manual awning canvas replacement

[david craft]

well...due to a lot of people attempting it themselves, and a host of what I would deem less safe techniques, Im posting my "safe and sane" canvas replacement procedure.  Probably no other instructions like it anywhere because I have adapted through the years.  Perfect for GORVers because its antiquated for everyone else!  so...here goes

do on a calm day. extend awning 18". release feet and extend arms to ground one at a time. being careful to keep arm angled outward and feet in toward coach. remove rafter bolts on each rafter and place each rafter in each arm with travel latch. remove 1/4" hex set screws from awning rail. lead man places foot of lead leg 2 foot forward and facing back towards awning pulls like hes landing a marlin. rear man stabilizes and bumps leg forward as well. keep tension on roller tube away from coach so fabric does not wrinkle. slide 4 feet. bump foot 4 feet and pull another 4. do this till awning is free. drop arms low for better control. now lift and carry to clearing. google horse stance. 2 people assume this position, though maybe not so low, facing each other with awning ends at abdomen and an awning leg over one leg. rotate roller to relieve tension on ratchet and release. unroll while holding to prevent slippage and count winds. mark main panel groove, valance groove and index end caps to tube location. drill rivits with 3/16" drill bit. slide out arms and springs. new canvas should have long beads that should wrap ends of roller tube so canvas will not slide. staple canvas to bead if inadequate. one person pull the canvas gripping close to beads as possible. the other pinches the canvas at the bead to feed canvas into roller. dont allow canvas to slide on rough surfaces. be patient here feeding canvas, chamfer aluminum roller grooves if necessary. roll canvas onto tube. remount springs and arms. aluminum rivits are fine. back to horse stance on awning ends. flip ratchet to wind and wind toward the bead. adding to the direction that occurs when you roll out during normal use. put on the winds you counted and add one for the wrap your going to take off to install. next step goes best with 3 people. one at a ladder(a frame) at the feed edge of the awning rail and one on each arm. the ladder guy should have enough clearance for the awning and arms to pass between ladder and coach with roller at the 12 to 18 inch clearance. roller passes at the abdomen while the installer leans over to feed the bead. lead leg man does the marlin as in the removal. awning is adjusted to heigth before feeding the bead. roller is maintaned away from coach and feet inward as in removal. once slid into place, lift arm and pull lower arm release. lift lower arm on top of your foot to collapse to travel stop and insert foot into lower catch , all while keeping roller away from coach. lol..takes practice or just get help. now remount rafter mounts to roofline. push arms over rafter to see they are centered and clear. roll out awning and then release to travel position. center over rafters and install set screws. I watched the vid..that canvas looks ..um..inexpensive. id opt for carefree or dometic. I also saw the dometic pdf. this technique works on sunchaser, 8500, fiesta, and the like. I can use visegrips ect.. and they have their place. this is the safest method ive found and feel fairly secure posting it. first time ever posting due to safety issues involved. but seeing the other vids and realizing the untrained are attempting...its time

here is the variation for the 2 man install...

  once the awning has been assembled and is ready to install on unit. carry the awning to unit and adjust height to match rail. with ladder centered at rail entry, walk awning into place and mount ladder. i should add at this point that i use an A frame with treads on both sides.  I usually straddle the top. cradle roller tube with one arm and feed with the other. feed till roller tube leads leg a couple feet. now, lift cradled roller tube and swing leg till it leads roller a couple feet. do this while keeping the roller tube away from coach and canvas taut. this will help feed the canvas. continue till the canvas is halfway fed in rail. then, while ladder man stabilizes tube away from coach, the other person swaps legs and goes to the front of the feed to marlin the awning the rest of the way on. of course I call this the "imperial walker" due to the way the leg swings.

there you go...be safe...please save all medication and mood modifying refreshments till after completion..

[Lakota Wolf]

Good explanation of awning replacement... Thanks David for sharing,,, you made it sound simple and to the point,, plus the safety of it...

[Russell E Johnson]

Well put together presentation, as per usual.  Thank you for sharing your vast experience and knowledge with the rest of us.

[david craft]

thanks guys...with the popularity of the new automatics and the like, the manual might even go away...we all know how strong and relatively trouble free these are compared to the new stuff.  go look at the new style in extended position and youll see what I mean.  the main arm is bowed from stress and they are dangerous to service.  GORVers got it right IMO...the best think about the new units is it keeps the price down on the used...lol.  thanks for the complements...Im the omega dog on any other board...hehe