Community Forums

Bob RV · 10-10-2005, 05:16 AM

My wife and I just purchased a 2005 winnebago with the electric awning, we love the rig everything works great the only problem I have is i'm afraid to leave the awning out when it rains they say it will dump the water off automaticly but i'm having a hard time trusting these claims,Mabey i'm just old school does anyone have the same type of awning (A&E)and does it really work when it rains?

Bob RV · 10-10-2005, 05:16 AM

My wife and I just purchased a 2005 winnebago with the electric awning, we love the rig everything works great the only problem I have is i'm afraid to leave the awning out when it rains they say it will dump the water off automaticly but i'm having a hard time trusting these claims,Mabey i'm just old school does anyone have the same type of awning (A&E)and does it really work when it rains?

Tom N · 10-10-2005, 07:49 AM

We have one and let her out if we have furniture out.

My rear corner dips when it accumulates a certain weight of water and the water runs off. It then goes back up.

PDB · 10-10-2005, 08:11 AM

We have the same awning and, yes, one end does dip down to dump accumulating rainwater. Unfortunately, the canvas is stretched so that water accumulates at a level below the dump point, so we have to push up on the underside of the awning to force the water over to the dump point.

Bob RV · 10-10-2005, 08:19 AM

PDB , did the canvas stretch because of the rain? and have you talked to your dealer about the problem?

Tom N · 10-10-2005, 10:01 AM

That is because you awning is shorter than a normal awning. You have a slide under your awning and Winnebago had to use shorter fabric so the awning does not extend and hit the top of the slide. The further the awning extends the lower and closer the roller is to the ground. This does not happen on the '06s beacuse they increased the height.

My buddy has an '05 Horizon and we measured his awning and mine and mine extends further. My arms extend until they are straight and his doesn't extend far enough for the arms to become straight.

The stitching has come lose on the end of his awning near the roof because of water weight.

The difference in maximum extension is very noticeable as we are parked next to each other and it is easily seen.

I'm surprised no other Winnebago, owner with a slide under their awning, has noticed this.

He has had lots and lots of problems with his 2005 Horizon 40AD. It has 2600 miles on it. All of which are going to and from the dealer, Pittsburgh to Buffalo. The coach will be a year old the end of Oct. We spent a couple hours last month speaking to the Winnebago rep at the PA RV Show and there is a possiblity that the dealer will be taking the coach back. He may buy a Mandalay.

He is a particular fellow and he has problems with his Horizon.

I would like to see him keep the coach and his problems corrected.

I have had very few problems with my '05 Suncruiser and he has had dozens. I have never been back to the dealer. We bought the coaches together from the same dealer.

TomHinMd · 10-12-2005, 07:10 AM

If you want to see how the awning works, extent it, grab your garden hose, climb up on the roof, run water onto the top of the awning. You should see the awning dip when it starts getting full of water. Not all the water will run off each time it dips. This is how you check to make sure it is working correctly.

Edmund A Skibinski · 10-12-2005, 09:08 AM

BobRV, I have had two A&E Weather Pro Awnings and they have worked as advertised. Ed.S

Teach · 10-12-2005, 09:20 AM

I have the same awning and it works like a charm.

Gary

Bob RV · 10-12-2005, 04:09 PM

TomN---I took a hose and tried to simulate rain on my awning and it holds ALOT of water. I think you are on to something w/ the fact that I have the slide under the awning and my awning sticks practically straight out. Did your friend get anywhere with Winnebago in terms of addressing this possible problem. If they did make a design change, they must be aware of it.

Tom N · 10-13-2005, 09:09 AM

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content"> Did your friend get anywhere with Winnebago in terms of addressing this possible problem? </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

My buddies '05 Horizon problems are multi-fold. Nothing can be done about the short awning. He is taking his '05 Horizon 40AD to the dealer on Oct 21st and leaving it with a list of what needs attention. Winnebago will be working with the dealer to make certain all problems are repaired to his satisfaction.

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content"> If they did make a design change, they must be aware of it. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Winnebago is aware of the short awning because they order them that way from A&E. They had to, to clear the under awning slide.

This is not a problem on the '06 beacuse the coach height has been increased on the '06s. The increased coach height allows for more space between the top of the coach and the top of the slide. Thus the awning to slide distance is greater and a regular length extension awning fabric can be used. I'm certain Winnebago did not increase the coach height to solve the short awning problem. They increase the coach height because of competition.

I have 2 slides on my '05 Suncruiser 38R. I would have order the 3 slide 38J but I did not like the slide under the awning. We use our patio and I felt the slide under the awning intrude into to far into the patio space.

Now on some high end coaches the patio awning is mounted on the slide and that probably is the solution if the slide is a long one.

Tom N · 10-13-2005, 09:14 AM

You may not want to do this, and I don't if I'd do it, but you could put a grommet centered close to the awning roller. The hole in the grommet would allow the rain water to drain.

But, your awning should be automatically dipping to dump the water. All the water may not dump but most of it should.

Tom N · 10-13-2005, 09:16 AM

One more tip.

If your awning is not dipping you may want to lube the rear awning arm mechanism with silicon spray. This will make it dip more consistantly.

Bob RV · 10-13-2005, 09:24 AM

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Tom N:
Nothing can be done about the short awning.
Winnebago is aware of the short awning because they order them that way from A&E. They had to, to clear the under awning slide.

This is not a problem on the '06 beacuse the coach height has been increased on the '06s. The increased coach height allows for more space between the top of the coach and the top of the slide. Thus the awning to slide distance is greater and a regular length extension awning fabric can be used. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

In your opinion do you think if longer arms are put on this would help--if there are longer arms? Or what do you see as a solution/suggetion I could bring up w/ Winnebago to hopefully get this awning to dump better (other than buying a new rig--LOL!!!)