Awning slope

Dave T WA State · 07-23-2018, 03:54 PM

How many of you have awnings that extend STRAIGHT out, with no slope either down or to one side? Factory setting is STRAIGHT.

This can be a problem in rainy weather, because rain cannot drain off very well, and may puddle, causing the fabric to sag.

I was reading the awning owner manual and it discusses how to 'slope' the awning. Very simple, actually!

Extend your awning, then look at the wide bar the goes from the sidewall out close to the end. You will see a silver button in a hole on the bar side toward the front of the coach. The button can be moved to pre-drilled holes in the bar. Do that from a step ladder. Just push in the button and the bar will move.

I have my awning set to the 2nd hole in the front, and the 3rd hole at the rear. This slopes the awning slightly down and then to the rear. Rain will then run off toward the rear of the coach. Manual says to keep button difference setting no more than 3 holes between the front and rear bars.

WinnieView · 07-23-2018, 04:09 PM

And the great thing is that many awnings can be rolled up even while in a "slope" position.

**norty1** · 07-23-2018, 05:35 PM

To which brand awning does this apply?

WinnieView · 07-23-2018, 05:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by norty1

To which brand awning does this apply?

Ours is a Carefree of Colorado Eclipse power awning.

Lillys Pop · 07-23-2018, 06:28 PM

I keep both ends of mine in the 4th hole. I believe there are 5 holes. It rolls up fine in these holes.

TCNashville · 07-23-2018, 06:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 2008Seneca

And the great thing is that many awnings can be rolled up even while in a "slope" position.

Yes but I think you can't be more than 2 holes different from each side. I slope our Carefree 3 holes at least when rain is forecast being it's 20 ft long but when I roll up the holes match.

gprapim · 07-23-2018, 07:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TCNashville

Yes but I think you can't be more than 2 holes different from each side. I slope our Carefree 3 holes at least when rain is forecast being it's 20 ft long but when I roll up the holes match.

One just has to be careful that the door does not contact the awning material when opened, or it can be torn.

**norty1** · 07-23-2018, 07:15 PM

Now you got me scratching my head until I can go out and look at mine. It's pouring rain and I am pretty sure mine is not the Eclipse model.

TCNashville · 07-23-2018, 07:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gprapim

One just has to be careful that the door does not contact the awning material when opened, or it can be torn.

Good point and I usually slope away from the main door.

cabinetmaker · 07-23-2018, 09:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 2008Seneca

And the great thing is that many awnings can be rolled up even while in a "slope" position.

Didn't know that...thanks! I'll give that a test drive.

SloPoke · 07-23-2018, 10:04 PM

Ours is a Carefree... it was sloped at the lowest position possible during a strong rainstorm where we were parked between our friends house and the garage. We had just enough room to put the awning all the way out on the house side, and the slides came 2' from the garage.

The storm came, no wind at all as we were under the awning for the majority of it. The weight of the water was enough for our "motor side awning arm" to collapse under the weight of the water.

Follow our advise - it is not just wind that can destroy your awning... but a Florida rainstorm can too!...

No, it is not covered under the Carefree warranty, not covered under the CW warranty and not covered by our insurance either. It cost us about $700 to have a mobile "Carefree Dealer" to replace ours. And I have nothing but compliments on the Carefree dealer that did the work! First Class, worth every dollar we wasted on trusting the awning in a big storm. This dealer is in the Tampa Bay area - PM me for the referral.

cabinetmaker · 07-23-2018, 10:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dave T WA State

How many of you have awnings that extend STRAIGHT out, with no slope either down or to one side? Factory setting is STRAIGHT.

This can be a problem in rainy weather, because rain cannot drain off very well, and may puddle, causing the fabric to sag.

I was reading the awning owner manual and it discusses how to 'slope' the awning. Very simple, actually!

Extend your awning, then look at the wide bar the goes from the sidewall out close to the end. You will see a silver button in a hole on the bar side toward the front of the coach. The button can be moved to pre-drilled holes in the bar. Do that from a step ladder. Just push in the button and the bar will move.

I have my awning set to the 2nd hole in the front, and the 3rd hole at the rear. This slopes the awning slightly down and then to the rear. Rain will then run off toward the rear of the coach. Manual says to keep button difference setting no more than 3 holes between the front and rear bars.

