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Old 04-02-2017, 09:52 PM   #1
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How do I properly reset manual awning spring tension? Sunchaser

So I just successfully installed the new Sunbrella canvas awning from Marti's Awnings on my 2003 Roo and it looks amazing. So much nicer and heavier than the 15 year old OEM rag that had been on it.

Actually, there was only the valence left of the old one and the spring had no tension on it when I took it off. So now I am trying to discover the proper number of turns the spring requires for the awning to self-retract.

This is a Dometic A&E Sunchaser from 2002.

I tried 8 turns initially counter clockwise from the leading end which did little, then 8 more and I think I'm up to 18-20 and the tension is certainly strong now but there isn't enough tension to self-roll. I can push it with my hand but there is utterly no danger of it slapping up like I hear of.

Naturally I am aware of the inherent dangers of these things and am being very deliberate and careful. I've watched some videos but none really adequately addressed this issue.

I just don't have a good baseline for how many cranks of the vise grips I need to go. I am performing the tensioning from the ground with the awning extended downward.

The heavier canvas might be contributing or possibly the spring is weak? I did spray it down with Boeshield and it looked rusty but okay.

Also, there was no hole on the aft end cap to insert any screwdriver to hold (spring tension?) before retensioning the spring. Is there a second spring in the aft end?

Any ideas? I'm flummoxed. Also, does anyone know what is this short cranking hook is for?
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Old 04-02-2017, 10:18 PM   #2
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No help on most of it. Dometic has pretty good info. Go to FAQ section and instruction manual archives. Pretty good info there.
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Old 04-02-2017, 10:49 PM   #3
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Finally found this... answers a lot of questions!
http://hmcclub.homestead.com/awning_...structions.pdf
http://hmcclub.homestead.com/awning_...structions.pdf
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Old 04-03-2017, 04:15 PM   #4
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Secret second torsion assembly

Finally... SUCCESS!!!
Realized that the secret was that there is a second torsion spring on the left side. It was relatively easy to load up and re secure. Was glad to get this done before all the rain showed up. Once that was done she rolled up slick.
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Old 04-03-2017, 04:51 PM   #5
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If you still have the right side wound up to 18-20 winds, you might want to back that down and equalize the two somewhere close to each other.
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Old 04-03-2017, 06:01 PM   #6
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Oh I did, once I realized there was a second torsion spring I went back to zero and started over.
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