We are really enjoying our new 5th wheel.... aside from some minor issues! One of which was the awning corner was loose as we found out the first day we setup to camp.... Ugh. Apparently this is a common problem with awnings based on my research and something this newbie didn't check in the PDI.
BTW- I am at my place in Taos, nearest dealer is Santa Fe ~65 miles away. Lots of driving, back and forth, etc. So I have just been fixing all the "warranty" stuff myself.
I searched here, youtube, etc. and I never really found a good answer to repair these things, especially single handed, so here is what I did...
As you can see in the pictures the awning is pulled loose about a foot from the rear corner. Compounding the problem is the awning rope (round vinyl piece that sides inside the fabric) has broken and fallen out about 6-1/2" of fabric has no vinyl. Uuugggh again.
First, how to get slack in the awning? I used a ratchet strap. I threw the long end over the awning roller, hooked over the other end and pulled it tight from a ladder. Then I secured the ratcheting part to the top of the awning support. Few clicks latter and I had plenty of slack to do the job.
Next problem: Looking around for something to use as a replacement for the vinyl piece that I hoped would also be stronger and hold in the track better the next time the wind comes up. I ended up cutting a piece of 1/4" OD aircraft cable (coated cable you can get at HD, Lowes, Ace, etc. by the foot). This slides right in and is much stiffer and harder to compress than the original vinyl rope.
I read others say that they put the fabric back in the track with a plastic putty knife. I tried that, NO WAY, mine was way to tight for that. So I played around with it for a few minutes and then ended up using the blunt end of a brick chisel. Don't laugh, working from the end still in the track and tapping firmly, it went back into the track in about a minute with no visible damage to anything.
Then I used some plumbers smooth jaw channel locks to crimp the ends of the track down tight. Believe me the track is crimped MUCH tighter than it came from the factory. My hope is that this along with the aircraft cable will be much stronger and this problem won't reoccur.
Anyway, for some of you this is redneck, but it saved me 240 miles of driving, who knows how long without the trailer, and a LOT of time. Plus I think this solution will be much stronger than OEM.
BTW- I am at my place in Taos, nearest dealer is Santa Fe ~65 miles away. Lots of driving, back and forth, etc. So I have just been fixing all the "warranty" stuff myself.
I searched here, youtube, etc. and I never really found a good answer to repair these things, especially single handed, so here is what I did...
As you can see in the pictures the awning is pulled loose about a foot from the rear corner. Compounding the problem is the awning rope (round vinyl piece that sides inside the fabric) has broken and fallen out about 6-1/2" of fabric has no vinyl. Uuugggh again.
First, how to get slack in the awning? I used a ratchet strap. I threw the long end over the awning roller, hooked over the other end and pulled it tight from a ladder. Then I secured the ratcheting part to the top of the awning support. Few clicks latter and I had plenty of slack to do the job.
Next problem: Looking around for something to use as a replacement for the vinyl piece that I hoped would also be stronger and hold in the track better the next time the wind comes up. I ended up cutting a piece of 1/4" OD aircraft cable (coated cable you can get at HD, Lowes, Ace, etc. by the foot). This slides right in and is much stiffer and harder to compress than the original vinyl rope.
I read others say that they put the fabric back in the track with a plastic putty knife. I tried that, NO WAY, mine was way to tight for that. So I played around with it for a few minutes and then ended up using the blunt end of a brick chisel. Don't laugh, working from the end still in the track and tapping firmly, it went back into the track in about a minute with no visible damage to anything.
Then I used some plumbers smooth jaw channel locks to crimp the ends of the track down tight. Believe me the track is crimped MUCH tighter than it came from the factory. My hope is that this along with the aircraft cable will be much stronger and this problem won't reoccur.
Anyway, for some of you this is redneck, but it saved me 240 miles of driving, who knows how long without the trailer, and a LOT of time. Plus I think this solution will be much stronger than OEM.
