If RAIN is forecast, PULL IN your AWNING!

[TNTBaker]

Wow, I am sorry to hear this. We took ours off and zip-tied the arms on the rear end to the coach. Our awnings were not pitched, but they were angled sharply down. I would be very curious to know if you have the same weak installation. I have never heard of an awning behaving like this, rain or not.

[TNTBaker]

Originally Posted by Foxfire

This is the way we set out our awnings, you can see the slant I'm asking about

Yes, that makes sense. Your awnings look as though they are relatively angled flat, which makes the pitch more important. Ours are on the sharpest downward angle. We have never had water be able to collect, it's too steep.

[Don and Judith]

Had the slant in the middle holes. While we were sitting outside, we had a good runoff going on. Went inside for about an hour, then twisted metal.

[atom ant]

I think those bolts are letting go. the rail isn't really weight supporting, but a wind or gust that lifts the awning will pull on that rail.

I don't think they need Mollies, at least I've never seen that required in either Dometic or Carefree installation manuals, but the bolt is supposed to be threaded about an inch longer. Its probably more appropriate to use standard lag bolts and pre-drill the holes, which is what I did to fix mine.

[ksaltman]

Sorry you had to go through this but the upside is we would know what to look out for but perhaps be happy that you've helped me (and perhaps a lot of other people lurking ion the forum) out a lot.

I'm going to basically not going to leave the awning extended until I get back to the factory in August for the rally. Will see how they propose to fix this obvious installation mistake.

If they say its not a problem I can show them these posts.

Thanks again!

[TNTBaker]

Originally Posted by Don and Judith

Had the slant in the middle holes. While we were sitting outside, we had a good runoff going on. Went inside for about an hour, then twisted metal.

Gee that sounds familiar. Sorry. Yes, twisted metal, that's a good description. Looks like a crime scene. Would love to see a picture. Wondering if this is a new thing with 2015's or we are just particularly unlucky to have been the ones who got the coaches they were working on when they ran out of the right size bolts they were supposed to use.

Well, thank GOD it didn't happen on the freeway!!

[atom ant]

Like I said, I had the same short bolt - manufactured May 2013.

Todd, you need to show them the Carefree installation instructions and compare it to what they actually did.

[TNTBaker]

I like the design of the awning. The gas struts are DESIGNED to absorb shock and let excess water run off. The awning seems well made. All if this is moot when the bolts fastening the awning to the coach cannot withstand the small torque of the gas struts when it flexes, either with wind or to let rain runoff. They need to be stronger. I agree with AA, lag bolts. and that is what Carefree specifies quite clearly in the installation manual. Something with THREADS! They suggest mollys as an alternative to lag bolts if there is nothing behind the fiberglass. I have sent the information to our service center and they are checking on it. I'll let you know what happens. I can't wait to put up posts about our trip, because they are all GOOD NEWS ;-) I still love my Redwood. Might need to wring someones neck here and there, but LOVE this coach! I bet RW will do what's right. We'll see. You'll find out right after I do! I have no reason to doubt it.

[ksaltman]

I want to get the TNT Awning fix. That's what I'll ask for

[Don and Judith]

Here's a pic. We have also just discovered our rear window is leaking

[Jim & Mary]

Our rear window closer on the RL for the emergency exit aluminum arm broke and I had to use ty-raps to keep closed until we can get it replaced.........

[Steve & Linda]

What frustrates me is the inconsistency on the issues. We recently had a rather large tree limb come down and put a great deal of weight on our awning with only a couple of small holes...the arms held up and since that happened I brought the awning in and out several times (learned that a little late). No damage to arms, did I get an installer who used the right size bolts?

[0nTheRoad]

This revelation of how the awnings awe attached to the coach is disturbing. This raises two questions for me...
1. How can we protect our awnings for a similar fate...better yet, how can REDWOOD protect our awnings?
2. I know Carefree has an option where the awnings will automatically retract when it senses excessive wind, is this an option on our Redwoods?
Can you retrofit existing awnings with the auto-retract option?

[Foxfire]

If you wanted to add screws and put in bigger screws, how do you know what's in the wall so you don't hit a wire or a pipe and cause damage. Maybe they use short screws for a reason. Maybe they just needed more screws.

[TNTBaker]

OUCH Don & Judith! That looks almost exactly like ours did. Did you find out what size "screws" (or bolts) were used to secure it? Steve and Linda; WOW that picture makes me feel pain, HOWEVER it is proof that the awnings (as Carefree says) are fairly resilient by design. The gas struts are capable of absorbing shock, they are nothing like the old style awnings with the secured arms that are rigid and unforgiving. I would guess that yours IS secured properly.

