Adjusting awning spring tension

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Snowman9000

Well-known member
Joined
Jan 1, 2009
Posts
46
I am in the middle of an awning fabric replacement.  It's ready to put back on the trailer, but I am quite sure I will end up having to adjust the tension after trying it out.  The reason for that is that I lost track of how many turns were on it originally, and anyway, it wasn't enough to begin with.  Plus it is a Coleman-Faulkner Ultra 18', no longer made, and there are no instructions out there that I can find as far as how many turns to put on the springs.  So I made a good guess, based on other brands and the wisdom of the internet.  :) 

But the odds are that I will have to adjust them one way or the other.  Is this the easiest method?:

- disconnect only one side's spring end/bracket from the rafter arm (taking care to control it with vice grips, cotter pin, etc.),
- wind on or off the number of adjustment turns,
- reattach the rafter arm, and
- repeat on the other side.

Or is there an easier method?

I have read a post or two by Gary saying to completely disconnect the rafter arm from the trailer, then use it as a lever to turn the spring.  This seems harder but safer.  I'm assuming the awning tube would be all the way out, resting on ladders or something.

 
Don't know if your Faulkner works like this one, but here is a tip for tightening the Ultra awning.
http://www.rvusa.com/forum/mbbs22/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=2132
 
Well got the awning onto the trailer, and it needs more tension.  I had 10 turns plus the number of turns added by unrolling the awning.  I need at least 3 more, I bet.  I'm going to try the rafter arm method.
 
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