Don't Forget..............Awning Damaged

Palomino_G210 · 09-01-2010, 06:10 AM

A friend forgot to lower one corner of his awning to drain the rain water while he was away and a couple of days later the campsite got hit with some serious rain. The awning collapsed because of the water load. The main tube is bent and the braces broke. He can make new braces, looks like stock industrial channel with a lot of holes, but he is wondering if the main tube can be easily straightened. Anyone have any experience with this or any suggestions????

EastlakeRoo · 09-01-2010, 07:54 AM

Mine is in the shop now getting a new awning and roller tube. The dealer said mine was bent 2 inches and needed to be replaced. Not certain it can be straightened. To replace my awning, tube and install a center support was $1k which included labor. I have a$ 250 deductible so i filed it on my insurance.

milzat · 09-01-2010, 08:28 AM

If they're not too bad, some can be straitened.

Unroll the awning to a point where the bend is UP, support the ends of the tube, grab the center of the bend and push downward little by little until the tube is straight.

NWJeeper · 09-01-2010, 11:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by milzat

If they're not too bad, some can be straitened.

Unroll the awning to a point where the bend is UP, support the ends of the tube, grab the center of the bend and push downward little by little until the tube is straight.

Good point Mike. I would use a wide tow strap at the bend point to pull down with. I did this same sort of a maneuver on an axle housing which I got for a good price. The axle has been under the rear of my Jeep now for 2 years with no problems. Most shops I called said an axle can't be straightened but there are shops that specialize in it.

Being made of aluminum I would think it wouldn't be hard at all to bend an awning tube back. Since it is already bent, no harm in trying, just might save some $$$

**KyDan** · 09-01-2010, 11:54 AM

I would never leave my awning up while I was away.....

MrT · 09-01-2010, 07:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KyDan

I would never leave my awning up while I was away.....

x2 on that KyDan. I've trashed two awnings on prior RVs due to my own negligence and/or surprise weather, so now I am pretty squirrely when it comes to awnings!

**KyDan** · 09-02-2010, 06:23 AM

We don't even like to leave ours up a night when we're there.
I've had to get out of bed in the middle of the night and throw
on some pants to go outside in the rain and wind to shut it
more than once.
AND it's IMPOSSIBLE to quietly close an awning.
That ratchet sounds extra loud in the middle of the
night!

powerboatr · 09-02-2010, 03:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KyDan

I would never leave my awning up while I was away.....

x3

even with our "auto" roller upper , i never ever leave the park with it extended

things happen quickly and get costly fast

that being said
its alum I agree with the rest, if its not to bent but merely nudged i would try to straighten it
but if its creased, chuck it and get a new one, it will fold easier next time at the crease.

Palomino_G210 · 09-03-2010, 03:28 AM

Rolling up the awning isn't an option with a screen room installed. Unless you have a thing for that sort of thing and enjoy folding and rolling heavy vinyl sheets.

The tube isn't creased so we'll try to straighten it.

gregm59 · 09-03-2010, 11:58 AM

Mine will be in the shop in a month... We came back from a week of camping and left it up to dry out. We did have it tilted and checked the weather for rain with none in the forecast. Too bad for me, we got 2" in under an hour in the middle of the night. We never heard it. I walked out of the house the next morning and found the awning snapped in the middle. Both arms had broken too, luckily there wasn't any damage to the trailer. $1300 later and we'll have a new one. We have a $100 deductable and the insurance adjuster pro-rated the 2 year old awning and took off another $125. Same lesson learned as stated above. Tilting some is good, Tilting a lot is better, but best is to just put it up and down as needed. I know this is a pain, but the real pain is dealing with 19' of bent up aluminum and awing tarp. Of course the $$ hurts, too.

SaskCampers · 09-06-2010, 09:23 PM

we never leave anything out when we go to bed or away from the trailer, Awning chairs etc. I guess living on the praries has taught us it can go from calm +35 deg day to 100+ kph winds and rain with a 15 to 20 deg temp drop in minutes. The only pain is putting on and taking our patio lights off the awning everytime.

Mowat · 09-06-2010, 09:51 PM

1st trailer... 1st trip... 1st night.. snap.. I didn't tilt it enough. Even the wife woke me up in the middle of the night and asked.. did you tilt it enough ?... On the TT I always had it tilted even a little extra. Now on the 5th it gets rolled up every night/when away anytime. It's just a button push away.

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