Dave, the Carefree awnings that have the shocks (struts) built into the arms like on the newer Greyhawks have a auto water dump feature. When weight from rain water collects the shocks will allow one side to collapse a bit to dump the water then return to previous height. It also helps some to protect from a strong wind gust.

Haven't seen any of this actually work...I always retract ours rain or storms. Too chicken to try it. There is a video online of one doing this in a rainstorm so I know it does work.

SloPoke · 07-23-2018, 11:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cabinetmaker

Dave, the Carefree awnings that have the shocks (struts) built into the arms like on the newer Greyhawks have a auto water dump feature. When weight from rain water collects the shocks will allow one side to collapse a bit to dump the water then return to previous height. It also helps some to protect from a strong wind gust.

Haven't seen any of this actually work...I always retract ours rain or storms. Too chicken to try it. There is a video online of one doing this in a rainstorm so I know it does work.

It worked in the video... but bent the arm on ours. Our gas-strut is way stronger than the one in the video - sadly the arm was not.

To be perfectly honest... I thought that with the steep slope of the awning, that the water would run-off the awning and there would be no issue. It SHOULD work that way. Our experience was different, we learned a tough lesson, spent a bunch of $$$ that we would have rather not... but learned anyways!

We still love the awning... but now we understand it's limitations in certain situations - just wanting others to learn from our misfortune.

RVermont · 07-24-2018, 12:03 AM

I have found that offsetting the settings with the back being one or two setting lower does a great job eliminating water from the awning. I have yet to see it build water or auto dump. With both at the same setting I have seen the auto dump in action and i can see the potential for failure. My biggest fear is up drafts, wind lift will really screw these units up. Seems like you can’t go more than a few months before seeing someone with a bent up awning from rain or wind.

**norty1** · 07-24-2018, 05:15 AM

I have seen ours dump but it was because I was in the process of bringing it in during a flash storm. Before I could get inside, the awning dumped and scared the bejeebers out of us.

We now bring in all or part way in during rain.

rgolding · 07-24-2018, 05:43 AM

The first day of ownership we set ours for maximum slope. It has been that way ever since. Never touches the door and rolls up easily. One of those things that I have never been able to answer is why would you want it ever set out straight? At most it would pick up 6 inches of more shade and that's over 12 feet above you.

BJR · 07-24-2018, 06:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cabinetmaker

Dave, the Carefree awnings that have the shocks (struts) built into the arms like on the newer Greyhawks have a auto water dump feature. When weight from rain water collects the shocks will allow one side to collapse a bit to dump the water then return to previous height. It also helps some to protect from a strong wind gust.

Haven't seen any of this actually work...I always retract ours rain or storms. Too chicken to try it. There is a video online of one doing this in a rainstorm so I know it does work.

It doesn't work on the Carefree Longitude. Not sure quite why. The ones that look more promising are the 'bent knee' design such as the Solera:
https://www.easternmarine.com/solera...size-rv-awning

I have had my replacement arm on during two storms and I watched it the whole time to make sure water was actually draining off the awning and not pooling. I don't trust it at all.

RVermont · 07-24-2018, 07:38 AM

On the ts you can only lower the front a notch before it contacts the slide out. I have seen some people put pool noodles on the top of the slide and then increase the slope. Not really very practical.

Camper_bob · 08-01-2018, 02:33 PM

My trailer had an awning with the auto-dump feature that worked flawlessly. It scared the crap out of me, but it worked. I forgot to bring it in during a pop-up rainstorm one day. I heard the tell-tale "thump" on the side of the trailer and didn't realize it was the awning immediately. When I realized what was happening, I jumped up and tried to open the door, but it was hitting the water-swollen awning! I panicked for a second, then the awning dumped, RIGHT on the hood of my truck!! I brought the awning in immediately and never forgot about it again.

Our MH has a different awning, but it also has an auto-dump feature. First day I brought it home, I sloped the awning away from the door, just in case.

michael.g · 08-02-2018, 09:23 AM

Our Greyhawk had a Colorado Carefree awning. Ours had the auto dump feature, but it would leave large holes in grass and dirt. Our awning had 6 positions. We don't like the look of an awning that is higher on one side, so we just put the awning in the 6th position, which was the most sloped. We never had an issue with water pooling. We also used awning tie downs which kept the awning tight enough that there was no loose fabric for water to pool in.

-Michael

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