With the sharp angle that ours are always at, there is NO WAY for water to collect more than what would gather in the small valley where the roller may or may not be at a that position where the connection is at or below the high point. That would equal maybe gallon of water at the most. That is only 8 pounds. The awning can support much more than that if properly installed (see Don & Judith's post!). The tilt feature is of much more importance when the awnings are in the horizontal, or flat position, and it is also used to maximize shade when the sun is really brutal from one angle. That said, we DO use the tilt in addition to the slanted angle in the rain, but it is more for controlling where the water was running than to protect the awning!

Foxfire: In our bedroom armoir there is a black receptacle cover screwed to the wall. When removed, you have a large hole with a direct line to the hole where the awning electronics were added and you can SEE the bolts and what they are attached to behind it (in our case NOTHING!) Maybe you have the same thing. The Carefree installation manual (available on their website) is great and has pictures and descriptions about how to secure them to the coach. There are also YouTube videos. It's definitely something a person could do themselves by doing one screw at a time with the awning mostly retracted. To anyone who has the small sheet metal screws, I would replace them with a bolt and molly. They can't be TOO strong.

I hope this helps.

[Steve & Linda]

Chuck, Redwood offers the UnaGuard Awning option which is supposed to retract itself automatically. We opted for it mostly for the LED lights that come with the upgrade. Like many others, our LED lights failed after 2 days, and from what happened to ours and others, I'm not leaving my awnings out again.

[Foxfire]

I just opened the awning it appears to have the same screws as mentioned but there are 2 at the top and bottom of the track. They are in tight right now. Did yours have 2 screws top and bottom

[TNTBaker]

A comment that I compelled to make is our expectation of what these awnings can withstand. While wind and rain and wayward tree branches are all stresses that can damage or destroy an awing, they SHOULD withstand MODERATE stress. We just stayed in a couple of parks, as we have for 20 years, and as there always is, we saw RVs that were more than 20 years old with their awnings out, and anchored to the ground. Clearly (one park was a fulltimer, Escapees park) some of these had been this way for many months without being moved. My point is, that USUALLY people don't have their awning collapse, even with a little wind, rain or whatever. YES they do this, but not during moderate, average stress. It takes GUSTY wind or torrential rain or snow with the awnings out to cause damage, or believe me, nobody would have them after 5 years!!

My point is: don't let my post make you not use your wonderful awnings! Upgrade the 4 bolts if needed, and USE Them! That's what they are for! They are not made of gossamer, they should provide good service!! I am sure Carefree would agree with me. They are great awnings when installed correctly! PLUS they greatly improve the livability of your coach by keeping the sun off and the rain away from your door. I intend to use mine after making sure they are properly installed. It's no different than finding out your new car only has 3 lug nuts on the wheels. Nobody would expect them to perform like that.

Our blinds are not secured properly either, and one fell down, but that's a whole other post, and we will get the required clips added PER MANUFACTURER INSTRUCTIONS and then we will expect them to stay put, not before!

[TNTBaker]

Originally Posted by Foxfire

I just opened the awning it appears to have the same screws as mentioned but there are 2 at the top and bottom of the track. They are in tight right now. Did yours have 2 screws top and bottom

Those look JUST LIKE ours. They are supposed to be (at a minimum) 1 1/2 inch lag bolts (which have deep threads). Those do not appear to be that. Like I said, it's not such a big deal to replace them with what is required. It is a super big deal to deal with what we are dealing with right now. Wish I would have known.

While they may appear tight, take another look at the picture I posted of the screws and the threads and how tiny they are. Imagine how easy it would be to pull those out of the wall... Very easy. Very small threads.

[TNTBaker]

BAD NEWS: Looks like the service guy-Richard Tran-at B. Young RV has already made up his mind about our awnings. I guess there is no possibility of warranty coverage if your own dealership is lobbying against you

His email:

I just want to make sure theres no miscommunication, more than likely your awning will not get covered by the manufacture. I have already sent an email to the manufacture and will see how to advise this situation. I know for a fact that the awning had to take a great amount of force to rip the awning arm out and bend. Usually when theres a down pour of any kind, it is the owners responsibility to pull the awning back in so that it doesn’t get damaged.
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My reply if you are interested:
Hello Richard;
It's important that you understand this very clearly. It sounds like you have decided that we are responsible for this awning problem and I am concerned.
Remember:
Our awnings WERE angled to allow rain runoff, this should not have happened-rain does not break angled awnings.
You are correct, it did take a great amount of force to bend those arms. About as much as the entire roller weight falling from a great height would do this. IF THEY HAD BEEN INSTALLED CORRECTLY IT WOULD NOT HAVE HAPPENED. We have contacted Carefree and we can send you their opinion about it if you like.

Please send me a copy of the email you sent to Redwood. The installation was FAR from spec, per Carefree. That awning was barely fastened. It would take little force to separate the screws, and then it's own weight falling clearly bent the arms. It's obvious. Let's hope that you communicated this to Redwood. I will wait for your email to them.