Tranquility / Sanctuary owners I need help with the awning

[RSKDSK]

I have been told by La Mesa RV that the Thule awnings on the Tranquility do not have stop limit sensors and that you need to let off the button when you extend or retract the awning or you could over extend the awning or short out the motor. Is this true?!?!

My Tellaro ... I would simply push the extend button for a couple of seconds and it would extend and stop when it was fully extended (by itself via a limit switch).

The same for retract ... pretty much automated.

This manual crap scares me.

[Taros]

Yes, it will stop by itself going out and back in with one touch of icon, but at first, I was stopping it before it got to that point by hitting the icon again.

[RSKDSK]

Thank you so much for the reply ... and that is what I expected, but La Mesa RV
Orlando told me just the opposite.

They told me that you need to keep pushing the button until the awning extends to the desire position and then let off, but not let it go too far or you cause some major issues. They said they spoke with Thule and Thor corporate and the RV did not come with stop limit sensors on the RV's so if you allow it to extend by itself it will go too far.

They also said you must hold the button while retracting and then let go once it is fully closed. If you allow it to close automatically it will continue to try to retract until it burns out the motor. I told them that this does not sound right.

The RV that I was conducting the PDI on and trying to buy did not stop when extending and it burnt the motor when retracting ... they said this was because someone did not do the procedure correctly.

Needless to say, I told them I wanted my deposit back and they could trying selling that bullpoop to someone else.


I figured that the awning was suppose to work like this:

1 press and hold the extend button for a couple of seconds and then let off
2 The awning extends to the correct position and stirs by itself

when retract ... do the same thing:

1 press and hold retract for a couple of seconds and then let off
2 The awning closes fully and the shuts off

[RSKDSK]

The Thule awnings have weak motors. They will extend automatically but have issue when you try to retract. The motors do not have enough torque to overcome the extended support arms. In order to avoid this problem, you need to stop the awning BEFORE it extends fully. By doing this the arms are not fully extended and the motor is then capable of retracting the awning.

[Bob Denman]

Think of it this way: just let go of the button when that little flap at the end of the awning is hanging down...
It's actually just that simple.

[TarRiver Charlie]

Originally Posted by RSKDSK

The Thule awnings have weak motors. They will extend automatically but have issue when you try to retract. The motors do not have enough torque to overcome the extended support arms. In order to avoid this problem, you need to stop the awning BEFORE it extends fully. By doing this the arms are not fully extended and the motor is then capable of retracting the awning.

I agree, they do have weak motors. I have found it necessary that when fully extended, in order to retract it, I need to "assist" the motors by manually pushing the end of the awning in enough to get the motor going. I'm 6 ft. tall though and the wife is 5'5". She can't reach it. Thule needs to fix this.

[kamccormick]

Originally Posted by TarRiver Charlie

I agree, they do have weak motors. I have found it necessary that when fully extended, in order to retract it, I need to "assist" the motors by manually pushing the end of the awning in enough to get the motor going. I'm 6 ft. tall though and the wife is 5'5". She can't reach it. Thule needs to fix this.

La Mesa RV actually told us to push in the side bars just a bit before retracting. But at 5’9 and 5’10 my husband and I can barely reach.

[Chateau_Nomad]

Originally Posted by Bob Denman

Think of it this way: just let go of the button when that little flap at the end of the awning is hanging down...
It's actually just that simple.

The little flap on ours is almost always stuck to the awning when I extend it. I have to pull one of the awning arms down to reach the end, and give it a little tug to get it to drop. Don't know if it's static electricity or moisture, but it's irritating.

[RSKDSK]

Originally Posted by TarRiver Charlie

I agree, they do have weak motors. I have found it necessary that when fully extended, in order to retract it, I need to "assist" the motors by manually pushing the end of the awning in enough to get the motor going. I'm 6 ft. tall though and the wife is 5'5". She can't reach it. Thule needs to fix this.

I accidentally let it go all the way the other day and found out the hard way that the manual awning retract tool does not actually fit into the slot (you should check) ... it is unless! Lucky for me I decided to push on the support bar and it decided to work. Crazy.

[TarRiver Charlie]

Originally Posted by RSKDSK

I accidentally let it go all the way the other day and found out the hard way that the manual awning retract tool does not actually fit into the slot (you should check) ... it is unless! Lucky for me I decided to push on the support bar and it decided to work. Crazy.

