I'm removing my Zip Dee main awning and installing Girard's new GG750 16' main and 5' door awnings.
GG750 Cassette Awning – Girard RV Awnings - Girard Systems (https://www.girardrv.com/collections/girard-products/products/gg750-cassette-awning?variant=31645650444)
These are smaller, lighter 12v alternatives to their previous 110v awnings, which would be more difficult to fit on our coach. Roof curvature and relatively short side walls create issues with either roof or side mounting of the larger models. This model should allow me to keep my window awnings as well, although they may have to be lowered slightly. The main awning will auto-retract in high wind, and both will have LED lighting. The Thinlite over the door will have to come off and I hope to rewire the new LEDs to work with the door handle touch-switch.
I purchased both awnings at the Gillette FMCA rally and they'll be delivered this week. They would have installed them at the rally but had sold out of the white versions. The Zip Dee has now been removed and the coach is ready to hang the new awnings.
You're going to love having an automatic awning. We never used our awning on our previous coaches because it was too much trouble. It's so easy to push the remote and have shade. The added excitement on our coach with the air/electric Zipdee is wondering if it's going to work.
I would like the awning to extend about 12 ft or more from the coach. Is that an option?
No, I don't think they make anything that extends that far. This one is slightly less than the ZipDee at 8'. One of several sacrifices that we decided is worth it.
automatic operation is great, one of the first things i hanged years ago was to add the Girard. On mine the wind sense seems to be set too sensitive, and it auto retracts (in my opinion) way to soon in any light breeze. I have had various opinions if my specific unit can be adjusted, but haven't taken the time to track that down - usually if I am at Nascar and am sitting under it and want it to stay out I throw something over the sensor to stop it from rotating and disable the auto retract feature (at my own risk of course)
Tim Fiedler
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They've started using a different sensor in the last few years. Now it's a motion sensor built into the front rail of the awning, not a whirly-bird anymore. They claim it works better. We'll see.
What are you going to do with your patio awning? Is the fabric in good shape? Spare parts perhaps?
Id be interested in parts also.. what is the cost on replacement
Everything on the old awning is in great shape except for the cloth strip between the awning and the coach, which I intentionally cut during removal. I'm actually impressed with how well it's held up and am only replacing it for the convenience of an electric awning.
My plan is to store it long enough to be sure that I want to keep the new awning, then either use it somewhere else or find it a new home. Probably wouldn't part it out.
Girard wanted $4k for the whole job, installed on site at FMCA. Long story short but I got them for somewhat less than that, shipped either to me or a local installer of my choice, discounted enough to cover installation costs. I've chosen to install it myself.
Great topic and timely for us. Like Rick said in the first post, the excitement of wrangling our ZipDee (Bigtop) is no longer needed around here. The topic of swapping our OE out for an air-assisted system came up at lunch with a favorite MOT guy last week in NAC. He suggested the Girard after describing the R&R of many ZipDee systems. Our OE is in great shape, but I'm saving up for a swap out to the Girard.
Keep us updated please! Thanks
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The air ones are super problematic...Just sayin'
I like our awnings "because" they are manual.
One thing I have heard and seen via the forum and at the Pendleton motorcade. It's the fragility of the electronic gadgets and soft touch switches on the newer coaches that have a very high failure rate.
But then, I'm an odd duck. I don't like computer override steering correction blind spot monitors, auto braking back up monitors and so on either.
Pretty soon we will going on our RV adventures via a set of 3D goggles hooked up to a computer and never have to leave the recliner. Of course that would finally solve the expensive maint. issues once and for all. :)) :))
Good luck with your new awning. The 55 page patio awning installation manual made my head spin.
It took us some trial and error with our big patio awning to get the extend/retract process down to just a few minutes. The upper arms were the hardest. Now I put my 12" stool in the right spot, unhook, extend and hook it in place at the top. The PO showed us how he did it with the Zip Dee pole. That was hard. We use the manual Zip Dee patio awning frequently.
Maybe with lighter weight sail type cloth, I could get the awnings out to a usable 10ft. As they are they have minimal use IMHO at 7-8ft . Nice if your pointed the right direction at sunset.
Project for later maybe .
We finished installing both Girard awnings today.
The installation was more difficult than it needed to be because of my choice to use the existing Foretravel awning rail/gutter. Standard awning rails would be much easier but the FT rails that incorporate the gutter don't allow the Girard awning to fit as intended, which is to tilt the awning to a 90deg angle, insert the hook that's built into the top of the awning into the awning rail, and rotate downward until the awning is vertical. Sounds simple enough but the gutter that is integrated into the FT awning rail prevents the hook on the awning from reaching the awning rail. The only option for installing in the rail was to remove the rail from the coach, insert it at the end of the awning and then slide it into position. Also sounds easy enough but it only slides a few feet, then starts to bind. That leaves 14 ft of awning rail that has to be tapped into place, 1/2" or less at a time, with a small sledge. A block of wood prevented any damage to the rail. Then, the assembled awning & rail were hung together. That operation took 5 people. It might have been possible with 3 but having 2 on the roof and 3 on the ground worked well. Self tapping 1/4" screws then secure the awning to the steel wall frame.
The easier installation would have been to use the alternate method, which uses the brackets that are supplied by Girard. The downside of that method is that the awning has to be mounted slightly lower in order to come in under the awning rails. This would have required the window awnings to either be removed or lowered. We wanted to keep them. Lowering them would probably have been less work but I think the rail installation looks better. Removal, if there is ever a need for repairs etc, would be much easier with the brackets.
Wiring is pretty straightforward. Drill holes through the outside wall, into the cabinets. From there you can tap into 12v & ground that supplies the cabinet lights. An ignition signal is needed to force the awning to close if you start the motor. This is a short run of new wire over the door and down the wall at the windshield to the starter relay in front of the passenger seat.
We're very happy with the results.
Roger, I am ready to listen to reason, finally. Could you please share your technique(s) for operating your ZipDee? I would like to master that thing before I shoot it. Any help will be appreciated.
BDale—Those are really nice looking awnings. Good job. Lots of tapping, right?
I will do that. It is suppoesd to rain all day tomorrow and in order to get pictures I will have to get the coach out of the coach house (barn). As soon as I can.
Poured all day today, maybe tomorrow, I will get the coach out and take pictures of unfurling the awning.