How to reattach slide awning

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Frank B

Frank B

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Joined
Apr 23, 2005
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Calgary, Alberta
Please see picture below.


We're heading out of town tomorrow, and the awning over the slide is detaching from the metal on the side of the trailer.


1) What can I do ASAP to keep it from blowing away while traveling yet still be able to use the slide?


2) Can the fabric be reattached, and if so, how?


It is Carefree of Colorado awning, and the trailer is about 9 years old.


Thanks.


Frank.
 

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OUCH!!

I am NOT the expert, but,
Short term, I would completely remove the awning from the slide, and maybe leave it home.  Many campers do fine without slide toppers.

After the trip - or while removing the topper, determine WHY it is pulling out.  Did the awning shrink enough to pull out of the slot or did the slotted extrusion expand to let it out?  Answering that question should lead to the proper fix to the problem.
 
I have Carefree of Colorado slide topper awnings, and am in the process of replacing them. I've done some research. I know that the slide topper is fastened to the side of your unit in a u-shaped track. The fabric comes with a sleeve at the end. A round, flexible, plastic tube is inserted in the sleeve, and then the tube is fitted in to the track. I believe your sleeve is coming apart, and can possibly just be re-stitched once you get it off. Check out this video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=4&v=xyLf6ED2YQI
 
The edge of the awning is stitched around a rubber bead and that bead slides into the U-shaped track. There may be a screw in one of both ends to keep it from sliding out. Basically you just slide it out of the track (requires at least two people on ladders) after detaching the arms.  If you detach the arms from the side of the RV, you can slide the arms & roller together, awkward but doable. It's less awkward if the roller tube is detached from the arms, but then you have to carefully loosen and unwind the tension on the torsion spring in the roller tube.

Here is a helpful video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3FrH_86YRMs

And there are manuals in the Carefree Library showing how to remove & replace awnings and toppers.
https://www.e-carefree.com/ecarefree30/product-library

 
OP said slide out/. There should be a hole in on end you can insert a nail in to hold tension. Maybe both ends. I had good luck just locking one end.
 
country said:
OP said slide out/. There should be a hole in on end you can insert a nail in to hold tension. Maybe both ends. I had good luck just locking one end.
Click to expand...

OP said awning over slide out. Did not specifically say slide out topper. Some awnings do extend over the slides. The OP will need to set us straight.
 
It looks like the material is on it's last leg so I would just cut it off away from the track while someone else holds the roll, then cut it off the roll. Then slowly let the roll unwind. Have a safe trip. Get it replaced when you get back.
Here's a video showing how to install a new one:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xyLf6ED2YQI
 
TheRealSimpsons:

I believe your sleeve is coming apart, and can possibly just be re-stitched once you get it off. Check out this video. https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=4&v=xyLf6ED2YQI
Click to expand...

That is possible.  The fabric is indeed on its way out, but I may get another couple of years out of it if I have the bead re-stitched, and turn it end for end.  There is some on the roller that has not been exposed to the weather, and while the fabric shows some damage, it is not peeling or splitting.  It looks like only the stitching itself has rotted out.

Rene:

so I would just cut it off away from the track while someone else holds the roll, then cut it off the roll.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I thought about that as well.  In the final analysis, I saw that I would be unable to do this on my own, so I just drove away yesterday with it 'as is', and then watched the side mirror on the truck.  When it is rolled up there is little strain or wind resistance, and it has not gotten any worse so far.  If it does get worse, then I'll just cut it off, as you suggest.

The videos that several of you have linked me to have been helpful. I may try replacing the fabric myself when we get home.  However, I am going to need a helper and another ladder. This is a big awning -- probably 8' or wider, over the main slide on our AF 30U.

Much thanks all!

Frank.
 
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