Awning trouble...

[skater]

Well, I did something incredibly stupid. I left the awning out yesterday ... it rained, heavily. Crunch.

The one arm of the awning is basically destroyed. I'll get some pictures later but it's pretty amazing - the aluminum is just sort of ripped open. Also there's a tear in the canvas of the awning. There are some other bent pieces but I think the awning is repairable.

To get the camper home, we got the campground maintenance guy to come by and drill out the rivets on the other end of the awning, which allowed us to remove the other (good) arm. So now there are three pieces - the shell is still on the camper; the awning canvas, roller, the good arm, and the "front face" of the awning (for lack of a better term); and the destroyed arm.

Close the awning if it might rain! I'm usually VERY careful about it - I'm usually worried about it even in slight gusts. I have no idea why I didn't even think of it yesterday, but it just never crossed my mind.

[Roadhog]

Your awning problems have happened to many of us over the years. I know thats why I never leave the campground without putting up my awning because you just never know. If you decide to repair your awning see my writeup on the old site message 1627. It my help you getting the parts and prices you needto repair your awning if it is a Fiamma. The last time I checked a new awning was about $700. When I get back to home base in Florida I will submit the same along with some other info I have squirled away over the years which may be usefull to our members.
Happy trails, Howard

[skater]

Thanks - I remembered seeing in the old messages someone else had a similar problem, but I couldn't remember where it was (and haven't had the time to search).

You're right about the price of a new one - which is actually a bit of a relief, because hopefully that means parts aren't that expensive.

[skater]

Okay, it looks like I need three parts:

--The awning arm (no surprise there)
--The main housing end plate - it looks like the upper screw sheared the side of the end plate (actually, I think it may have been that way - but I figure it's not worth the risk of having the awning pop apart on the road somewhere)
--The connection lead rail, which goes on the end of the awning arm

And of course it'd be nice to replace the fabric but I think I will tape it for now and replace it later.

Update: Pictures now available.

[skater]

Bad news: the spring arms for mine are no longer available.

Anyone have any ideas, short of buying a new awning?

[Roadhog]

check webscrambler's and other replys to message 1629 on old site. old site still has lots of good info.
happy trails, Howard

[skater]

Ah, yes, thank you. I saw the earlier post but forgot to look. I just called Bob - he wasn't able to determine my model over the phone but he's going to fax me something shortly that will hopefully help me distinguish the model.

He's quite helpful - I like that.

On a side note, I do intend to incorporate the archives of those messages here, but I haven't had much luck doing so - when I do the conversion, some messages get dropped, and I just haven't had much time to look at it over the summer.

[skater]

Verdict: mine isn't a Fiamma awning. Apparently Dometic was making them, then contracted out to Fiamma at some point (apparently after the 1991 model year), and he thought they were now building their own again. (Thought the Fiamma FAQ states that they make the A&E Horizon awnings. )

Drat. So my choices now are to find a good used one or a new one.

[skater]

The awning arm may be repaired!

A friend of mine took on the challenge of repairing it. We used an engine hoist to separate the pieces (the spring in those are fairly strong), then we mangled the metal back into the rough shape it's supposed to be in.

He then welded two aluminum backing plates on the two sides that were torn. It's not the best weld job, and it's not the prettiest thing out there, but my guess is that most people won't even notice it once it's on the camper and functioning. Besides, this arm faces the back of the camper, so it's not like it's even that visible in most situations.

Next job - rehanging the awning. That should be an interesting project. I'm thinking a ladder, a bungee strap, and the legs of the awning to hold it up while I do the camper end...

I'll post some pictures of the repair job soon.

Update: pictures of the welded arm now posted. It's not pretty but I think it'll work.

[skater]

Well, I've managed to re-hang the awning. Alone. Wasn't very easy but with careful planning I was able to do it on the first try without hurting myself.

Pictures here, same place as before, but now include pictures of the repaired setup.