Hmmm. Hadn't seriously considered a repair....but more than a year ago I'd asked, via social media, for suggestions on a commercial shop that repairs canvas, and I received no recommendations.
Perhaps I should try again! I'm planning on trading the camper for a hard-side (maybe a GeoPro or similar), and this awning won't pass muster for trade-in. But I wouldn't need a new one...just an awning suitable for a 5 year old camper.
OADAGO: As for replacing it with a more sophisticated unit, the trade-in plan precludes that.
And I must confess that I have little faith in the structural strength of the roof "side-wall", which I know to be particle board.
, on its campers, but then again, Lance is in another league. I have no doubt that the structural strength of their mounting point is vastly superior to that of this PUP roof sidewall.
To illustrate: There is a 2" x 2" angle bracket inside that holds the foot of the main door when traveling folded. I do lots of off-roading with my PUP (now lifted nearly 4") on miles and miles of washboard gravel roads. The shaking, even at low speeds of 15 to 20 MPH, literally ripped the bracket off the wall...4 screws into - particle board. Bigger screws didn't last one trip. I finally went to stainless thru bolts with nylock nuts. The door was held in place by a nylon turnbutton held to the door with a long aluminum rivet. Also destroyed and replaced with a stainless bolt and nylock nut. Lastly, I installed a solar panel on the roof. I was stunned at how flimsy the structure is. The roof appears to be a sandwich of the outer skin, 1/8" plywood, a super-light wooden frame (perhaps 3/4" or 1" sticks), another layer of 1/8" plywood and the inner ceiling finish...a heavy plastic film. There is nothing to it. Once again, I used stainless thru bolts, lots of silicone, plastic fender washers inside, and nylock nuts to hold the panel to the roof. The idea of using a screw was out of the question.
I love my PUP, but this thing does not seem to be built to a standard that would hold ANY awning that didn't have really stout diagonal or vertical legs. A bag awning is the only thing that makes sense, because the rope rail is attached with dozens of screws into that flimsy particle board. No single screw has to do that much work.
I always setup the awning with the legs to the ground, firmly staked (not plugged into the sockets on the tub. The first time I setup the awning, I used the sockets on the tub, and one of them failed, and there's no way to secure them in place other than the friction of the plastic ball and socket.
Then I add parachute cord guy ropes to additional heavy duty steel stakes to secure the awning.
Lifted as it is, there's no way in hell I can retract and store the awning in the event of a fast-advancing thunderstorm (common in Colorado). It has to ride out the storm...or not. I'm 6'6" tall, 250#, and I have a 3-step folding ladder in the camper, and I can just reach the bag to open the awning - especially if we're on a side-slope on the shores of our favorite lake, and the door-side is elevated 4 to 6" on ramps to deal with the slope. I have to lower the camper roof to put it away. Attempting to do this on a ladder during a wind event would surely have me on the ground and the awning blown into the next site.
I truly appreciate the suggestion, but I think a more sophisticated awning would destroy my PUP roof....unless it was heavily reinforced AND fully automated to self retract in a wind event.