I looked for a manual awning retract tool and could not find one on my unit. Can you tell me what it looks like? i went online and saw a couple but they weren't for the same awning i had. At any rate, that, along with the missing side screen is yet another of the items that were not included in my brand new unit!

[RSKDSK]

Here is a quick pic . The issue is that there is a bushing on the nut end that interferes with it mating to the awning male end. ... needs to be modified.

[RSKDSK]

BTW, if you have seen my video on the Sanctuary ... you are not missing much if you do not have that side screen. It is a joke! Kinda like the Thor Tellaro built in sewer storage ... very poorly engineered ... I do have an idea on how to modify it to make it work better ... another future video project.

[TarRiver Charlie]

Originally Posted by RSKDSK

BTW, if you have seen my video on the Sanctuary ... you are not missing much if you do not have that side screen. It is a joke! Kinda like the Thor Tellaro built in sewer storage ... very poorly engineered ... I do have an idea on how to modify it to make it work better ... another future video project.

Would love to see what you come up with. We're in Ga. and like how the back screen works. If you're in Alabama then you understand the bug problem too. Not having had the side screen, I thought it was engineered like the back screen and we missed having it. Thor is supposed to be sending one but it's been three weeks and we haven't seen squat.

[RSKDSK]

The problem with the side screen is that it was very poorly engineered. The magnetic bar that runs the length of the screen should have had a zipper allowing the magnetic strip to stay put while you rolled up the screen potion when it is not needed. Instead, the magnetic strip needs to be rolled up with the screen and that is not possible without breaking the magnetic strip into a million pieces. The fix is to have someone install a zipper the entire length of the screen ... which is what I'll be attempting very soon.

I just finished up with the Laguna table installation, the Owl spare tire carrier, the stove cover (allows for the stove to become a counter) and the side counter extension. I will outline all these modifications in an upcoming video.

[kamccormick]

Originally Posted by TarRiver Charlie

Would love to see what you come up with. We're in Ga. and like how the back screen works. If you're in Alabama then you understand the bug problem too. Not having had the side screen, I thought it was engineered like the back screen and we missed having it. Thor is supposed to be sending one but it's been three weeks and we haven't seen squat.

We love the side screen. It works great for us.

[jybowers]

Originally Posted by RSKDSK

Here is a quick pic . The issue is that there is a bushing on the nut end that interferes with it mating to the awning male end. ... needs to be modified.

Did the issue with the manual awning rod (?) get resolved?

[RSKDSK]

Originally Posted by jybowers

Did the issue with the manual awning rod (?) get resolved?

No, I have a idea on how I can modify the connection to make it work I just have not had time yet. I am surprised that nobody else seems to have notice this issue. I am guessing most people have not tried to use the manual rod yet. The problem is, that when they need it ... they will figure this out the hard way.

[CVMarc]

The manual awning crank tool actually does work. If you look closely at the receiving port on the awning, you will see a hex bolt that matches the crank tool end.
However, there is a plastic ring around that hex bolt. I was wondering if the plastic ring retracts so I pushed it in and it did not budge.

I created a ticket with Thule and the response was the plastic ring indeed retracts and that you need to push the crank tool in.
I thought maybe it was binding when retracted so I extended the awning 2' and sure enough the plastic ring retracted in and the tool engaged the hex nut.

Problem solved.

[RSKDSK]

WOW, I was getting ready to tear apart the motor and pull the plastic bushing out. I'll give it a try and see what happens.

Thank You so much for the response!

[Babyray 992]

New owner of a Tranquility 19L. Really like this van, but honestly these awnings are POS. While doing our walkthrough, the awning got stuck in the extended position. LaMesa had a tech come and spray some silicone on the elbows, massage it around and it retracted, although making a grinding noise. Of course, the tech said that was normal. When home tried out the awning and failed to retract on first attempt. Had to use the provided hand crank and successfully got it back in after an hour long struggle. Now, when trying to extend the motor spins and doesn’t engage. If it can’t resolve the issue I’ll get a manual crank awni
ng. Again no call from LaMesa. These awnings are no longer made in Sweden. Chinese all the way.