Community Forums

Cougarkid · 06-07-2012, 07:26 AM

We went out over Memorial Day weekend. Drove to our resort camping spot on Thursday. It was REALLY windy out and I had to constantly fight againstthe wind as we tooled down the highway. Got to out spot, backed in, leveled and hooked up.

Got ready to put the main awning (A&E 9000) out and saw that some of the awning cloth was hanging out from under the aluminum roll-over cover. Realized that the wind had gotten under and partially unrolled the awning while we were driving.

The pull strap was no where to be seen. Had to get the ladder out and unroll it by hand from the front end about 3 feet before the strap end popped out. Unrolled it completely and it is still in one piece. Had to pull the top edge (at the RV) forward about 4" in the track to get it re-
aligned.

The arm bracket at the top rear of the awning was loose, too. One 1/4" lag bolt was too loose in the hole to get it tight again. A trip to the store and a new 5/16" lag bolt solved that problem.

Awning now works as good as new - but we were lucky.

I will be making or buying a lock for the awning to keep it from unrolling again.

Mike

marc080 · 06-07-2012, 07:50 AM

I had same problem,try awininglock.com. Hope this helps,Marc

Cougarkid · 06-07-2012, 08:28 AM

I have looked at those. Saw them referenced here before.

Clay L · 06-07-2012, 08:32 AM

This one is cheap and requires no holes to be drilled. You can get the parts at any hardware store.
You can see the instructions HERE
I have used one for several years. It would take one heck of a side wind to overcome it.

Cougarkid · 06-07-2012, 09:14 AM

Clay, read that post before.

Nice design and write-up. I love do-it-yourself fixes.

Cougarkid · 06-22-2012, 02:19 PM

Clay,

Went out and made my own lock. Or should I say I bought a latch and made it into a lock.

We took a 2nd trip, it got windy again, and I could see the rear awning leg bowing out from the side of the rv when I looked in the mirror. We stopped and I used a piece of all-thread and a bungee chord to "tie" it in place. Worked okay for the trip.

Got back home and decided to make my own.

Climbed up and made some measurements. Used AutoCAD to draw it up and work thing out. Had a design worked out.

We were at the store and I spotted some gate latches. Took agood look and decided it might work. Bought one for $4.48 and took it home.

It took an hour of fitting, bending, drilling, re-fitting and re-bending to get it just right. No modifications to the awning or rv. Used the awning bolt and the hole in the awning roller.

Worked out pretty good. I can lock and unlock it from the ground using the awning rod that came with the awning. It take a bit of finesse, but locks down tight. I am willing to get the ladder out and climb up if needed rather than loose the awning to a windy drive.

Will get tested next weekend.

Here are some pics....

MSHappyCampers · 06-22-2012, 06:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cougarkid

Clay,

Went out and made my own lock. Or should I say I bought a latch and made it into a lock.

We took a 2nd trip, it got windy again, and I could see the rear awning leg bowing out from the side of the rv when I looked in the mirror. We stopped and I used a piece of all-thread and a bungee chord to "tie" it in place. Worked okay for the trip.

Got back home and decided to make my own.

Climbed up and made some measurements. Used AutoCAD to draw it up and work thing out. Had a design worked out.

We were at the store and I spotted some gate latches. Took agood look and decided it might work. Bought one for $4.48 and took it home.

It took an hour of fitting, bending, drilling, re-fitting and re-bending to get it just right. No modifications to the awning or rv. Used the awning bolt and the hole in the awning roller.

Worked out pretty good. I can lock and unlock it from the ground using the awning rod that came with the awning. It take a bit of finesse, but locks down tight. I am willing to get the ladder out and climb up if needed rather than loose the awning to a windy drive.

Will get tested next weekend.

Here are some pics....

Mike, how do you get the awning tube in just the right position for the hole to match up with the latch? I made one out of a 3' x 1/4" plated rod from Lowes that I bent to go into the tube hole and lay against the support arm where I secured it with bungee cords.

Cougarkid · 06-22-2012, 06:39 PM

That will be the next test. I plan to unroll this weekend (at home) and put it back.

Should be close, we will see.

Might have to wiggle a bit

If I end up using the ladder it is still good. At least it won't come undone in the road.

Dunner · 06-22-2012, 07:04 PM

I'm gonna look in my box of latches to see if I have something that will work. Thx for the tip.

Cougarkid · 06-22-2012, 07:28 PM

Just went out and opened the awning. Unrolled it all the way.

Put it back in and I had to unroll a 2nd time, put it back in and let it "slap" to the RV.

This time it lined back up and I locked it down,

"happy face"

Dunner · 06-22-2012, 07:32 PM

Mike, did you have to drill a larger hole in the awing roll? Just looked at mine and from the ground, it looks to be about 1/4" or smaller. Also, does the bolt going in from the side go all the way thru?

Cougarkid · 06-22-2012, 08:34 PM

Actually, the rod on the gate latch was a perfect fit. Might be a 3/16" hole.

The hole in the awning roller is for the fabric to go into and the the rubber rod to keep the fabric on. Same size as the hole/slot the pull strap goes in.
The fabric is attached twice in the roller.

I bought a standard slide latch at home depot. Got the shinny one. I had the overall I size I needed, sized the rod by eye.

Climb up and size the hole with a bolt you have that fits nicely. Then use that to get a latch that fits.

This is the one I bought

Dunner · 06-22-2012, 08:48 PM

I'll have to pull mine open to measure the hole. What does the locking lever on the roller do? I don't think I can pull mine open until I flip the lever.

RobRV · 06-22-2012, 09:53 PM

I'm always amazed that so many ideas get thrown out for such a common problem , when the answer is already close at hand.
That nice Rod that Everyone uses to pull down the Awning is also the perfect Locking device for those awnings.
It sometimes requires a slight bend in order to make it fit right but has worked for Me for many years.
The Hook end goes into the Accessory Channel at the rear end of the Awning. The Round Handle gets a Bungee through it wrapped around the Awning Rafter support. I usually wrap a second Bungee around the main shaft as a Safety Strap.
Simple and effective!