awning question

[kayakterp]

I have a 2016 Jayflight BHS with an electric awning
Last weekend I went camping. I had my awning out.
After it started raining for a while, I heard a "thump" outside
The right arm sort of 'collapsed' and the whole awning was tilting down on the right side. I just walked over to it and pushed up in the middle and it sort of brought itself up automatically.
I brought it in for the night
The next morning I rolled it out to dry off, as it started to roll out the left arm did not extend correctly and again I just put a little pressure on it and it went up sort of automatically.
I checked the knobs in the middle and they were tight
Any idea what caused this?
Thanks in advance for any help

[WyEm]

The knobs should be loose so the arms slide in and out easily. The automatic awnings are designed to dump one end if rain water builds up, so that is what happened. You can manually do it by grabbing the arm and pulling it down too. Check out this video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y_9QUgGynTs

[kayakterp]

Originally Posted by WyEm

The knobs should be loose so the arms slide in and out easily. The automatic awnings are designed to dump one end if rain water builds up, so that is what happened. You can manually do it by grabbing the arm and pulling it down too. Check out this video:

Oh I see, I wasn't sure if they are supposed to be tight or loose or what, thank you for this very helpful information.
This site is an awesome resource full of great knowledge and ideas!!

[bankr63]

One piece of advice after watching the Pete's RV segment is to download the manual for your specific awning off the internet. A couple of things he mentions for the Generation II awning he demos (pitching and autodump operation) are incorrect procedure for our Carefree of Colorado system. You need to understand how your specific awning operates to use it properly and effectively.

[jloco]

Be careful with these electric awnings. They're pretty flimsy compared to the older manual ones. If there's a slight breeze, I tighten the knobs otherwise the thing will bang like crazy as the wind moves it around. Leave them loose for automatic rain dump.
I do not leave mine open in the rain at all anymore. I immediately roll it up. Never leave it open over night either. Don't ask me how i know.. LOL! A destroyed awning is a very expensive lesson.

[WyEm]

I can't say I"m a big fan of the new electric awnings because of the need to baby them. I wanted to be able to keep the awning out over night to protect my chairs and stuff from over night dew or rain, but it's not recommended if there will be any wind. So, for Christmas I got these: https://www.amazon.com/Camco-42593-A...e+downs+for+rv
I hope they will allow me to secure the awning. When we were camping at Grizzly RV Park in West Yellowstone last summer, one of the other campers told me not to leave my awning out because another camper had the wind grab his and flip it over the top of his RV the day before.