Awning damage ............confused?

guntruck · 08-14-2007, 05:33 AM

Hey all, got a problem. On my coach on my last trip during the night when we were nestled in it rained. Now the rain came quickly in the early morning and didnt last long, after it woke me up it lasted for maybe 4 or 5 more minutes. Well when I went outside with my coffee I noticed a large bellow in the awning, the awning had dipped as it should have but all teh water never dumped it pooled up, quite a bit. It scared me to death, a friends awnign was damaged this way. I have the 2 step awning and am very concerned about this. The coach was level, dead on, always is but it did not dump the water. In fact it even bent teh roller slightly you can see it but it still works ok. Problem is I dont like it like that I like everything perfect.The little lever you flick to roll it in or out is even tight now. Is there something Im missing here? Did I do anything wrong? Could this or should this be a warranty issue? I always notticed a small bellow in the middle of the awning where the fabric was looser but payed it no mind. Very upset this is only my 3rd outing since new last year.

guntruck · 08-14-2007, 05:33 AM

Hey all, got a problem. On my coach on my last trip during the night when we were nestled in it rained. Now the rain came quickly in the early morning and didnt last long, after it woke me up it lasted for maybe 4 or 5 more minutes. Well when I went outside with my coffee I noticed a large bellow in the awning, the awning had dipped as it should have but all teh water never dumped it pooled up, quite a bit. It scared me to death, a friends awnign was damaged this way. I have the 2 step awning and am very concerned about this. The coach was level, dead on, always is but it did not dump the water. In fact it even bent teh roller slightly you can see it but it still works ok. Problem is I dont like it like that I like everything perfect.The little lever you flick to roll it in or out is even tight now. Is there something Im missing here? Did I do anything wrong? Could this or should this be a warranty issue? I always notticed a small bellow in the middle of the awning where the fabric was looser but payed it no mind. Very upset this is only my 3rd outing since new last year.

Wizard · 08-14-2007, 06:29 AM

I don't know if the bend is a big problem or not. I wouldn't like it either. I'm another perfectionist.
I will say that I always have one end of my awning slightly lower to allow water to drain better and if I think it really might rain, I sometimes lower it even more. I see some people with their awning straight out, I never do that.
Good luck with repairs, if the tube is bent it will probably have to be replaced.

CHIPPYSGT · 08-14-2007, 08:24 AM

I roll my electric awning up at night just for that reason.

TXiceman · 08-14-2007, 11:14 AM

If it can go wrong ...it will.

So I roll up the awning at night and when we are not there.

Ken

guntruck · 08-14-2007, 11:24 AM

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Wizard:
I don't know if the bend is a big problem or not. I wouldn't like it either. I'm another perfectionist.
I will say that I always have one end of my awning slightly lower to allow water to drain better and if I think it really might rain, I sometimes lower it even more. I see some people with their awning straight out, I never do that.
Good luck with repairs, if the tube is bent it will probably have to be replaced. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Beacause I have a galley slide out the awning is the two step. You cannot adjust it, one end is spring loaded and its designed to lean and "dump" the water once it starts to build up. But it didnt "dump" it pooled and bent the roller instead. It works fine at this point Im just very ticked about it.

RVJeeper · 08-14-2007, 03:26 PM

We're new owners to a 2005 Sunova 34A which also has the 2-step awning. On our very first trip out it rained nearly the entire weekend and one of our "highlights" (that's how bored we were!) was to watch the awning dip itself down and dump the water. I did notice though that even after the awning dumped itself there was still some water left in the awning. A couple of things come to mind about your problem: 1) Could there have been something that obstructed the rear arm such that it couldn't spring down to dump? You can easily test this by putting your awning rod in one of the holes and pulling it toward the coach. 2) Could it have rained so hard and so much that the awning just couldn't dump enough fast enough? 3) Best guess is that the awning material has stretched such that that little bit of tilt couldn't dump enough and it just accumulated more and more water, got heavier and heavier and ultimately bent the front tube.

Based on your experience I think I'll just put my awning up when it rains and prevent any problems.

guntruck · 08-14-2007, 07:28 PM

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by RVJeeper:
We're new owners to a 2005 Sunova 34A which also has the 2-step awning. On our very first trip out it rained nearly the entire weekend and one of our "highlights" (that's how bored we were!) was to watch the awning dip itself down and dump the water. I did notice though that even after the awning dumped itself there was still some water left in the awning. A couple of things come to mind about your problem: 1) Could there have been something that obstructed the rear arm such that it couldn't spring down to dump? You can easily test this by putting your awning rod in one of the holes and pulling it toward the coach. 2) Could it have rained so hard and so much that the awning just couldn't dump enough fast enough? 3) Best guess is that the awning material has stretched such that that little bit of tilt couldn't dump enough and it just accumulated more and more water, got heavier and heavier and ultimately bent the front tube.

Based on your experience I think I'll just put my awning up when it rains and prevent any problems. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Ron, congrats on your coach! I think you may be right, I think maybe that the water came too fast and couldnt dump in time and it filled up. Not sure I really like this, as with a regular awning you can just adjust it with no worries except wind. This is at teh mercy of the wind and rain!

ichn2go · 08-15-2007, 01:39 AM

Always err on the side of caution, if you are leaving or if rain is in the forcast..Roll It Up
Its better to be safe than sorry. Good Miles

John_Canfield · 08-15-2007, 02:23 AM

An awning not dumping water - wow - where did I hear that before

Ours never would dump - it just pooled in the center, so we were reticent to ever use it. It was on my gripe list when we took the coach to FC for service. Winnie said it worked okay for them (yea - right) and nothing was wrong.

