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Old 10-07-2012, 07:39 AM   #1
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Carefree of Colorado awning busted...

Yesterday, I went to close the awning using the toggle switch. As it finished rolling up, I heard a loud POP; I looked outside and discovered that the piston did not close/slide and it bent like the letter 'J'. It also bent the support bar and caused the whole thing to pop out of its track. Of course, I am less than 2 months out of warranty - according to some basic parts lists, it should be about $30-40 bucks for parts; but, I do not have a rivet gun to put everything back together...
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Old 10-07-2012, 09:36 AM   #2
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I had mine bend due to rust buildup and it was replaced under warranty. Did you try to ask Jayco for a replacement even just being out of warranty period? This seems to be a common thing with the electric awnings.

If no luck then possibly you can rent a rivet gun from Home Depot or install a bolt instead.

I now spray them upon opening with WD-40 to keep them from binding again.
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Old 10-07-2012, 09:46 AM   #3
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This is a perfect time to get rid of that Crappee of Colorado awaning and get a good one... They make junk and their customer service is laughable. ( the gear in the drive unit on mine shattered while under warranty.. carefree gave me the run around.. JAYCO made it right for me.. THANKS JAYCO)
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Old 10-07-2012, 02:33 PM   #4
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Harbor Freight has them for $5 bucks. http://www.harborfreight.com/hand-ri...set-38353.html
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Old 10-07-2012, 03:49 PM   #5
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Seann - could it be that you got a lemon or something ? My 2004 model has a 16' awning and 3 slide out toppers, all made by Carefree of Colorado. In their 8 years of use, the ONLY thing that has gone wrong with any of them is one of the lock knobs on the awning arm froze up due to corrosion (steel bolt into aluminum block), and one call to Carefree got me a free replacement, even though the awning was well out of warranty. Of course I had to do the labor of replacement, but this seemed to be pretty good customer service to me. JMHO
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Old 10-07-2012, 06:54 PM   #6
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This must be a common problem as ours froze up while in FL. this winter. I was watching everything as I closed it and saw that it was not closing correctly ans stopped before anything bent. Some WD 40 on the shaft worked.
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Old 10-08-2012, 07:43 AM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by tinlizzie23 View Post
Seann - could it be that you got a lemon or something ? My 2004 model has a 16' awning and 3 slide out toppers, all made by Carefree of Colorado. In their 8 years of use, the ONLY thing that has gone wrong with any of them is one of the lock knobs on the awning arm froze up due to corrosion (steel bolt into aluminum block), and one call to Carefree got me a free replacement, even though the awning was well out of warranty. Of course I had to do the labor of replacement, but this seemed to be pretty good customer service to me. JMHO

MY problem was more with how I was treated by Carefree than by the part failure... parts fail that is part of life.. but first they sent me to someone that had not been a Carefree dealer for 5 years.. so I told them I would wait till I got home.. they said OK when I got home my dealer there called them and they said they had no idea what he was talking about and would not cover it...
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Old 10-08-2012, 09:24 AM   #8
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The support arm finally broke into two pieces; I removed the bottom rivet and unscrewed the top of the piston. Then had to use zip-ties to support everything for travel. Hausknwa: I had been spraying the piston shafts with silicone, the affected piston opened, but, did not close during the roll-up process. I attempted to attach a picture of the damage (moderators, feel free to assist if it did not open properly).

I also emailed Jayco to ask for their assistance as well.

Click image for larger version

Name:	awning 2.jpg
Views:	79
Size:	77.3 KB
ID:	5401
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Old 10-08-2012, 11:42 AM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Shin Pond Hunter View Post
The support arm finally broke into two pieces; I removed the bottom rivet and unscrewed the top of the piston. Then had to use zip-ties to support everything for travel. Hausknwa: I had been spraying the piston shafts with silicone, the affected piston opened, but, did not close during the roll-up process. I attempted to attach a picture of the damage (moderators, feel free to assist if it did not open properly).

I also emailed Jayco to ask for their assistance as well.

Attachment 5401
That is awful, but I am wondering if when you closed awning, did you have both sides level in same notch? Maybe this is why Jayco changed from Carefree to A&E awnings which are not adjustable tilt.
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Old 10-08-2012, 12:47 PM   #10
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That's the exact thing that happened to mine 3 months ago. Same arm, same exact bend profile. I bent the arm back as best I could while attached to get the weekend out of it and had to push up on the arm as I retracted with the remote. It would bang the frame against the sidewall as she let go every few inches or so. You will need to remove the entire arm from the sidewall to drill out that rivet. The older model Cafefree models have stainless shafts where ours has the black painted ones like in the pic. If you have rust on the bottom where the shaft goes in then it will soon fail.
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Old 10-08-2012, 03:35 PM   #11
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32 days past my 2 year "ownership anniversary". I'm hoping Jayco will acknowledge that this is not an isolated issue and provide some assistance...

Also, this awning is a fixed pitch. I have not had any problems opening and closing it for two years.
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Old 10-11-2012, 08:36 AM   #12
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Jayco came thru (once again)! Now I need to find a reputable dealer on the east coast to get this fixed...
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Old 10-11-2012, 08:40 AM   #13
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I got a first look at the one I put the down payment on, and the paperwork says it has a Dometic power awning. This is a 2013 x213.
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Old 10-11-2012, 09:52 AM   #14
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From my cursory research on the Carefree awnings, it seems to be a common issue (frozen piston and bent support arms). Dometic could have received the bid for the new model year(s) and that is another reason for switching. I have always noticed Carefree products on lots of high-end units. Glad the resolution to my issue is being resolved... Good luck with your new rig...
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