Awning collapsed

[scubes3]

Sorry I didn't get back to posting the pics I had mentioned earlier. On another trip right now so still won't be able to post them!

I did get Carefree to somewhat agree that it appeared the awning was not installed according to the instructions. And did get Thor to replace it through the efforts of the warranty department at CW Cocoa. Just rolled it out for the first time since getting it back. Would you believe that it was installed exactly the same way - - three screws instead of four!

Will get around to putting another one each side but more importantly putting a large flat washer under the head of each bolt. It is the thin metal frame that will be pulled through with any force on it.

Am also going to get one of the sunscreens that slide in the groove on the aluminum tube - - this not only will give good shade but be a great way to tie down and stabilize the awning.

[MJC62]

Add us to the group of blown out awnings. My bad that I didn't have one side of the awning dropped, we didn't get that much rain and the awning had a decent amount of pitch to run off I thought. The rain we got wouldn't even put a dent in the old manual awning we had on our old rig. Only one arm took a beating but par for the course for me the motor arm is the one that is trashed. It is $150+ more than the idler arm. I too don't see much of a problem with doing the repairs myself, just hate having to shell out over 5 bills for parts. I will see if my insurance can help but like bharris we also have $500 deductible.

[Pete'sMH]

I almost always retract my awning unless I’m actually sitting under it. Being electric there’s no effort involved and I don’t have to worry about it. It’s big and, as you’ve discovered, seems rather fragile and expensive.

[Bob Denman]

Me too! Just push a button... Voila!

We never leave it out, because you never know what Mother Nature is going to serve up next.

[taylorbob1]

Originally Posted by Bob Denman

Me too! Just push a button... Voila!
We never leave it out, because you never know what Mother Nature is going to serve up next.

Me three

[camperguy99]

Our Tuscany has a movement sensor for wind protection. Very slightest breeze and in it goes. Almost useless.

[lwmcguire]

Our Tuscany has sensors on both large awnings and both work very well

It takes about 10 shakes to trip it or one large gust

New style won't take the wind the old type would

[Pete'sMH]

So this thread got me to thinking about slide toppers. How vulnerable are they to wind or storm damage? They obviously don’t stick out so far and are supported at both ends but I can imagine some wind whistling through there! Anybody heard of problems with them?

[lwmcguire]

Slide toppers are pretty decent in wind unless the wind is gusting and fairly high mph

Then they flap a bit

[Beau388]

Originally Posted by Pete'sMH

So this thread got me to thinking about slide toppers. How vulnerable are they to wind or storm damage? They obviously don’t stick out so far and are supported at both ends but I can imagine some wind whistling through there! Anybody heard of problems with them?

Yep, I bent all the brackets on my big Carefree of Colorado topper. I was wondering north along US-283 headed to Fort Griffin (Albany, TX) in a fine Texas breeze of 40 mph blowing from the NE when a gust of wind overrode the gust locks and totally unfurled the topper bending the brackets against the slide. The topper spring was enough to overcome the friction of the topper against the slide and the topper and it re-rolled shaking the slide and coach. The topper fabric and the roller were undamaged, but we were unable to use the slide for the rest of the trip (8 days) as the topper would not unroll. I ziptied the bent and broken brackets to the topper's track on the side of the coach. Fortunately I was able to purchase new brackets on Amazon for 1/3 what CofC shows on their website. I made sure the new gust locks properly engage when the slide is in (4 complete turns of the lock bolts after touching the slide).