So, I unraveled my Zip Dee Awning, only to find that the Arms attached to the Round Roller Tube, seized up! I immediately broke out my trusty can of PB Blaster....this oughtta work...Nope. Next came the wrench on that Square Tube.....against the Aluminum Round Tube, and lightly smack it with a Persuasion Device (Hammer). Nope! Tapped even harder.....Nope! I knew it would get REAL expensive if I Tapped any harder, so I stopped, as those Aluminum Castings on the ends are not cheap, I am sure! So, I contacted Zip Dee, Techs. Their solution....Buy new Arms. Before I do that, I will buy an awning that I can put Entire External Room Panels like I had with my 5th Wheel. The Dometic never gave me any grief whatsoever....and I had the option of the Patty -O - Room, which I loved! I lived in my, 40' 5th wheel for 2 years, when on orders to Memphis Tn. It was extended for 2 solid years, and lasted several more without degrading. I don't need no stinking Slides on my RV's! ;) Having 24' of External Room, sure worked for me! Having the option of a full screen room, or full privacy panels is the ticket! patty o room - Bing images (https://www.bing.com/images/search?q=patty+o+room&qpvt=Patty-O-Room)
So, if I cannot get these arms to extend....I guess it's off with the old, and useless Zip Dee, and on with the Dometic Awning System, for me! It also has the Lovely Mauve Material that I so love....Not! But, I'd sure like to delay the purchase for now, and IF anyone has a clue on how to free up the arms, I'd appreciate any suggestions you may have that worked for you? Thanks!
It will be up for sale....cheap.... in a year, anyway!
Where it me I would store the awning then soak the slide tubes for a couple of days, you may want to remove the pull out lock knobs as well they just unscrew.
Yep, did all that too....and it's been weeks actually, and several soakings now! I should have mentioned that!
The ends are NOT aluminum, at least ours aren't, instead they are pewter. Pewter cannot be repaired. Unfortunately I learned the hard way, after the rear rafter end pewter casting broke in a rainstorm by New Waverly, TX.
I would take the arms off. Anchor one end to a tree or some solid object, then pull on the other end using a come-a-long or 2 ton cable hoist.
I have considered that approach actually. I have to figure out how to SAFELY remove them so I do not modify my own body, by those PEWTER (as you say) Ends! All I know, it's a Casting, and far from forged! LOL! Anyway, I might remove them, Fill the Cavity up to the Bolt Hole on each end, with wood, Drill the Mounting holes, use a Grade 8 Bolt, and use that Come Along idea! I have a 10K lb winch on my Chevy 2500 HD I could use, as well! Might be overkill, but what the Hay! ;)
How much are the new parts from Zip Dee? Way cheaper than a new awnings would imagine. Let alone a bunch of new holes in the coach.
True, but I don't ever want to mess with a situation like this ever again, either! To have the ONLY solution of buying new arms can be equally expensive, I'd imagine, anyway. Besides, even though the Awning Material is in OK shape....I do Abhor the color immensely! I just want to limp it along 'till I save up enough money to buy a New Dometic ( A&E) Awning and that Patty - O -Room deal!
I am not a REP. After three coaches, all Zip Dees, over thirty years, I'd NEVER switch brands! ^.^d
I'd try a few taps with a rubber mallet on the sides of the arms or with a plastic dead blow if you have one. The fabric can be changed much cheaper that the new A&E awning. Also the new A&E's are not as good as the old ones that you probably had on the fifth wheel. Most top of the line coaches had Zip Dee's or Carefree there must be a reason that they didn't use less expensive equipment.
Possibly? And yes I do have Dead Blows and Rubber Mallets....which I will try! I know that most people Love their Zip Dees a Lot and wouldn't want any other brand....and you just may be right about the Quality situation these days also! I will watch when I go into RV Parks for newer R.V's and get their opinions....or maybe even source a Great Used A&E, eventually? Again, I digress as to the Patty -O -Rooms, which are NOT an option with any Zip Dee product that I know of? If they had that option, I'd stick with them...I just know I enjoyed that more than any awning I have had in 40 years of owning R.V.'s! That sort of spoiled me, for sure! When the weather isn't cooperating, or the sun gets brutal, they sure do come in handy, that I can attest to!
But again, this one has to work for a while....I'm not impressed, so far....I guess?
