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Old 01-10-2013, 09:16 PM   #1
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New Owner with Question/Problem with Slide Out Awnings

We recently bought a Sunseeker 3010 DS from RV Direct and had it delivered to our home. We really love the RV but have a question on the slide outs. We were hoping some of the great people on this forum might be able to help us.

When the RV was delivered the main slide-out failed to deploy during the walkthrough. Upon investigation, we found that the awning over it was hung up, preventing the slide from extending. There is a small arm that extends outward at one end of the awning. See the photo titled ‘Slide 1 awning’. This arm rotates as the awning deploys. It was stuck on the rail above the awning. Once we physically disentangled it from the railing, it rotated freely and the slide deployed. However, we do not understand the function of this arm. We note that the awning over the bedroom slide also has a similar arm. See the photo titled ‘Slide 2 awning’. When this awning is fully retracted it points away from the railing. When the main slide is retracted the arm on its awning is in contact with a grommet under the railing. Is either awning arm a problem? Do either or both need adjusting? What is the function of these arms? Does anyone have any ideas on this?Click image for larger version

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Old 01-10-2013, 10:32 PM   #2
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Those arms are to stop the awning from unrolling while you are going down the road. Looking at your pictures, neither one is adjusted properly.
They are a bit fussy, as they have to miss the catch ( the one yours jammed on), and yet not rotate too much when in travelling.
Looking at your second picture, I bet that it unrolls enough to let a fair bit of air under the fabric, and that might eventually rip the awning.
Your dealer should have checked them, so I would suggest taking it back and getting them adjust them. Or, if you are handy, it isn't that hard of a job, and you could do it yourself. I did my own, as they were slightly misadjusted as well.
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Old 01-10-2013, 10:33 PM   #3
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Yes they are your ((Anti-Billowing)devices,yes they need adjusted!There are diffrent arms and ways the arms are rotated for proper install. Youroo!!
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Old 01-10-2013, 10:51 PM   #4
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Sorry, I just noticed you bought from one of the wholesalers, so taking it back is probably not an option.
I went out and had a look at mine, and while the awning looks identical, the stoppers are a bit different. Mine have tabs that stick out for the awning arms to catch on.
But they should work pretty much the same.
Taking your first picture, the one that jammed, the arm should be at about 11 o'clock. And the second, at about 1 o'clock. At least, that is how I set mine, which allows the awning enough time to unroll before the tabs engage. From memory, I think I set them so they would miss the stpooers by about a half inch.
It seems that the installers of some of these add-ons have never heard of pride in your work. Or they just don't know what they are doing.
Were yours factory installed, or did the dealer put them on?
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Old 01-10-2013, 11:43 PM   #5
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Thanks for the info. Forest River installed them. We will take a look at them and see if we can adjust. If not our local service company could probably adjust but they said they can't get to work on it for almost 2 weeks - implied that the wait was due to us not buying from them. What an attitude.
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Old 01-11-2013, 12:10 AM   #6
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A call to RV Direct service is in order. They should send a man to you to adjust the arms or at a minimum arrange for a local service department to do the work.

IF it becomes a "big deal"; before you have a conniption; be advised that adjusting the devices can be done by any decent mechanic with the attached files.

In case you or your mechanic breaks a part if you try this at home:

eDometic Service Parts Detail

Herk
Attached Files
File Type: pdf Dometic Slide Topper Service Instructions.pdf (892.8 KB, 133 views)
File Type: pdf 173.pdf (223.9 KB, 86 views)
File Type: pdf Dometic Slide Topper.pdf (223.9 KB, 115 views)
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Old 01-11-2013, 08:19 AM   #7
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After checking everything is correctly set I advise to put Locktite on the screws of the bumper arm and the wall spacer extension & cams-where needed. Pay special att. to Fig#15-17-18 on Form # 3109384.101 1/06 Youroo!!
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Old 01-11-2013, 08:40 AM   #8
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After looking at the files Herk provided, it is obvious that the installers do not follow directions very well. The stoppers on my camper are not mounted where those instructions indicate.
Mine were also installed at the factory, so maybe someone should tell FR to be a bit more consistant? It seems that a lot of the workers just do what they feel like doing.
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Old 01-11-2013, 09:31 AM   #9
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Originally Posted by zoa1066 View Post
Thanks for the info. Forest River installed them. We will take a look at them and see if we can adjust. If not our local service company could probably adjust but they said they can't get to work on it for almost 2 weeks - implied that the wait was due to us not buying from them. What an attitude.
I would think adjustments like these would be part of the normal dealer setup and prep process which you probably don't get with wholesalers. If you buy from a wholesaler or dealer far away you should plan to learn how to do most repairs or adjustments yourself. This forem is great for that. Even if your dealer is only 20 or 30 miles away just the fuel costs to get there and back are significant.
I am not a dealer but if you didn't buy there, can you blame them for putting you in line behind all their own customers. On the other hand it may be shortsided on their part in that if you ever buy another RV you probably wouldn't ever consider buy from them.
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Old 01-11-2013, 10:08 AM   #10
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On the other hand it may be shortsided on their part
In many instances the money available in quality service may exceed the margins on the original sale. The question here is who should pay for the service work. As Lou stated a call to RV Direct is in order; the local service dealer could earn another satisfied customer (with RV Direct covering the service call) and the likely possibility that you will return to buy high margin accessories, and future service from them.
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Old 01-11-2013, 10:25 AM   #11
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In many instances the money available in quality service may exceed the margins on the original sale. The question here is who should pay for the service work. As Lou stated a call to RV Direct is in order; the local service dealer could earn another satisfied customer (with RV Direct covering the service call) and the likely possibility that you will return to buy high margin accessories, and future service from them.
There is no question who pays for this work on a NEW R/V,F/R pays! Youroo!!
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Old 01-11-2013, 01:31 PM   #12
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There is no question who pays for this work on a NEW R/V,F/R pays! Youroo!!
I would have disagree here. That's why the dealer includes margin for prep and setup in his markup. According to dealers I have talked with, simple adjustments like this are not normally warranty claims but things FR expects the dealers to handle.
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Old 01-11-2013, 01:52 PM   #13
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When the awning is installed the arms are adjusted, but running the awning in several times will cause the arm to be in a different position. That is why when we installed new material on a slide awning last year we ran the slide in and out several times before reinstalling the arms.
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Old 01-11-2013, 04:23 PM   #14
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Hmmm. Just checked mine and they were both installed like the second photo, a little too much slack per the posted manuals. Kicker is both of them were installed with only one screw, thus the one already loosened up, got caught on something and looked like a pretzel. Straightened it and installed both properly with SS hardware. I have a painted body so they are probably installed by the outside paint shop and don't know how to do it correctly.
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Old 01-12-2013, 08:12 PM   #15
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Thanks for the service info on the slide toppers and everyone suggestions. We'll be working on it tomorrow to see if we can adjust the thing ourselves but will probably make an appointment with the local dealer. Though the price was definitely right with RV Direct I am afraid we would never, ever have it delivered. Live and learn. Everything else seems to be working fine - the major problem besides the toppers was that it got delivered with the wrong bed. It supposedly has been ordered per RV Direct but we will be going directly to Forest River to verify. Otherwise, we do love it.
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Old 01-18-2013, 03:36 PM   #16
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"The Dealer" isn't necessarily all that much better than anyone else. We got our new RV last year. The walk around consisted mainly of "its in the book" or "I'm not sure..." The books were worse. There are dealers and then there are dealers...

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Old 01-18-2013, 05:01 PM   #17
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"The Dealer" isn't necessarily all that much better than anyone else. We got our new RV last year. The walk around consisted mainly of "its in the book" or "I'm not sure..." The books were worse. There are dealers and then there are dealers...
That just about mirrors our "PDI" - "I'm not sure", "Good question." and "Hmm... well, you'll figure it out."

I think the best was that I asked how to manually close the slides in the event of a power failure. Junior's response was, "I'm not sure. But, you'll probably never need to." and then he moved on.
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Old 01-18-2013, 09:51 PM   #18
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We asked the same question; got the same reply.
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