Something was wrong and we finally managed to break the awning under the weight of water ( picture here with our blog entry) and finally convinced Dometic (through Winnie's intervention) that something was not right with our installation. We had a new awning installed a few weeks ago - this one is two inches longer and now has a more noticeable down angle and IT WORKS! Well, at least it dumps water. Now the dumb thing has trouble rolling up (sigh.)

Your awning might be one of those that will never work right like ours. You might try to dip the coach with the jacks toward the awning to see if a small change might help the awning work properly. Have your dealer test the A&E advertised feature of water dumping.

And never, ever, completely trust it, and never, ever leave it deployed at night or when you are away from the coach.

GG1 · 08-15-2007, 03:57 PM

Has anyone done research on the other owners forums? Its hard to believe that Winnebago has the only problem.

Thudman · 08-15-2007, 03:58 PM

I have a WeatherPro A&E awning. The awning, with the switch in "Auto" would retract even though no winds. Today, a mobile Tech installed the fifth (5th) set of control box & wind sensor. And since the motor was finally too weak to roll up the awning (it would stall part way in), a new motor was also installed. Also, the tube spring was not wound tight enough (17 turns). The Tech wound up to 14 turns & quit. He would have needed a bigger lock wrench and/or a helper bar to go further. Works so far, but it's not windy here, so have not tested the auto-retract feature. I may try the hair dryer trick tomorrow.

About two months ago I had CW install all new vinyl sheets on all (4) awnings, including the WeatherPro.

I think (hope) I have enough slope on my WeatherPro to shed water, and not let it pool, requiring the dump feature to work. Far as I know, the dump feature has never had to operate.

Thudman

TXiceman · 08-15-2007, 06:43 PM

An Awing holding water is not unique to any one manufacturer. So that this sort of problem will see better exposure, I'll short cut it to the general discussion.

Ken

RV Wizard · 08-15-2007, 11:11 PM

Winnebago is not the only coach that has had this problem. Newmar was another and it was discovered that the awnig fabric was not deep enough for the awning to dip properly. This has been discussed before http://irv2.infopop.cc/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/2486094452/m/...671010283#8671010283
Good luck and keep us posted.

Bob (WA0MQE) · 08-16-2007, 02:46 AM

Our Fleetwood Pace Arrow has the A&E WeatherPro which supposedly has the dump feature. However, most of the time it doesn't work. And even when it does it doesn't dump all the water.

The weight of the water over time has started ripping the awning where it was sewn near the back, which is where the dump arm is.

This Pace Arrow is the triple slide so the awning is mounted high to clear the kitchen slide. And in this lies the problem. When the awning is out it's almost straight instead of a nice downward angle. Doesn't do much for rain either unless the rain is falling straight down. Can't blame A&E though, it's a screw up on Fleetwood's part to expect the awing to work properly.

GaryKD · 08-16-2007, 04:34 AM

I also have the A&E Weather Pro awning. The factory installed awning dumped water as advertised. However, it was 3 inches too short (the distance extended from the coach) and was replaced, under warranty. The correct awning is now installed. Now the awning will not dump water!

The only difference I can see is on the original awning the arms never extended fully. I think this allowed the pivot point to favor dumping water. When the awning I have now deploys, the arms extend fully. It is obvoius, to me, that it would be harder for the current awning to dump water.

jtharley · 08-16-2007, 04:46 AM

I not only roll it up every night, I roll it up when the DW and I leave for several hours. Never know when a wind or storm may pop up and I guess I just don't trust all the "automatic" featrures that are built in to protect you......

better safe than sorry I guess.

GaryKD · 08-16-2007, 04:59 AM

This is for Thudman and all those who have mystery awning auto retractions. Is it hot out? If so, your awning might retract for no reason (no wind). The thermistor in the roof sensor is set to retract the awning at about 32 degrees F. This means the upper limit of the thermistor is around 120 degrees F. In South Florida, this can happen during the dog days of summer. Click on the following links to see what I did to almost fix the problem. My my awning will rarely auto retract due to heat.
The bottom line is that I made a insulation cover for the wind sensor and glued it to the top of the wind sensor. This provides a bit of shade for the wind sensor. The insulation "cookie" consists of bubble wrap sandwiched between two pieces of corrugated cardboard, wraped in clear shipping tape and glued to the top of the wind sensor housing.
Original Wind Sensor With Reflector
Wind Sensor & Cookie
Cookie Glued To Top Of Sensor
Side View Of Cookie Glued To Top Of Wind Sensor

Next is how to keep the swimming pool of water from building up, inside the sensor housing, when it rains. I drilled a 1/4" hole in at the bottom of the sensor housing. The hole faces the rear of the coach.

Thudman · 08-16-2007, 07:46 AM

Thx Gary. During wind sensor replacement, the Tech found a cracked upper connector receiver (RJ-11) & pretty loose. May have contributed to early retractions, because retraction would also occur at low temps (60-80*), and always 45 seconds after placing the switch from Disable (Manual) to Auto (Enable).

Did you put the reflector on top of the cookie?

Is the 1/4" hole just above the sealant & does it drain the swamp?

Thudman

guntruck · 08-16-2007, 11:10 AM

Is there a general awning length off the coach? How for should the roller be out to operate? I couldnt find anyting in the instructions? How do I know if maybe my fabric maybe an inch or so short?