I just replaced the patio awning claws on the rafter bar that hooks up to the back on both side. Claws were $25 a piece from ZipDee.
I wouldn't worry about replacing the parts and it happening again. Who ever had it before probably never used the awning and never maintained it.
John M.
Parts Lists (http://www.awningsbyzipdee.com/parts-lists.html)
What about the Zip Dee "Tropic Room"?
Tropic Room (http://www.awningsbyzipdee.com/tropic-room.html)
Besides, I believe that I could adapt another manufacture's awning room if the size was close enough. I would suspend judgement (not on the color, I'm with you on that one!) on the Zip Dee until you see how well it works. My limited experience with a Dometic awning would keep me from even considering it. Our Zip Dee has withstood some incredibly harsh conditions and still works well. I do plan on replacing the fabric on all of the awnings to match the painted graphics on the coach, but we use it all the time.
Don
On my 96 coach, I had the same problem. Finally took 2 people, on adding heat to tube and one tapping on it. Once it started to move we were able to extend and clean the tubes.
Take a propane torch and heat the tube up Once you can get it a little loose it should slide. Mine is 26 years old on my 91 and works perfect. I wouldn't want anything else these are simple.
The Patty - O - Room is a Total Privacy enclosure, but also has Screening, for airflow, if needed! I think the Arms of the A & E are actually too wide to mount, I am finding? Does anyone have one installed with pics and tips, perhaps?
Folks that just may work....didn't think of that, I will give it a try! Thanks!
Extruded aluminum such as your Zip Dee telescoping tubes are "cooked" in a heat treat furnace to harden the aluminum. Too much heat with a torch will anneal the aluminum and you will end up with some very, very bendable tubes.
I was the die design engineer at an aluminum extrusion/powder coating paint company for a few years so I was familiar with the process at the time. But, time has a way of erasing knowledge.
I thought the Zip Dee's were stainless.
Could be stainless. Read my last sentence above.
Heat treating is usually in the range of 325-400F. It takes nowhere near that much heat to free the slide. You need to warm the entire piece which means moving heat source back and forth fairly quickly.
And have a heavy glove on your hand also or a good rag! Don't burn your hand !
You might could clamp a nice big set of Vicegrips to the pole and hit the vice grips with a good smack.
Unscrew the pin locks from the tube first.
The heat creates thermal expansion which, because you are mostly heating the external tube, will cause separation of the tube and the internal bar.
Those arm's are definitely, Anodized Aluminum! Stainless may have been used on other models perhaps, but I am sure they are Aluminum! Gotta try this trick tomorrow, and report back the results! .....and see if they become all Gumby like too! ;) What do I have to loose....the Manufacturer says to replace them, anyway! LOL
They are Aluminum. All the pieces are made from extruded aluminum . I would have to bet that those awnings were hardly used. That's why they are stuck in place. If you didn't want to use a torch to heat them up, try a heat gun. Try not to get the inside arm Hot, only the outside arm.
John M.
Second to last paragraph, stainless and aluminum arms. I will wait until I check mine tomorrow, I thought they were stainless
About Zip Dee (http://www.awningsbyzipdee.com/about-zip-dee.html)
What's the basis for saying the castings are pewter? I think they are cast aluminum. Years and years of working with that stuff tells me that Pewter would not have the strength. We put our awnings out when we stop and they stay out until we leave. Sometimes that's six months. One claw broke in a violent Illinois summer storm and other breakages happened when a semi hit us. Zip Dee get my vote. ^.^d
Larry, the rear rafter arm end on our '89 GV broke after an intense downpour in TX. I took the two pieces to a welding/machine shop in New Waverly TX and the owner told me they couldn't weld the pieces back together due to the fact that they were a pewter casting.
Not knowing better I believed him so I ordered a new part from Zip Dee and was told that, yes, the part is/was pewter.
Maybe later parts are aluminum? Stainless?
A heat gun run along the arm along with a liberal spray of ATF might get the arm moving.
Believe I'd get a new welding/machine shop. Pewter has little mechanical strength. The stuff it's made from keeps it from corroding and keeps it cheap and simple to cast but not structurally strong. Zip Dee mentions aluminum castings, aluminum and steel extrusions but no pewter. Your welding person probably used the term "white metal" also. Get a new guy. ;)
If you look at the parts list in reply #10 and go to Universal Awnings 1989 to present, some of the same awning parts were made of aluminum or stainless. I think our Foretravel has the aluminum.
