Stone Vos and Tough Tops. Got great replies from both. Chris (Stone Vos) sent me a small novel telling me what to do and what not to do, but not in a pushy way. Gave me lots of great information. Tyler from Tough Tops sent a nice replay as well. Chris quoted $285 and Tyler $184. I think Tough Tops uses a vinyl product, hence the difference in price.

I also went to a local awning shop in Kissimmee, FL, and he quoted me $360, and then as I was grabbing up my old awning and running out the door - $240. So much for "use local products and merchants" idea.

For now I've decided to have the old one re-sewn, if I can find a shop to do it at a reasonable price. I disassembled the old one, soaked it in a bucket of soapy water for an hour or so, and scrubbed it as clean as was possible. Used a Zep product for oil and grease removal - amazing stuff. It will also remove all the oils (and some skin) from your hands. It looks pretty good to be honest. The material is in very good shape considering how long it's been up there. I marked the corresponding corners where it will be re-joined and removed all the old thread. The thread is where all the failure was, that and the old polycord that holds it to the motor home. The meathead previous owner repaired it by screwing through the polycord and material into the aluminum C track after it must have come loose - what a shoemaker

Found some 1/4" polycord on Ebay for $1.00 a foot plus shipping. The only source I came up with.

I'll keep you informed as this progresses.

I'm sure you can get the polycord from either Chris or Tyler for MUCH less than that!

[thesoundguy]

MSHappyCampers,

You're probably right about that, but I only needed 7 feet for this installation. Maybe on the next one.

[96 Wideglide]

If it was just two screws, one at either end, thats what keeps the awning from shifting in the 'C' channel.

[G Shaw]

I purchased new slide topper awnings from Stone Vos this year when we were in Florida.
Went to Chris' shop and also attended a seminar at Lazy Days that was being presented.
From what I picked up, it is not everyone that has UV resistant thread and that seems to be most of our problems-the thread fails.
Another thing I picked up is that the fabric awnings should be washed with a MILD detergent ei Downy, Ivory Snow etc and then after it is dry it should be retreated with a fabric protectant.(303 Fabric guard)
Funny, I don't remember my manufacturer telling my that the awnings need to be treated-lol.
I replaced my fabric awnings with vinyl. These seem to require less maintenance than the fabric and the black will match my coach just fine.
Good luck with the adventure.

[Mr_D]

Originally Posted by 96 Wideglide

If it was just two screws, one at either end, thats what keeps the awning from shifting in the 'C' channel.

Exactly!
On our bed slide I found that one end of the cord (a Tupperware type plastic) had come out and was getting stuck in the mechanism. Tried pushing it back in and got nowhere so I cut it off.
Got a fabric sample from Stone Vos in the mail today. It doesn't look like the same color/fabric even though SV says it is. Still a good match though. Need to open mine up and spray them with waterproofing again when I have time. Seems my "to do" list is getting longer!

[iamblum]

Getting ready to do this process myself. Found a product online for $110 bucks. Couple more paychecks and I'll give it a shot!!


BLUM