Awning crashed down!!!

[herrmc]

Greetings,
We purchased our jayco bumper pull new 1 year ago... We have been camping in it a total of 4 times...(we are in Oklahoma)... 3 of those 4 times at heyburn lake.. (we are here now).

When we went to bed last night was calm with light rain ... All was well... But sometime in the night our awning came crashing down on one end.

We did not have any rough wind.... So my assumption is water pooled on the canvas and "plop"


It is still lightly raining out... Have only opened the door and looked at it..

This is going to be a pain to get back in where we can travel

[Poppyof5]

So it was open while it was raining ? I was surprised how much water collects up there. I adjusted mine so one side was higher then the other, it helps.
As for what you can do for your coming down i don't know. I do know. I have found the most helpful and friendly people in camp grounds and in Oklahoma. (We are in Guthrie) good luck sir.

[herrmc]

Yes... The awning was open while raining... I should have probably tilted it like you mentioned... Last year we did same and had no issue

Originally Posted by Poppyof5

So it was open while it was raining ? I was surprised how much water collects up there. I adjusted mine so one side was higher then the other, it helps.
As for what you can do for your coming down i don't know. I do know. I have found the most helpful and friendly people in camp grounds and in Oklahoma. (We are in Guthrie) good luck sir.

[Poppyof5]

Originally Posted by herrmc

Yes... The awning was open while raining... I should have probably tilted it like you mentioned... Last year we did same and had no issue

Well caca happens. I hope there isn't alot of damage. I looked up that lake looks like a great place. Hope all works out for you.

[Screwby]

Future advise, never go to bed or away from your camper with the awning out. It only takes a freak wind or collecting rainwater to destroy these things. I know lots of people say they do it all the time, those people are just lucky so far. They make these awnings so cheap and flimsy it takes nothing to kill them.

[bankr63]

Interesting. This is an auto-dump awning, so should have been able to handle a light rain.

Looking at your pictures, I would try to find the other end of the lower arm that is attached to the trailer wall. It appears that is has sheared all the way around in a very straight line through the pivot hole. That looks like it might actually be a manufacturing or materials defect, but I am not a metals expert by any sense. It "might" be warrantied, but you will probably have a fight on your hand.

These arms buckle enough that replacements are not too difficult to get and shouldn't cost an arm and a leg.

[Screwby]

Originally Posted by bankr63

Interesting. This is an auto-dump awning, so should have been able to handle a light rain.

Looking at your pictures, I would try to find the other end of the lower arm that is attached to the trailer wall. It appears that is has sheared all the way around in a very straight line through the pivot hole. That looks like it might actually be a manufacturing or materials defect, but I am not a metals expert by any sense. It "might" be warrantied, but you will probably have a fight on your hand.

These arms buckle enough that replacements are not too difficult to get and shouldn't cost an arm and a leg.

Those Carefree awnings are the ones that buckle in that exact spot every time. They’ve removed so much material to make the piston pivot that it’s extremely weak. I’ve been through 3 of those exact arms. They buckle in wind, rain and even had some buckle when the arm failed because the piston was just too firm and the metal folded over. I can reach up and squeeze the awning arms and they bend and flex like crazy. It’s a terrible design and unfortunately they keep making them.

[EA37TS]

I had an awning on a class c extend while driving at 55 mph on I 95 about 6 years ago. What I did was:

Remove the awning roller from the arms and then slide the awning fabric out of the upper track. You can also slide it out of the awning tube/roller and fold the material for transport.

Remove the arms from the awning mounts. An alternative is to zip tie the arms to the mounting bar for transport.

Contact the awning manufacturer for replacement parts.

My issue was the result of a awning recall that owners were not notified by Forest River.

Hopefully there is no damage to the side of your rig. When my incident happened it pulled some mounting bolts out of the side wall so Dometic had to pay for body damage as well as awning replacement. Dometic stepped up on the repairs with no issues at all.

[AKRUEBBE]

Originally Posted by Screwby

Those Carefree awnings are the ones that buckle in that exact spot every time. They’ve removed so much material to make the piston pivot that it’s extremely weak. I’ve been through 3 of those exact arms. They buckle in wind, rain and even had some buckle when the arm failed because the piston was just too firm and the metal folded over. I can reach up and squeeze the awning arms and they bend and flex like crazy. It’s a terrible design and unfortunately they keep making them.

What model of Carefree do you have? There is one model that they had many problems with.

[AKRUEBBE]

herrmc, what model is your Carefree?

[maejoicer]

[QUOTE=herrmc;804498]Greetings,
We purchased our jayco bumper pull new 1 year ago... We have been camping in it a total of 4 times...(we are in Oklahoma)... 3 of those 4 times at heyburn lake.. (we are here now).

When we went to bed last night was calm with light rain ... All was well... But sometime in the night our awning came crashing down on one end.

We did not have any rough wind.... So my assumption is water pooled on the canvas and "plop"


It is still lightly raining out... Have only opened the door and looked at it..

