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Slideout Awning Lesson Learned

January 29, 2015, 03:52:25 pm

About 4 weeks ago, I extended my slide out and the awning hardware broke.  Here's my cautionary tale:

I had put the slideout in and awning away while it was wet after we got home in late Dec.  I waited for a warm day to extend the room but it had been very cold overnight and the awning was still frozen.  Fortunately, the installation by FT was very robust, so the hardware stayed with the coach and 2 parts on each end of the awning failed.  First, the two awning arms bent, and then the two end caps on the awning cracked and failed, leaving the awning lying on the top of the slideout.  The awning arms are tough enough that I can't bend them to straighten them, even putting them in a vise on the workbench. 

In addition, the fabric is now 13 years old and all the stitching has rotted out.

I think I got off easy with only having to replace the arms and caps because of the freezing problem.  The fabric and key strip (the 2" wide piece of fabric that attaches the aluminium awning slats to the coach) would have needed to be replaced anyway.

My brother, who also has a 2002 FT, is also in the process of replacing his two slideout awnings due to the stitching failing.  If your coach is a similar vintage, you might want to check and see how yours are doing. 

Once it warms up here, I'll be checking the stitching on my other awnings, but I think they should be OK because they are protected by the slat covers most of the time.  Slideout awnings are deployed and exposed much more often.

Rich

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Re: Slideout Awning Lesson Learned

Reply #1 – January 29, 2015, 04:07:09 pm

I already replaced mine on my 2001.  I had the sticking fail and caused the awning to slam close and break the endcaps of the awnings.

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Re: Slideout Awning Lesson Learned

Reply #2 – January 29, 2015, 04:28:39 pm

Yup! Mine, too. Fortunately my hardware didn't break or bend.

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Reply #3 – January 29, 2015, 05:01:33 pm

Move the left arm to the right, the right to the left. Reverses the bend, may solve that part. Tech at MOT showed me.

Infinity upholstery in Nac restitched the failed seams on our slide topper. $175. If the fabric is good, saves some of the $700 for new fabric. Doesn't save any labor.

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Re: Slideout Awning Lesson Learned

Reply #4 – January 30, 2015, 12:33:27 am

One of the arms is too bent to use in either direction.  It's $851 all in.  Looks like the R&R labor is pretty easy.

Rich

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Re: Slideout Awning Lesson Learned

Reply #5 – January 30, 2015, 08:55:08 am

What caused the awning to fail?  Frozen/fabric/age?  I have looked at mine and the farbric is truely weak but useable.  But I have never put it out in freezing weather as I do not travel in cold areas.  Just need to be on the look out for what before it fails?? Tks DAN 

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Re: Slideout Awning Lesson Learned

Reply #6 – January 30, 2015, 04:57:21 pm

It failed because the fabric froze and would not unroll.  The end arms bent and then the end caps broke off of the arms.

Rich

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Re: Slideout Awning Lesson Learned

Reply #7 – January 31, 2015, 07:19:45 am

A few years ago we were in Colorado for the fall colors. Snow came early and got slushy during the day. We planned to leave the next morning and I didn't think about the slide awnings until I got ready to pull them in. They were frozen and wouldn't roll up. Slide awnings don't work well in freezing weather. We had to wait until the afternoon for them to thaw before we could get them in. We've gone skiing numerous times in non-slide coaches. Not such a good idea with slide awnings.

Last year the sewing in the middle of our slide awning fell apart. The fabric was showing wear so I didn't bother trying to have it re-sown, also I didn't realize how much the fabric cost. Having it sewed back together sounds like a good idea. I was concerned the new fabric would stand out against the old faded awnings but the old ones still look pretty good.

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