Destroyed Awning

[timh0042]

JBill9694 I haven't tried to extend the awning. The roll/tube is bent and the hardware is all bent out of shape with some of the pieces having been broken.

Randy Zahn I fear there is secondary damage. Insurance claim has already been opened.

YodaYeah, the vertical mounting hardware is damaged. Front one is really bowed out. Back one a small amount. I did glance at the gutter/rail where the fabric attaches and it seemed ok. I think the roll took the brunt of the force and protected the rest behind it. I need to get up on the roof this weekend anyway so I'll take a closer look then. In the end, I suspect I should just let the dealer do all the repairs and bite the bullet on the insurance impact.

Thanks everyone else for the replies. If I knew it was just the roll/fabric portion I think maybe I'd tackle the job, but now I'm thinking I should leave it to the pros.

[Yoda]

Long story short. We destroyed our awning last weekend. Nearly ripped it completely off the side of the rig after turning too sharp and running into some temporary scaffolding at Grandma's Marathon in Duluth.

Is this something I could tackle replacing myself or should I really just leave it to the dealer when they can fit me into their schedule in October?

I've at least got the replacement parts (awning with tube and hardware kit) on order by the dealer.

As a stop-gap, should I remove what's there so we don't inadvertently make things somehow worse on our next trip?

Tim
I want to say let your dealer handle it assuming they are reliable and you trust them. Or find a good RV repair shop. The reason I say this is the fact you were able to get the red strap under the back channel in the second photo tells me there is deeper damage and you may need to replace the back channels and repair fasteners too (i.e. total replacement). If the back channels are bowed or warped the new hardware may not fit properly. Is the top attachment rail for the fabric still in place and not damaged? You may want to check this and reseal the seam before there is any water damage in the wall.

This all could get expensive. Hoping for the best

Keith

[Randy Zahn]

In answer to timh0042 second question, I would not remove the damaged awning until I'm ready to make the swap. I might wrap and tape the existing to cut down on the flapping of the torn edges, but that would be about it.

timh0042 , have you tried extending the awning and have you checked for secondary damage? Thinking about bent arms on the awning. Also whether the impact was enough to put a bend in eave line of the trailer? Probably other possible problems that don't come to mind right now.

If there is secondary damage that could be costly maybe it should be an insurance claim?

[JBill9694]

In answer to timh0042 second question, I would not remove the damaged awning until I'm ready to make the swap. I might wrap and tape the existing to cut down on the flapping of the torn edges, but that would be about it.

timh0042 , have you tried extending the awning and have you checked for secondary damage? Thinking about bent arms on the awning. Also whether the impact was enough to put a bend in eave line of the trailer? Probably other possible problems that don't come to mind right now.

[NoPeeking]

Long story short. We destroyed our awning last weekend. Nearly ripped it completely off the side of the rig after turning too sharp and running into some temporary scaffolding at Grandma's Marathon in Duluth.

This is third on my most feared list... water leak, first; stuck slide, second.

There are a number of threads specific to awning repairs. Good luck. I'm interested in your follow-up.

Mike

[Jlawles2]

Since you are replacing the tube, you will know if it has a spring or not. If you were lucky enough to not have to replace the tube, one could get creative and do a back to back pull old one out 3" pull new one in 3" until complete replacement is made.

[Cate&Rob]

I replaced the fabric on my LCI Solera awning which has no spring. (probably why it bounces so much when extended ). I never realized the problems that I dodged with not having a spring to deal with . . . until reading about others’ adventures.

Rob

[TucsonJim]

I can definitely vouch for my Dometic having a spring. That was a hard learned lesson. Still not a bad repair if you have a buddy or two and some ladders, but you'll need to be prepared if it's spring loaded.

Yep, I have the merit badge on this one. I put a pin in to lock the spring and when I brought the awing down, the locking pin fell out. I ran for my life while everything was unwinding. It was a death zone within 1/4 mile of that thing. I survived.... barely.

Jim

[ncitro]

I can definitely vouch for my Dometic having a spring. That was a hard learned lesson. Still not a bad repair if you have a buddy or two and some ladders, but you'll need to be prepared if it's spring loaded.

[Cate&Rob]

Some awnings have a wound spring inside the tube. Be very cautious of these! If you do not have to deal with releasing and rewinding a spring, R&R is relatively easy. See YouTube for guidance.

Rob

[Country Campers]

I think if you are handy and can get a few helpers you could tackle this yourself. There is a motor at one end, usually the end towards the front of the camper. I am not sure if the other end is spring loaded or not. You could probably find the manual for replacement. There should be a screw in the fabric where it connects to the side of the RV towards the front to remove so the fabric slides out of the rail.

Brian

[timh0042]

Long story short. We destroyed our awning last weekend. Nearly ripped it completely off the side of the rig after turning too sharp and running into some temporary scaffolding at Grandma's Marathon in Duluth.

Is this something I could tackle replacing myself or should I really just leave it to the dealer when they can fit me into their schedule in October?

I've at least got the replacement parts (awning with tube and hardware kit) on order by the dealer.

As a stop-gap, should I remove what's there so we don't inadvertently make things somehow worse on our next trip?