This is going to be a pain to get back in where we can travel[/QUOTE

Well, I can relate when we got our Pinnacle a little over a month ago, we had the awning open because we where transferring items from the house to the Trailer (we are transitioning into full timers) anyway, the awning had been open but maybe a few hours when I was inside I heard an awful sound and looked at the window and our awning had collapsed on the motor side. Needless to say there where some very expletive words that I uttered. I was in shock, a brand new unit less than 24 hours old And of course it was on a Sunday. Called the dealer on Monday and didn't get a lot of help...no Customer service after the sale (that is a whole other thread) long story short, I called Jayco direct emailed pictures and they agreed to cover the repairs and parts, along with a mobile service because it could not be towed in it's current condition. It was not a quick fix, waiting on parts and an available mobile service. They replaced the arms, only to find that the shaft got bent on the roller and that will have to be replaced too at a different time (waiting on parts) The only good thing is that they were able to replace the arms and get the awning closed (which is staying that way until the rest gets fixed, it will open and close but the one end wobbles) I am very uneasy about and don't want to cause any more problems.
Sorry for the long post I just wanted to share our experience.....
Also, our awning was the 21ft Carefree Altitude, electric model
If you are still under warranty, call Jayco and see if they will help you or a mobile service if one is available.....good luck

[Rustic Eagle]

I miss my prior "manual" Carefree awning on my prior Eagles..., and with a couple tie-down straps with a center rafter they never failed.

If my present flimsy electric Solera awning ever self-destructs I'm installing a manual awning.

Bob

[bankr63]

Originally Posted by Screwby

Those Carefree awnings are the ones that buckle in that exact spot every time. They’ve removed so much material to make the piston pivot that it’s extremely weak. I’ve been through 3 of those exact arms. They buckle in wind, rain and even had some buckle when the arm failed because the piston was just too firm and the metal folded over. I can reach up and squeeze the awning arms and they bend and flex like crazy. It’s a terrible design and unfortunately they keep making them.

And the quality issue must have been introduced in more recent years. I have had no problems with my 2011 Carefree, and it is rock solid. Never seen it wobble in the wind, dumps easily and regularly. The canvas is getting a bit thin now and seams are ragged after 8 years in the sun; I suspect my first failure will be a tear in the material.
Perhaps they need to go back to building them the way they used to.

[2edgesword]

Ditto never go to bed with the awning out. Since we camp by the ocean a lot our practice is to never leave the campground with the awning out.

[jaycojay]

You should not have to roll an awning in at night, unless of course they are forecasting high winds or maybe severe thunderstorms. I'm sure you guys down south must see some bad ass storms while camping, i don't envy you one bit! But for rain, just make sure the awning is tilted properly..... i guess me being a light sleeper, if the wind picks up, i would hear it, and roll it in. On those nights where there is a chance for any type of bade wether, i always tell the wife to make sure anything left under the awning can get wet, if ineed to roll it up!

[Screwby]

Originally Posted by jaycojay

You should not have to roll an awning in at night, unless of course they are forecasting high winds or maybe severe thunderstorms. I'm sure you guys down south must see some bad ass storms while camping, i don't envy you one bit! But for rain, just make sure the awning is tilted properly..... i guess me being a light sleeper, if the wind picks up, i would hear it, and roll it in. On those nights where there is a chance for any type of bade wether, i always tell the wife to make sure anything left under the awning can get wet, if ineed to roll it up!

You must live somewhere there is never a “pop-up” storm or wind gust. Where I live it can be sunny one minute, the winds change and a heavy wind gust blows in out of nowhere. My first awning arm was destroyed on a June summer sunny day with not a cloud in the sky. Wind picked up out of nowhere, I heard the awning bounce once and thought I’d better get it in, second bounce folded the arm, and by then it was a pretzel and hanging uselessly like the one in the OPs picture. When a gust starts slapping an awning around you don’t usually have time to jump out of bed and run and push the button and wait agonizingly as it tries to slowly roll up. Especially back in the woods where winds are twisty and come from all directions at times. It doesn’t take more than one freak wind gust to wrap an awning over the top of a camper. I see it time and time again at campgrounds. Why take the chance? It doesn’t take any more than a push of the button to ensure you don’t do thousands of dollars of damage.

[jloco]

If you look at the awning manual (Dometic anyways) They tell you..The awning is for sun protection only.. Rain/wind and all bets are off.. Been there, done that.. It only takes one destroyed awning and people learn real fast.

[dannyabear]

Originally Posted by jloco

If you look at the awning manual (Dometic anyways) They tell you..The awning is for sun protection only.. Rain/wind and all bets are off.. Been there, done that.. It only takes one destroyed awning and people learn real fast.

This is so hard for some to understand...It is a sunshade, not a hurricane shelter

[Joan617]

Originally Posted by dannyabear

This is so hard for some to understand...It is a sunshade, not a hurricane shelter

Yes. On the Pinnacles, they mount an "Altitude" awning, which I think is a euphemism for "Thin as air", referring to the guage of metal they use in construction.


It was our newbie mistake. I came home late at night from work only to find that the awning would not retract. I was exhausted, checked the weather for no forecast of wind or rain so I said "friggit, get it in the morning". We had a typical coastal GA pop-up shower that night and lost the awning.


We reflexively replaced it with an identical model. Next time we can work the budget, we'll replace it with something that can withstand a modest (and well supervised) shower while we grill and hang out. I see a lot of them around us in the parks.

[AKRUEBBE]

I had Zip Dee awnings on my motor home and they are without a doubt the best RV awnings available. Damn near bullet proof. The Altitude on my Pinnacle scares the heck out of me. If it weren't for the struts on them they would evaporate in a 5 mph wind.