New awning material advice -2003 Journey

Kelm130 · 12-08-2013, 03:03 PM

Hi, I need to replace my original awning material and had a couple of questions. I'm not sure if its called a 19 or 20 foot and should I get the vinyl or acrylic material? The acrylic is probably twice the cost and I wondered if it was worth it. Would love to hear from anyone who's replaced theirs recently and where they ordered the material from.

Weather Pro Power Awning
8500 Metal Weather Shield
Product # 958303324
Model # 805DZ20.001B

Thanks
Ben

smlranger · 12-08-2013, 03:40 PM

I can highly recommend Stone Vos in Brooksville, FL. I just had them make new slide toppers for me and they were reasonably priced and the fabric and workmanship is outstanding. I had them make my toppers from an acrylic material.

I used to have a 2002 Journey 36DL and replaced the original awning with a new A&E awning with their acrylic fabric. I can tell you the weight, stitching and quality of the fabric I got from Stone Vos is much better than the acrylic fabric on the new A&E awning.

Send Chris at Stone Vos an email and he will get back to you. He will give you instructions on how to measure for the fabric.

Www.stonevos.com

Kelm130 · 12-08-2013, 04:26 PM

Thanks smlranger I will check with them. Yes I used to follow all your posts on your Journey. I have the 2003 version of your old one and was a little sad when you sold it

you were a great source of info! Where did you get the A&E awning.

smlranger · 12-08-2013, 05:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kelm130

Thanks smlranger I will check with them. Yes I used to follow all your posts on your Journey. I have the 2003 version of your old one and was a little sad when you sold it

you were a great source of info! Where did you get the A&E awning.

I got the new awning from Camping World. The fabric was cut wrong and the awning would not roll up correctly. CW ordered new fabric and finally got it right.

I also ordered all new window awnings to match the new main awning.

1ciderdog · 12-08-2013, 06:10 PM

I replaced the one of the awnings on my Journey. I took a sample of the old fabric to UFO (united fabric outlet) in National City, CA and bought a similar fabric. I found instructions on the internet and the end result was very good.

NeilV · 12-08-2013, 07:50 PM

Vinyl or Acrylic depends on your needs and if that type of fabric is available for your roller.

Vinyl is a solid waterproof awning material that blocks wind and water while Acrylic is genereally a woven material that blocks light but lets air and potentially rain pass through.

The Acrylic usually dries faster but whats underneath it will get wet to some degree.

Ramzfan · 12-08-2013, 09:01 PM

I had a 88 Itasca Windcruiser for 14 years with an acrylic awning and never had a drop of rain go through the fabric. On the other hand, I had a Gulfstream Voyager with a vinyl awning and the mold & mildew were more than I ever want to try and keep up with again. In my humble opinion, I would ALWAYS choose the acrylic over the vinyl.

NeilV · 12-09-2013, 03:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ramzfan

I had a 88 Itasca Windcruiser for 14 years with an acrylic awning and never had a drop of rain go through the fabric. On the other hand, I had a Gulfstream Voyager with a vinyl awning and the mold & mildew were more than I ever want to try and keep up with again. In my humble opinion, I would ALWAYS choose the acrylic over the vinyl.

A woven acrylic awning or a vinyl awning with an acrylic coating? Two different beasts.

smlranger · 12-09-2013, 07:32 AM

I also never had water come through the acrylic fabric on my A&E awning or the acrylic (Sunbrella) fabric on my current 7 year old Carefree. We installed one of the Sunsetter awnings over the deck on our stick house and selected the Sunbrella fabric. While Sunsetter does not 'guarantee' that the fabric will not leak, it has not leaked when used in rain.

NeilV · 12-09-2013, 10:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by smlranger

I also never had water come through the acrylic fabric on my A&E awning or the acrylic (Sunbrella) fabric on my current 7 year old Carefree. We installed one of the Sunsetter awnings over the deck on our stick house and selected the Sunbrella fabric. While Sunsetter does not 'guarantee' that the fabric will not leak, it has not leaked when used in rain.

That is why I only mentioned it only as a potential and not an absolute.

jerichorick · 12-09-2013, 02:46 PM

One thing I noticed with any vinyl or non canvas material, under certain conditions you will get 'rained' on from the fabric. The material on my '05 vectra was some sort of cloth. I never got wet, rain or shine.

Any good sail shop should be able to make your awning, especially with the old one in hand.

Happy trails,

Rick

Kelm130 · 12-09-2013, 05:15 PM

Thanks everyone! As I start to get quotes from CW and Buddy Gregg I can see the acrylic is going to be about twice the cost.

I thinking on a 2003 coach that we probably won't keep another 10 years that maybe vinyl might be a better value. Does anyone know what came on them originally? If it is vinyl and has lasted this long them I'd be happy with that, of course that's depending on its prior use.

Just fyi we bought this last year and we are still learning about it. Awnings, material type and pricing seems to be another one of those black box mystery's when you start checking them out with dealers... lots of head scratching and let me get back to you on that.

in fairness I guess there are so many brands, models and versions its hard for dealers to have it all at their finger tips.

The $29 install plus price matching special at CW has got my attention!

NeilV · 12-10-2013, 03:17 AM

In the Winnebago Black Bag and in the wardrobe closet there should be the build sheet listing the exact make, model and serial number of your original patio awning. Depending on if you have full body paint or not there was quite a selection listed for the coach.

Is that 2003 Journey DL a WKP36GD:
http://www.winnebagoind.com/service/...O/3wkp36gd.pdf

or a WKP36LD:
http://www.winnebagoind.com/service/...O/3wkp36ld.pdf

2003 Journey DL Brochure:
http://media.gowinnebago.com/models/...rneyDL-bro.pdf

Clay L · 12-10-2013, 10:52 AM

I switched from vinyl to acrylic and in general I prefer the acrylic. It dries faster, doesn't mildew hardly at all, and is easier to clean.

It is sort of like the old tent fabric in that it is waterproof but if you touch it while it is raining, it can start to leak a little at that point. A&E recommends Scotch Guard to re-water proof it if necessary.

The only downside to acrylic that I have found is with pine sap when parked for a while under pine trees that are dropping sap. It gets into the weave and is a bit of a pain to remove.
I found that isopropyl alcohol daubed not rubbed will remove it. Then you need to wash it with some detergent and water to remove the residue.

It is more durable in many cases. The vinyl I had to start with started delaminating after about 4 years and had torn in a couple of places near the seam at the top edge.
The acrylic one is six years old and still looks as good as it did when it was new.

Kelm130 · 12-10-2013, 11:15 AM

Thanks! Its the 2003 Journey DL WKP36GD and looking at that pdf it seems they were all vinyl. You want me to dig thru the big black bag!!

ha I've been thu it and organized it 10 different ways now. I always end up looking at everything down to the last piece of paper to find what I need.

But thumbs up to Winnebago to include it!