John M.
Hmmm. The PDF part #5A, which is the one I needed, is described as Rafter Link Casting. I just can't seem to find any material listed for it in that description or on that particular line. Maybe the weld/machine shop guy and the Zip Dee phone rep were right?
Honestly never saw an aluminum casting crack apart like ours did and leave a crystalline looking break.
Other parts listed do specifically specify the material, so why not this particular part?
That would explain why ours are different. Neither material in magnetic and scratching or scraping the arm to tell the difference isn't for me.
5A is a casting and I believe is aluminum. Order the part, drill out the rivets and replace with new rivets.
John M.
I was reading this thread thinking I had to renovate the main awning because it wouldn't roll up on it's own. After doing some research and a couple youtube videos, bought some water resistant lithium spray and shot it behind the locks into the ends. After a few cycles, it rolls up on it's own fine now. No drilling, no replacing rivets, no pulling one end and winding it one more time, just lube.
Well, went out to do the deed. Barb and I both got involved in the task at hand! She manned the torch, and I took the 3/4" wrench and hammered, and hammered, and hammered some more! The Hammer was a 2 Pounder and I placed the wrench on the arm near the roller assembly! I marked starting point, and Millimeter, by Millimeter, they both finally let loose! I hammered the end where the Arm attached to the Roller Tube! You can see the damage it caused, but a Flat File, will dress it up quickly, I am sure! Once I had the tube moving a bit, I extended to each notch, and worked a 3M Scotchbrite pad on it, then used a flat file to get as much corrosion removed as I could. I am using a wet lube product on the front arm, and a dry lube, used on Bike Chains on the rear arm. I will see which works better? So far I have about 2 hours into this task, but pleased I finally got 'er done! Thanks for all the tips, much better ideas than the Factory had (Replacing the Arms!) and they are as good as new now!
*Note* Been quite a while since I posted up a pic, from a hosting site....learning curve on that one, I see? Sorry! I haven't used Photobucket in years! It says it will cost me over 300 bucks a year to share the pics, now? NO WAY! And those hideous Pop Up adds, they are like Machinegunned to you on the screen, I get 6 Immediately, and they continue to disturb you! And try and find where they hide the little X to close them....they are like Micro Ninja's now! LOL Any suggestions?
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I recall what some folks used to use to free up rusted parts years ago. RUSTED PARTS! Coca Cola!!
Only tried it once on a telescoping TV antenna pole way back in the early sixties. The pole had laid alongside a garage for about three years and the owner decided to put it up. No luck. Rusted solid. We propped one end up on a sawhorse. Plugged the ground end and then proceeded to slowly pour Coke into the sections wherever we could. Repeated the filling every couple weeks (if we remembered) and after about two months the pole slid apart like it was greased. Slimy, sticky, smelly, but free!!
You might try Aero Kroil before you get too involved. You can only get it on line, can't buy in stores--- fantastic stuff. Once I found it I threw away my PB Blaster. It works very fast. About 10 minutes should do the job.
PB Blaster=ok. A 50/50 mix of acetone & ATF=Best Ever! Here's the cold, hard facts from the April/May 2007 edition of Machinist's Workshop. They did a test of penetrating oils where they measured the force required to loosen rusty test devices. Buy the issue if you want to see how they did the test. The results reported were interesting. The lower the number of pounds the better.
Penetrating oil . Average load .. Price per fluid ounce
None ................. 516 pounds .
WD-40 .............. 238 pounds .. $0.25
PB Blaster ......... 214 pounds .. $0.35
Liquid Wrench ... 127 pounds .. $0.21
Kano Kroil ........ 106 pounds .. $0.75
ATF-Acetone mix.. 53 pounds .. $0.10
Wow, I hardly Ever touch my WD 40 can anymore, since discovering PB.....I think I need to get a gallon of Acetone ( I have used it for thinning in 'Glass work, etc,) to mix with ATF, that I already have Gads of! Thanks, I will try it in future difficult bolts! I bought a 1965 John Deere Loader/Backhoe (JD 300) for a song, that needs a LOT of work! The Backhoe is expressly for widening my Driveway, and Prepping land for a New Pole barn for my Queen! My Foretravel, of course!