Awning Question

[travelin' texans]

Forgot to answer all your question, I only use those straps if the wind is fairly strong, as those screens do a good job of holding the awning in mild/moderate winds.

[atom ant]

Thanks Danny!

[johnboytoo]

I got my bro-in-law to bend me four 'hooks' to slip over the roller tubes so I don't have to get the ladder out.

Works like a champ !!! with carabiners and a bungee cord on the ends, gives just enough GIVE to allow some bouncing without breaking...

[Dave&Ginny]

Originally Posted by johnboytoo

I got my bro-in-law to bend me four 'hooks' to slip over the roller tubes so I don't have to get the ladder out.

Works like a champ !!! with carabiners and a bungee cord on the ends, gives just enough GIVE to allow some bouncing without breaking...

That's a great idea!

[lwg]

I have the shades that are made by the same manufacturer as our awning and they retract up with the awning. To tie them down I just use 3 bungee cords to hold them in place. It allows the awning to bounce a little and I can remove the cords and retract the awning in seconds in the case of sudden gusty winds.

[Don and Judith]

[QUOTE=NW Snowbirds;40476]The pins were put in to anchor the awning during installation and were supposed to be removed. If they are not removed they can cause problems with the mechanism. Our awning is presently being replaced under warranty because the combination of the cotter pins and improper alignment of the struts has resulted in fabric stretch/failure and the idler roller has extreme wobble. Get rid of the pins ASAP.

Hi NW Snowbirds....Can you further explain failure? We had a wobble, fabric stretch, ( our dealer had tightened the fabric) and our first rain, ended up with a huge belly of water that broke our front arm.
Thanks
Don

[NW Snowbirds]

After a year and a half of use I opened the awning at home this summer and saw holes thru the fabric. There were many pinholes allowing the sun to shine thru and there were rips about one to two inches long that all aligned parallel to the roller. The side tape also was ripped in two places. All of the damage was in the area about 6 ft by 6 ft at the idler roller end and up toward the top of the awning. On investigation I discovered the installation alignment cotter pins were still in place on the top side of the idler roller and were rusted. I searched for a Carefree installation manual on line (none was supplied with the delivery of the RW) and there were clear instructions to remove the cotter pins after installation. When I removed the cotter pins the idler started wobbling and lurching when the awning was extended or retracted.

I called Carefree and they directed me to take the unit to an authorized Carefree warranty dealer for inspection. The dealer tech found that the awning strut assembly on the idler end was out of plumb by about 1+" from bottom to top and advised me to stop using the awning. Since the cotter pins were not removed and the strut was misaligned he determined it was not a Carefree warranty problem. I spoke to a Carefree tech again and they told me that the problems were most likely caused by the misalignment and cotter pins, and to take the problem up with Redwood. I sent photos and a video to RW and they had me take the unit to a local RV dealer where they awaiting parts to replace the hardware and fabric as well as correcting the strut alignment.

[johnboytoo]

fyi, no pics attached NWS....

[NW Snowbirds]

Originally Posted by johnboytoo

fyi, no pics attached NWS....

Got it

[atom ant]

what causes the wobble? Mine was bobbling and noticed the screws had stripped out of the awning tube where the idler attaches. I fixed that but it still wobbles. Guess I better check It out more.

[lwg]

So do we remove those cotter pins or not? I have the head wobble everyone speaks of and the cotter pins.

[JerryL]

They weren't in my 2015 awning.

[NW Snowbirds]

Carefree tech told me the idler roller mechanism was likely damaged from having the pins installed while continually using the awning. The idler mechanism is a replaceable part. I recommend removing the pins. There were no loose mounting screws on the idler head. The wobble and lurching are coming from the internal idler mechanism. I can forward a video of the wobbling if you PM me with an email address.

Terry

[travelin' texans]

A fellow RW owner & I removed the pins last year while doing some maintenance & it helped the wobble on all 4 of our awnings. One of his awnings had the piece on the idler end of slide awning mounted/screwed on crooked with 1 screw barely into tube, loosened, realigned & runs smoothly.

[travelin' texans]

Also my slide awning was mounted with the rear arm/track 1 3/4" higher than front which made it roll crooked. We leveled up the rails & added more screws to all.

[Elliott & Vicky]

The instruction manual for installation said they need to be removed. I did mine yesterday.

[Barnjess]

Originally Posted by Ramblin Roadrunners

I added roller drop shades to each of my awnings today that have a zippered paned that installs to the roller tube. The zippered panel hangs down about1 foot and rolls up with the awning when you retract it. The mesh part that zippers off hangs down about 12 inches from the ground and is stacked to the ground with quick disconnect clips to release it from the stakes. It is not designed to leave out unattended. The entire roller drop can be rolled up with the retractable but not recommended. The roller drop mesh material is real then and light weigh. It is similar to the see through material on your window shades but a fraction of the thickness and weight. I bought it from a company here in Yuma called Shade Pro at www.shadepro.net

What size shade screen are you getting for a 40’2017 RW. I’m looking to get one for our front awning. I’m also looking at Shape Pro


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[Barnjess]

Originally Posted by travelin' texans

Here are those shades at work.Attachment 711

Looks like you awning have a slight tilt to them. Our come out pretty straight. Can we tilt them a little so the shades work better?


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[travelin' texans]

Originally Posted by Barnjess

Looks like you awning have a slight tilt to them. Our come out pretty straight. Can we tilt them a little so the shades work better?


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Yes, I have them at max pitch then raised the center arms 1 hole to run the water to the far ends away from the door. The arms have a series of holes in each arm with a small push button that's where you adjust the pitch, the factory has them preset flat out. As long as there's no more than 3 holes difference arm to arm per awning you don't have to readjust to retract/extend the awning.

[Ford truck guy]

I had the cotter pins in my 2016... I removed them after reading posts her on the forums...