Awning dilemma

1joester2 · Jul 14, 2011

The up/down lever on my Dometic AE awning is stuck in the "neither" position.

I know there is a spring inside capable of serious personal injury, but I am thinking of drilling the rivets and opening it up to see if I can repair it.

Has anyone ever dismantled or repaired theirs due to a similar failure? I can picture in my mind the magic spring that pushes all the parts out the tiny opening when you slightly remove the end cap (like a can or snakes) and a pair of vise grips on the main shaft spinning wildly...

I figure I'm looking at replacing the awning anyway so I might as well give it a go. Any insight or links to exploded view diagrams would be greatly appreciated.

Joe

topdownman · Jul 14, 2011

Your post kind of made my laugh with the thought of springs of all sorts flying out. I've replaced one of the springs on my Carefree and can't speak for others, but bet they're similar. The awning spring on mine is around 2 feet long, one on each end of the awning. If the spring is under tension when you remove the cap from the end of the awning arm, you'll know it, that's where you want to be very careful. More than likely, the pawl mechanism is broken and you'll need to replace the spring and end cap anyway. I'd get that new part and examine it and you'll see how it all goes together. They're not all that hard to replace. Basically, you insert the new spring and end cap in the awning tube, lock the pawl and with a wrench or something else with some leverage add the amount of "winds" per the manufacturer instructions, generally 15-18. With each spin, the lock will hold it in place. Once you have the proper amound of "wind", you reinstall the endcap to the awning arm.

Hfx_Cdn · Jul 14, 2011

Try searching for awning repair in the forum, it has come up several times with people giving detailed instructions. As I understand it, it is more easily done with a second person helping, and that care must be taken when dealing with the spring tension. But it is doable.

Ed

maverickbbd · Jul 14, 2011

If you are able to manually turn the awning there should be a slot that lines up with a hole in a certain position on the revolution. When lined up you can insert a nail or something similar to hold spring tension. There is lots of information on awning spring repairs and well worth a little research time. Look at the A&E/Dommetic website too.

Gary RV_Wizard · Jul 14, 2011

The lever is merely a cam lock. You can still disassemble the awning as needed. When you have the new parts and are ready to do the job, I would try using pliers to force the lever to one position of another. It will probably move but the cam inside is probably jammed (and scarred up).

Here are some step by step instructions:
http://www.rverscorner.com/RV_Awning_Repair.html

Awning dilemma

1joester2

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topdownman

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Hfx_Cdn

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maverickbbd

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Gary RV_Wizard

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