SLIDE AWNING LOCKS

[fusion]

Hi all. I am a new owner of fleetwood terra lx. On our second trip out through the California desert we experienced some pretty high winds during which the slide awning on the driver side routinely billowed out filling with wind then would retract with a loud bang. I watched it do this in horror thru my side view mirror hoping it would not rip the assembly off the coach. Is there any way of securing these things during traveling to prevent this from happening? Any insight would be of help.Thanks in advance.

[fusion]

Hi all. I am a new owner of fleetwood terra lx. On our second trip out through the California desert we experienced some pretty high winds during which the slide awning on the driver side routinely billowed out filling with wind then would retract with a loud bang. I watched it do this in horror thru my side view mirror hoping it would not rip the assembly off the coach. Is there any way of securing these things during traveling to prevent this from happening? Any insight would be of help.Thanks in advance.

[bjbkkb]

http://www.campingworld.com/browse/products/index.cfm/O...ng-Clamp/prodID=6430

[fusion]

The part of the description that says "not recommended for slide out awnings" makes me question the suggestion.

[J Walker]

You can find an awning lock here, here, which I have used on my patio awning. On your slide you will have to be very careful not to hit the slide out button unless you release the lock. You will lose your slide topper for sure. The basic reason you are seeing the topper billow is most probably that the tension is too low. It can fairly easily be increased. Before releasing the screws secure the roller with a screwdriver in on of the slots. Do this with the slide in. You must control the roller from rotating freely while working on it.

[JerryForwood]

Sorry bjbkkb, but they don't work on Slide-out awnings. Per the ad by CW.

[fusion]

Thank you J Walker. That info is exactly what I was looking for. I noticed that there is a bracket mounted to the coach on one end of each of the slide toppers as if there was lock designed for this particular brand but my buddy who has owned his newmar dp for about 3 yrs said his has the exact same brackets but also does not know what they're for. Anyone else find this to be true?

[J Walker]

I doubt that you want a lock on a slide topper since you rely on spring tension at all times. The only failure mode would be for the spring to fail which is unlikely. Slide toppers must use more spring tension (when retracted) than patio awnings because the patio awning relies on spring tension plus a pawl to stay put and the topper has no pawl. If the patio awning started with high spring tension its much greater length of extension would probably create too much tension.

[PittsburghDave]

Had the same thing happen to me (2006 Bounder, 32W) while traveling g on Rte 77 through Virginia this time last year. The wind was gusting (50 to 70 MPH gusts) and I had the slide topper billow out three times. Scared me the first time. I ended up tying a rope around it and in through the drivers window to the seat belt fastener on the wall.

It did loosen the rivets on the topper bracket and I had to drill them out and replace them, otherwise no damage. I could not find any way of preventing it. I plan not to drive in high gusts in the future.

Dave

[Ding-a-ling]

In Oct. we had the same problem with the slide topper billowing while driving to Forest City, IA for other service.

Winnebago installed 1/2" thick aluminum spacers under the mountings on the slideout side wall. In looking around, I noticed all newer models come this way. Older models have the bracket mounted sirectly on the slideout as mine was.

The service tech said this is the fix for the billowing trouble. How it helps is still unclear to me.

Haven't experience any high crosswinds since then, thank goodness.

[Steve&Dora]

I am a little confused on my slide topper there is a extension on the front end if it, that would stop it from unrolling while the slide is in. It would unroll about 1/4 turn then hit the roof. I thought they all had this.

["007"]

You maybe able to use this information. Slide topper adjustment

[BillArf]

While the awning lock earlier in this thread is terrific for the main awning it is NOT to be used on the slide topper awning. Slide topper awnings most always have an "anti billows" on them that needs to have been installed in the proper position or it will not work correctly. See pic below. Adjust your anti-billows properly and you will not have a slide-topper that billows. NOTE, do not over tighten your slide topper tension to try to stop billowing! Adjust the topper only to the recommended tension.

Install of anti-billows device: