awning material replacement

[mod381]

I need to replace the material on my awning. It is a 20 foot awning that is manual. I found someone that would do it for around 100 dollars that repairs rv's part time. I have watched several videos on how to do it and I feel I can do it but time is more the problem. For those of you that have done it,how long does it really take and is it worth doing it myself or just pay to have it done?

[OldCoot]

If you are doing it by yourself with no help, it is a real PITA. I'd pay the $100 and forget it.

[bob caldwell]

Originally Posted by OldCoot

If you are doing it by yourself with no help, it is a real PITA. I'd pay the $100 and forget it.

X2 hard to manage.

[Taranwanderer]

X3 on the $100. I take it you're supplying the material? Dark colors, bro--easier to keep clean!

[bob caldwell]

And WARMER!

[mod381]

Yes I already have the material and it is charcoal colored. I would have 1 other person to help if needed. If it is just a quick 1-2 hour job I would attempt it but on the other hand is it worth it for $100.

[waiter21]

Its fairly easy to do, You really need two people.

Did you see this video?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZfpM-op0dkU

..

[bob caldwell]

When you do get it changed and it's even from end to end, at the roller, might want to pop rivet material, thru edge seaming, to roller to keep it from binding the arms as the material will wander overtime.

[OldCoot]

Originally Posted by waiter21

Its fairly easy to do, You really need two people.
Did you see this video?

I respectfully disagree, my son and I did it and we are somewhat mechanically inclined and I'm here to say it's a PITA to thread it in the rail on the camper and on the roller either at the same time or separately and then re-torsion the roller. Pay the $100 and forget it!

[Taranwanderer]

Originally Posted by bob caldwell

And WARMER!

The top of mine is already a multi brown shade (we've all seen that striped pattern that Dometic uses,) so it's already warm. I don't see how using a dark color on the underside would make it any warmer than it already is.

And I'd still pay the $100.😂👍

[mod381]

Just a update. I had a few hours this morning and my neighbor had some time to help so we replaced the awning. I followed the steps in the YouTube video that was posted and it took us about 1.5 hours from start to finish. It was not bad to do at all.

[waiter21]

Excellent. the DW and I did ours a few years ago, similar to the video, but we had a groove in the end cap so we didn't need to remove the reel from the MH.

I'm always glad to hear when someone does something like this for the first time and report total success.

[Stormrider151]

On my aggravation scale it's about a $350 job so $100 bucks is a deal. But that's just me.

[Crockett]

do on a calm day. extend awning 18". release feet and extend arms to ground one at a time. being careful to keep arm angled outward and feet in toward coach. remove rafter bolts on each rafter and place each rafter in each arm with travel latch. remove 1/4" hex set screws from awning rail. lead man places foot of lead leg 2 foot forward and facing back towards awning pulls like hes landing a marlin. rear man stabilizes and bumps leg forward as well. keep tension on roller tube away from coach so fabric does not wrinkle. slide 4 feet. bump foot 4 feet and pull another 4. do this till awning is free. drop arms low for better control. now lift and carry to clearing. google horse stance. 2 people assume this position, though maybe not so low, facing each other with awning ends at abdomen and an awning leg over one leg. rotate roller to relieve tension on ratchet and release. unroll while holding to prevent slippage and count turns. mark main panel groove, valance groove and index end caps to tube location. drill rivits. slide out arms and springs. new canvas should have long beads that should wrap ends of roller tube so canvas will not slide. staple canvas to bead if inadequate. one person pull the canvas gripping close to beads as possible. the other pinches the canvas at the bead to feed canvas into roller. dont allow canvas to slide on rough surfaces. be patient here feeding canvas, chamfer aluminum roller grooves if necessary. roll canvas onto tube. remount springs and arms. aluminum rivits are fine. back to horse stance on awning ends. flip ratchet to wind and wind toward the bead. adding to the direction that occurs when you roll out during normal use. put on the winds you counted and add one for the wrap your going to take off to install. next step goes best with 3 people. one at a ladder(a frame) at the feed edge of the awning rail and one on each arm. the ladder guy should have enough clearance for the awning and arms to pass between ladder and coach with roller at the 12 to 18 inch clearance. roller passes at the abdomen while the installer leans over to feed the bead. lead leg man does the marlin as in the removal. awning is adjusted to heigth before feeding the bead. roller is maintaned away from coach and feet inward as in removal. once slid into place, lift arm and pull lower arm release. lift lower arm on top of your foot to collapse to travel stop and insert foot into lower catch , all while keeping roller away from coach. lol..takes practice or just get help. now remount rafter mounts to roofline. push arms over rafter to see they are centered and clear. roll out awning and then release to travel position. center over rafters and install set screws. I watched the vid..that canvas looks ..um..inexpensive. id opt for carefree or dometic. I also saw the dometic pdf. this technique works on sunchaser, 8500, fiesta, and the like. I can use visegrips ect.. and they have their place. this is the safest method ive found and feel fairly secure posting it. first time ever posting due to safety issues involved. but seeing the other vids and realizing the untrained are attempting...its time

[OldCoot]

Not so easy to do on a power awning.

[Crockett]

ya know...the new awnings...um...yeah. like when their extended and the arms are all bowed like they are about to buckle? engineers gotta work I guess...I had a vacationeer. had an old faukner. rained hard one night and i didnt drop an arm. had 10 plus inches of water pooled. i was barely able to drop an arm and the water ran 80' and pooled by the highway. no harm no foul. this method is antiquated due to the fact it is for manual awnings. so...it is what it is.

[Crockett]

since the OP stated 20 foot manual, and this thread seems somehow incomplete without it, Im going to give the 2 man version of the awning install. once the awning has been assembled and is ready to install on unit. carry the awning to unit and adjust height to match rail. with ladder centered at rail entry, walk awning into place and mount ladder. i should add at this point that i use an A frame with treads on both sides. cradle roller tube with one arm and feed with the other. feed till roller tube leads leg a couple feet. now, lift cradled roller tube and swing leg till it leads roller a couple feet. do this while keeping the roller tube away from coach and canvas taut. this will help feed the canvas. continue till the canvas is halfway fed in rail. then, while ladder man stabilizes tube away from coach, the other person swaps legs and goes to the front of the feed to marlin the awning the rest of the way on. of course I call this the "imperial walker" due to the way the leg swings. if I get some some tricks for the newer style awnings, I'll post. some of whats here applies...coots right though...most of the newer stuff is a PITA...

[mod381]

Thanks for all the opinions on this. Yes my awning is manual and I have no idea how difficult a power one would be. I did it with three people total. Me and my neighbor did the holding/lifting of the arms and my wife just made sure the material slid in the groove of the camper. Maybe I got lucky on doing it but overall it was fairly easy to do.