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Old 05-20-2016, 03:45 AM   #1
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Anchoring electric awning

Loving our new Axis...not too many glitches...drives great now that we have had an alignment and stabilizer installed...who would have imagined that was necessary on a brand new motorhome? Well we are newbies �� the new motorized awning is convenient however we liked our old manual better...it was sturdier...more stable and we were able to anchor it... Can the motorized awning be tied down without damaging it...of course we wouldn't do it in extreme weather but it would give us more peace of mind...it flips up at the slightest breeze...Thanks for any info. ������

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Old 05-20-2016, 10:27 AM   #2
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Here is a pretty lengthy discussion on this very subject:
I am fed up! Fed up, I say, worrying about my power awning!
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Old 05-20-2016, 11:57 AM   #3
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As long as you do not have the direct response system (auto retract) on you awning you shouldn't have a problem. I have however, seen anchored awnings ripped from the side of units because the owners got over confident. The most recent was when we were at Fort Wilderness the year before last and the owners of the travel trailer next to us lost their awning and a good portion of the side of their trailer when a sudden thunderstorm hit.

Personally, I never leave the awning extended at night or when we are away from the coach. It takes less than a minute to extend or retract the awning. It could take 3 to 4 weeks for a repair appointment if the awning got damaged or damaged the coach. In my case, due to an awning that deployed at 55 MPH on I95 (discussed in other threads) my prior coach was out of commission from July 5, 2013 until just before labor day that year.
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Old 05-20-2016, 01:00 PM   #4
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Ron and I agree with Dave....we have always been very cautious with our awnings over the years manual and electric ... if a bit of a wind comes up we retract and we never leave it out at night or when we are away from the campsite.
Even if it begins raining...we retract in that..in our experience..with rain generally comes wind sooner or later !
Better safe than sorry.
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Old 05-20-2016, 02:13 PM   #5
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Also depends on the campground.

We go to one yearly that the campsites are heavily wooded, and the campground itself is surrounded by dunes. Even with gale force winds coming off of Lake Michigan the campsites are calm. When we go there we leave the awning out for the entire weekend, only rarely do we have to retract it.
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Old 05-20-2016, 04:09 PM   #6
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Does axis 25.2 have awning that automatically retracts in wind or rain?
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Old 05-20-2016, 04:18 PM   #7
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Our Axis doesn't automatically retract, and I would suspect that Thor puts the same awning on all the Axis/Vegas models.
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Old 05-20-2016, 04:35 PM   #8
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Beginning with 2016 Thor put the direct response system on the awnings of the Challengers. They may have went that way with all Carefree awnings. I have been told, however, that the direct response system closes the awning at such a slow rate of speed there is still the potential for the awning being destroyed in a wind gust. I was considering having the system installed on my 2015 Challenger this past winter but after doing some research and talking to the dealer I decided it's not worth the expense. I'll just keep doing what I have been doing for years, retract the awning, turn off the porch light, lock the door and say good night. When we leave the coach for the day, retract the awning, turn on the porch light and lock the door. Old habits are hard to break.
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Old 05-20-2016, 07:18 PM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by dstankov View Post
Beginning with 2016 Thor put the direct response system on the awnings of the Challengers. They may have went that way with all Carefree awnings. I have been told, however, that the direct response system closes the awning at such a slow rate of speed there is still the potential for the awning being destroyed in a wind gust. I was considering having the system installed on my 2015 Challenger this past winter but after doing some research and talking to the dealer I decided it's not worth the expense. I'll just keep doing what I have been doing for years, retract the awning, turn off the porch light, lock the door and say good night. When we leave the coach for the day, retract the awning, turn on the porch light and lock the door. Old habits are hard to break.
AGREE Dave ! and Jamie...you lucky duck...a campground not susceptible to wind...nice !!
We are sooooo old school, we do what Dave does !
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Old 05-20-2016, 07:33 PM   #10
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Most of the time when we are at Ft Wilderness we are on Loop 400 or 700, close to the marina and the store. All those sites are fairly heavy wooded between sites. We were there last week when Orlando had the huge rain storms. We had lots of rain at FW but the wooded site pretty well remediated the wind. Had no problems with the awning out.
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Old 05-20-2016, 07:55 PM   #11
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Originally Posted by bevedfelker View Post
Most of the time when we are at Ft Wilderness we are on Loop 400 or 700, close to the marina and the store. All those sites are fairly heavy wooded between sites. We were there last week when Orlando had the huge rain storms. We had lots of rain at FW but the wooded site pretty well remediated the wind. Had no problems with the awning out.
When we were there we were in the 300 Loop which is also heavily wooded. The trees didn't stop the thunderstorm from tearing off the neighbors awning while they were at magic kingdom. We returned to our coach right before the storm hit.

No thanks, awning comes in when I am away from the coach.

Check out this post from one of our fellow Challenger owners.

Thor Forums - View Single Post - Carefree Travel'r Awning Direct Response

Also, for those that may not have a copy, here is the operator's manual for the Travel'r awning. Notice the Caution at the bottom of page 2.

052540-221r9 Travel'R, Owners Manual.pdf

But then again, anyone can do whatever their wallets can afford.
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Old 05-20-2016, 08:43 PM   #12
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Dave -- I notice in the Carefree manual there is a procedure gfor emergency retraction when power is lost. It basically uses a battery to jumper the terminals on the motor.

But I have never found a manual retraction procedure for when the motor fails. Do you know how to manually disengage the motor so the owning can be rolled and the side arms stowed if the motor fails?
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Old 05-20-2016, 08:59 PM   #13
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Originally Posted by bevedfelker View Post
Dave -- I notice in the Carefree manual there is a procedure gfor emergency retraction when power is lost. It basically uses a battery to jumper the terminals on the motor.

But I have never found a manual retraction procedure for when the motor fails. Do you know how to manually disengage the motor so the owning can be rolled and the side arms stowed if the motor fails?
Not sure about Carefree and that will be a good research topic. I think I'll give them a call on Monday.

On the Dometic I had on the Class C the procedure was to disconnect the wiring at the motor to disengage the motor's braking function. Manually roll up the awning, and they provided a 8 foot strap that slid into a slot on the tube to do this, and then reattach the wires to engage the brake.

The strap included with the Dometic was like this one.

Amazon.com: Camco 42504 Window Awning Pull Strap - Pack of 2: Automotive
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Old 05-20-2016, 10:23 PM   #14
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Got an answer from Carefree on how to manually roll up the awning. Anyone with an Axis or Vegas ought to keep a cy of this. I'm adding it to the Owners' Manual I compiled for Axis & Vegas.

It's going to take 2 to do the procedure. Basically you remove the 2 screws holding the motor to the arm. That disconnects the tube from the motor. You roll up the fabric by turning the tube on the non-motor end of the arm, walking the non-motorized arms to the exterior wall where it normally stows. Then you push the motorized arm to the stow position and reconnect the tube to the motor to keep it all in place in the stowed position.
Attached Files
File Type: doc Manually roll up Travel'r Awning.doc (28.0 KB, 118 views)
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