Carefree Awning Strap Replacement

Our coach is now approaching 5 years of age.  I recently had two of the three hold down straps on the slide topper awning break in moderate wind.  That side of our coach was facing south all summer during our years at Desert Gold RV Resort in Brenda and on the west side here in Yuma.  Apparently the fabric had "rotted" due to UV exposure.

I found that replacing them was not too difficult.  I ordered replacements for those two as well as an extra to replace the one remaining strap that would probably give up the ghost soon.  The instructions that came with the straps said to drill out the rivets holding on one end cap and then slide out the remains of the old straps, slide in the new straps and then use the supplied pop-rivets to fasten the cap back in place.

I didn't want to wrestle with the awning to that extent so I bought a conical shaped  Dremel High Speed router bit and routed out the slot for a distance of about 2 1/2 inches near one end.  I routed it out to a width just wide enough that I was able to coax the old straps out and the new ones in.  Worked like a charm and will cause no problems as it takes a bit of effort to get the slide part of the straps through the wide spot (which I made sure was not where there would be any strain or pull when the staps are holding the awning down).  Oh, yes!  FWIW the router bit has a 1/8" shank but I was able to cinch down the chuck on my 18 volt cordless drill so that there was no trouble with the shank spinning in the chuck.  Running the drill in its high speed mode there was plenty of torque and speed to make the router do its job efficiently.

That is similar to what I did when I have replaced awning straps.  Much easier and safer than dealing with a spring that could unroll on you.

I routed it out to a width just wide enough that I was able to coax the old straps out and the new ones in.

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Darn it, that's just too clever for me Don. You know I would have done it the hard way and then wished I hadn't.

Darn it, that's just too clever for me Don. You know I would have done it the hard way and then wished I hadn't.

I'm sure you would about time the spring unwound and hit you in the arm or head. ;D

Ouch!  :'(

Drilling or grinding a spot in the groove to remove and replace the strap is easier.

We've replaced the straps on the windows awnings several times and there is no problem with the spring unwinding.  It does take a bit of finagaling to get the strap out and in, but it's not a difficult task.  It does take 2 people, however.  This is on the Carefree awnings.  I can't speak to the A&E or Zipdee.

I have to replace one soon myself.  One strap has rotted and broken off on a rear window awning, but it's on the north side, so no hurry

it's on the north side, so no hurry

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Until you move the coach  ;D

We'll get to it sometime in the next month.  It's going to be on the north side for the rest of the month.

Ned,

Ned said:

We've replaced the straps on the windows awnings several times and there is no problem with the spring unwinding. It does take a bit of finagaling to get the strap out and in, but it's not a difficult task. It does take 2 people, however. This is on the Carefree awnings. I can't speak to the A&E or Zipdee.

I have to replace one soon myself. One strap has rotted and broken off on a rear window awning, but it's on the north side, so no hurry

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I think that you will find the routing or drilling out the groove a lot easier than messing with the end caps on the Carefree awnings.  With a good sturdy ladder, a husky high speed drill, and a good router bit it's a one man job.  The whole operation took less than an hour and I didn't know what I was doing  ???  ;D

Don, I'll let you demonstrate on my awning next month when we return to Yuma

Ned said:

Don, I'll let you demonstrate on my awning next month when we return to Yuma

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I'll be happy to lend you my conical router bit, 18 Volt cordless drill, and 8 foot ladder and hold the ladder for you all the while making pointedly helpful comments and suggestions  ;D ;D

Kidding aside, I'll be glad to lend a hand.

We have the A&E and don't have to remove anything to replace the awning straps.  In fact we have three straps on the long awnings that are on each side of the coach.  There are two of the long awnings.  Can just slide the plastic dowels into the slots as I remember.  Added hold down fixtures on the side of the coach that match the forward and the rear ends of the awning.  Keeps the awnings from rocking in higher winds and gives the whole thing more strength.

Fred,

We had A&E awnings on the Hawk.  I don't remember now how the straps were inserted in the slots.  The Carefree awnings are standard from Monaco.  And once the chore of routing a wide spot in the slot is done, its done for ever so next time I need to replace the straps it will be a simple matter of slipping the old ones out and the new ones in.  The two long awnings on our coach each came standard with 3 hold down straps.  All others have a single strap.

Don

Where did you buy the replacement straps?

American Coach gave us our spares that re have used so far.  They can also be obtained from carefree.  Not sure of the cost.

Tom,

You can obtain straps from almost any RV dealer that carries parts. Camping World will also have them. I think the strap for the large patio awning is only around $5. I had to do mine this year because the end rotted away. The rest of the strap was good as the awning has only been open about 6 times.

OK thanks Jim and Ron. There's not too many things you can buy for an RV that cost as little as $5. 

Don,

The strap is only the beginning. ?The fabric on several of our awnings is starting to rip and needs to be removed for sewing. ?I don't think your solution will help with that

Ron_Staff said:

Drilling or grinding a spot in the groove to remove and replace the strap is easier.

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Ron,

You can demonstrate your method on my awnings at Moab. 

Phil