A&E 18' Awning Wind Damage Question

[Pete Miller]

While driving our 1995 Monaco through a Kansas wind storm we could see, in the rear view mirror, our main passenger side awning being pulled 2' away from the coach before snapping back, several times. We pulled over and secured the awning with cable ties before continuing our trip. We are home now and I am getting up the courage to try to open the awning to diagnose the damage. As I remember the tab you pull on with the metal pole was in the wrong (out) position when I secured the awning. All the visible hardware looks good. I only am worried about the retracting spring. I would be very much interested in any opinions on how to proceed. Thanks.

[USAF Wings]

An 18ft awning will have two springs, one at each end and independent of each other. If you feel resistance at both ends of the awning when you attempt to extend it, I would think the springs are OK. If you don't have resistance at one or both ends you may have broken the spring lock at the internal end of the spring. The springs themselves are quit robust but the locks are made of what I call pot metal. Should be able to buy replacements. Hope this helps.

[jacwjames]

WE had an A&E awning on our Class C, it was pretty much bullet proof, a great awning I wish I had on our current coach. We could leave it out and never have to worry about it, even in severe storms, we would use straps to secure to the ground.

Just go ahead and extend the awning and see if everything is intact. If no parts are broken and the awning retracts it will be fine.