Awning question

[2022 Windsport 34J 30263]

Hello All, My awning sometimes retracts with the arm not tucked underneath it. (See pics)

Also, upon inspection several of the bolts that hold the mounts (both front and rear) look either loose or misaligned. They are at least “finger tight” and I’m not rookie enough to be shocked that they could have been put in misaligned.

My question is this:

1) Should I tighten these bolts (and risk possibly stripping them)?
2) Is there a way to adjust the little football looking thing up, so that it more easily catches the awning as it’s being retracted?
3) something else altogether?

Thanks!
Tom Finnegan
Newnan, GA

[javelin]

Well from your pictures it looks like the bolts holding the awning wall mounting system on the coach have backed out somehow (or were never tightened properly) and some are ready to fall out it appears. I would suggest tightening all the awning bracket bolts that are not currently fully screwed into their respective mounting locations. You don’t have to crank hard on the bolts......just snug them up so the brackets are held firmly in their original mounting place again. If you go to tighten the screws and they are binding or very hard to turn, then stop; you might have some bracket or sidewall binding problem because they are loose with the weight of the awning hanging on them. Adjusting the bracket position slightly on the wall might resolve the bolt binding issue so you can easily snug them up. Getting the brackets tightly held in their mounting locations again might also resolve your awning arm interference problem.

[The Gritz Carlton]

Is this coach still under warranty? I would have serious issues/questions with that mount. It looks sloppy in the caulking/mounting volts area...as if we're damaged and poorly repaired.

[2022 Windsport 34J 30263]

If I can tighten it up I will. If it looks like a bigger job I’ll check with my “service” center.

These manufacturers have maneuvered us all into not using the warranty (which I think has expired on this coach) because we don’t want to lose 2,3,or 4 months waiting for the iffy-at-best service center work to be completed.

[Judge]

That is typical Thor workmamship. The front awning mount on my Magnitude looked the same way.

A couple bolts were stipped and others installed at an angle.

These are the problems…..

1. Thor assembly gorillas over tightening.

2. Using the wrong type of lag bolt.


I ended up purchasing one larger size stainless steel lag bolts and lock washers.

- Then drilling an appropriate pilot hole.

- Filling the hole with body panel adhesive sealant.

- Carefully tightening the bolt with lock washer.

So far so good a year later and a lot of rough roads.

[Scubawise]

Our 30 year tech replaced all loose bolts we need ones.
There is a plate back there.
I think he used larger size stainless steel lag bolts

[Lt Keefer]

The arms of your awning need to be adjusted. In the last picture you can see 2 set screws. They are the adjustment points to keep your arms from popping out from behind the rolled up awning. Loosen the top one and tighten the bottom one. This will adjust the angle of the arm to keep it behind the rolled awning. Once that is done, move on to the mounting screws. Take one out and put dab of rtv on the threads then reinstall until flush. Overall, it is a simple fix.

[Judge]

Originally Posted by Lt Keefer

The arms of your awning need to be adjusted. In the last picture you can see 2 set screws. They are the adjustment points to keep your arms from popping out from behind the rolled up awning. Loosen the top one and tighten the bottom one. This will adjust the angle of the arm to keep it behind the rolled awning. Once that is done, move on to the mounting screws. Take one out and put dab of rtv on the threads then reinstall until flush. Overall, it is a simple fix.

If his mount is anything like mine was.... and it looks exactly the same.... RTV is not going to solve his problem. The holes are likely larger than the lag bolts due ot over tightening and Thor uses a lag bolt that is wrong for the application. If he follows my plan, he will be much better off.

[ducksface]

I ran my mounting bolts through to the inside of the trailer and made 4" square backing plates/washers.

It's never going to fail.
Lags are lazy and wrong.

[Lt Keefer]

Originally Posted by Judge

If his mount is anything like mine was.... and it looks exactly the same.... RTV is not going to solve his problem. The holes are likely larger than the lag bolts due ot over tightening and Thor uses a lag bolt that is wrong for the application. If he follows my plan, he will be much better off.

Under normal circumstances I would agree with you, but the pictures shows a well used coach and the bolts have probably been that way for a while. The RTV is for sealing not keeping the bolts installed. And a lag screw will hold quite a bit of weight, a 1/4 inch lag screw has a sheer strength of almost 300 pounds.

[ducksface]

It's not the lag, it's the material the lag is in.
Thin low grade delaminating whatever it is, almost guaranteed.

[Judge]

Originally Posted by Lt Keefer

Under normal circumstances I would agree with you, but the pictures shows a well used coach and the bolts have probably been that way for a while. The RTV is for sealing not keeping the bolts installed. And a lag screw will hold quite a bit of weight, a 1/4 inch lag screw has a sheer strength of almost 300 pounds.

Mine looked like that early on. The Factory Service Center tried to fix it but didn’t do a good job.

The lag bolts go into a steel plate inside the wall and the cheap lag bolt threads start filing down the moment you start cranking them into the plate. Better stainless lag bolts make a night and day difference with the adhesive sealant.

[Judge]

Originally Posted by ducksface

It's not the lag, it's the material the lag is in.
Thin low grade delaminating whatever it is, almost guaranteed.

It is the lag bolts in this case. Thor actually has a steel plate in the wall behind the awning mount.

If you saw what my lag bolts looked like trying to cut through the plate, you’d be convinced. The lag bokt material is not strong enough to cut into the steel without damaging the threads.

The stainless steel lag bolts I installed w/ adhesive body sealant solved the problem.

[chunker21]

Part of the OPs question dealt with the arm position not being correct during closing. My previous omni was that way from the factory and selling dealer and just part of sloppy work. I posted on this a long time ago but as I recall there are 2 important documents to download. The Installation manual and the owner's manual. It details how to adjust the awning for proper and smooth operation as well as getting a desired amount of tilt for rain shedding. If someone is interested, that posting I made was sometime in the summer of 2021.

[Duglyn]

Tighten the bolts! If that doesn't fix it, there are 2 adjusting screws, one above the other. Those are probably loose too. Put awning out about 8-10 inches. Lift the arm while you loosen the top screw then tighten the lower screw. Those two screws are next to the hinge in your photo.

[chunker21]

Originally Posted by Duglyn

Tighten the bolts! If that doesn't fix it, there are 2 adjusting screws, one above the other. Those are probably loose too. Put awning out about 8-10 inches. Lift the arm while you loosen the top screw then tighten the lower screw. Those two screws are next to the hinge in your photo.

There are 2 SETS of adjusting screws, 2 on each side and their function is different. The adjusting bolts, hex head slot type, are unlikely to be loose just out off whack. That's why I suggested downloading the installation and servicing manuals. The manuals describe the adjustments quite clearly. It was almost 2 years ago I made my adjustments so I don't remember all the specifics.