Carefree OneTouch Patio Awning

[AFChap]

Our Carefree Colorado OneTouch patio awning suffered a destroyed rear arm today from a sudden gust of wind ...took me about 4 hours to remove it from the MH to avoid further damage. In addition to severely bending the rear arm, it broke components inside the front arm. I understand this model has been discontinued. Has anyone else succeeded in getting repairs for a OneTouch?

I checked a few years ago and found that Carefree had an upgrade for the awning to replace the arms with another model arms ...but we didn't like the nearly horizontal position of that model.

[Harry B]

Paul,

Carefree makes arms that can be fit to an A&E awning roller. It also has adjustable pitch settings and a wind sensor that works. It just seems like a much better design than the A&E. I wouln't be surprised if my awning got damaged one of these days. the wind sensor has stopped working a long time ago.

Here is a link to the arms: Carefree Eclipse 12v Power Awning

[AFChap]

That's the one I found a few years ago as an "upgrade" model for mine. Since our fabric and roller are fine, that might be the reasonable choice for replacement. ...with six positions, hopefully it will come down low enough to make us happy. Too many newer awnings we have seen have virtually no slope to them.

Paul

[Rex]

Not 100% sure, but these look like what you need:

RV CAREFREE OF COLORADO ELECTRIC AWNING ARMS : eBay Motors (item 250592646432 end time Mar-14-10 10:52:16 PDT)

If the link does not work, they are on eBay as item # 250592646432 with 4 days remaining on the auction. Price right now looks good.

[Wayne M]

Paul,
If all else fails, can you switch brands? I have the A&E power awnings. It has wind sensors, and rain sensors. The wind sensor can be set in 5 increments and the recommended is 18mph. The rain sensor will drop the left arm 9 inches in a light rain for drainage and automatically return to normal when it dries. It also has to remote fobs, which is nice when you drive up and it's raining a little, you can extend it to stay dry. Makes my DW's hair happy.

I'm with you. I hate those awnings that go straight out. Ours has that nice slope to it.

Just a thought.

[AFChap]

Quote:

these look like what you need

Looks like a different model and color ...I found a local RV dealer who is a Carefree dealer and has a good rep. I'll talk to them this afternoon and see what the options are. The Eclipse arm kit should work with my roller & fabric ...fabric is in great shape and matches door and window awnings so that would be easier than trying to match new fabric. Hopefully the arms are in something other than bright white. Mine was kind of a brownish aluminum.

No way I will do this myself ...it nearly did me in getting the damaged awning off the coach. DW was very limited help, and kept going back inside just when I really needed help -- not her kind of thing. After I got the arms loose and fabric loose from the roller, I took the rear slide topper fabric off, then got a neighbor who had just got home from work to assist me with getting the alumaguard with attached fabric slid out of the channel off the rear of the coach without bending it. I tried to slip the fabric out of the alumaguard first, but it is severely crimped on each end so that wasn't possible. With the right equipment and a good helper or two it might be a DIY project, but not in my current situation!

[Rex]

In the Classified section on IRV2, there is a listing for a set of arms. Don't know the color as it is not stated but the guy wants $600 for them and is in Las Vegas.

[AFChap]

Thanks, Rex. I checked them out and found they are "pewter" -- dark gray painted I believe that is ...the rest of my hardward is anodized aluminum, kind of a bronze colored aluminum. In messing with mine I found lots of internal damage to the guts of both arms in addition to the bent and twisted portions. I talked to Carefree and the local dealer yesterday and today, and did a lot of looking on the Carefree website. Looks like our best choice is the Eclipse Power Arms Upgrade kit that supposedly will upgrade "any Carefree or A&E awning." Our original awning did not have wind sensor or any of that stuff. The basic Eclipse arms kit should wire right into our existing switch inside, AND will have a switch outside ...that would be a lot easier than standing outside and reaching inside to find the switch! They don't have anodized aluminum like the original, but do have a custom color of "champagne" which should work well with our paint. The only other anodized hardware on that side of the coach is the cover on the door awning, and the alumagard on the patio awning. Our insurance will cover at least some of it ...not sure what just yet. My main concern is getting the parts in and getting it installed before we have to leave here in 3 1/2 weeks ...all I need to figure out how to do is to haul the 20' roller tube to the dealership!!! It's only about 1/2 mile from where we are ...guess I could find a buddy and put it on our shoulders and go for a hike!!

[AFChap]

Got the awning back on the coach today ...dealership here in Tyler TX installed the Eclipse Power Arms Upgrade kit, using our roller tube and fabric. They had to totally rewire, entering the coach at the bottom of the front arm rather than at the top as the OneTouch did. The "Champagne" painted finish is an incredible match to the original anodized aluminum. $1,498 for the arms kit including shipping & tax, and 6 hours labor. After I got back to the RV park we discovered now the door awning doesn't work ...I'll have to check back with them so they can figure out where they cut power to it while totally rewiring the patio awning. So, I guess we now have an Eclipse awning ...I had them adjust the pitch for maximum, and it is pretty close to what the OneTouch would do. Still don't know what our insurance will cover...

[Harry B]

Paul,

Glad to hear it worked out. Do you have a slide on the curb side that the awning has to clear when pitched all the way down?
I understand that this is the reason why some of the awnings are almost extending horizontally. Mine is higher up than I would like but if it got pitched lower it would hit the top of the slide.

[AFChap]

No slide under the awning ...just the curbside bedroom slide immediately to the rear of the awning. We have one long lounge/galley slide on the other side.

[Craig P.]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wayne M The rain sensor will drop the left arm 9 inches in a light rain for drainage and automatically return to normal when it dries.

I like that! My A&E has a wind sensor but no rain sensor. My awning has no pitch to it so I can't leave it out in the rain. I wonder if there's a way to add the rain sensor to an existing A&E system...

Craig

[AFChap]

Quote:

The rain sensor will drop the left arm 9 inches in a light rain for drainage and automatically return to normal

According to what I have read on the Carefree Eclipse (which is what mine now is), when set for minimum pitch (nearly straight out), it will automatically dump water and return to position after dumping. With the pitch I have set, it can't do that since both arms are at max pitch, but it probably wouldn't need to dump water either because it would already be running off. If I decided it needed that, I guess I could set the front arm 2-3 notches higher so the rear corner would be lower. It can roll up regardless of the pitch setting, and will return to what is set when extended.

I studied my factory wiring diagrams and figured out that the awning relay they removed from beside the patio awning control board was actually for the door awning. Fortunately, I had them leave all that wiring as is and just tie it out of the way, so all I had to do was find the relay in the box of "extra pieces" and plug it back in ...and the door awning is working again! Now I am curious as to where the original patio awning relay is located ...it is clearly on the wiring diagram, but was not where the control board and other relay were located.

[Rex]

Paul, the One Step control relay box on my 01 Diplomat was located behind the dash panel in front of the passenger seat. It was about a foot above the floor and hidden from view. The dash panel is vertical and covers the dash air/heat box.