Awnings in the wind . . .

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Kirk said:
Your are definitely a good neighbor and a good example for the RV community. Don is fortunate that you were nearby. I have come to suspect that patience is not one of Don's stronger personality traits. :giggle:

Any way to tell what happened that it came apart so easily? What brand & model is it as it would seem to be a good candidate for a public review. Might the issue have been with the installers?
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I am on a lot of forums (fora just sounds wrong) from MG cars to boats and I am a big proponent in meeting IRL and helping felow forum folk out when I can. I used to drive 50-60 miles to go help guys tune their MGs, get them running, troubleshoot etc. I've also done pre-purchase inspections on MGs where the potential buyer is remote and not sure whether it's worth driving out with a trailer and even buying the thing.

So, if any of the community are within 60-100 miles of the intersection of I10 and I75 I'd be happy to help if I can get someone unstuck.

I can take a picture of the fitting but it's actually a bit cheap. The whole end cap for the drive end is mounted on a plastic molded fitting. Wall thickness probably around 3/8" - If you understand the term it looks like it was a pure overload failure - i.e. no existing cracks. Put simply most probable cause is a 20 mph gust acting on probably 240sq/ft of tarp just blew the fitting apart.

The scissors arms were also superlight so if the plastic fitting didn't fail the arm quite likely would have. TBH if it was mine I would have stowed the whole shenanigans in the RV, taken it home and ordered a new end cap.

But Don insisted I cut it up and haul it away - I told Don that many folk on the forum would chastise me for cutting it up so I was gonna blame him - LOL.

Don took pics of me cutting it up which he's gonna post but again - As they said in **** Germany - "Don't blame me. I vas choost followink oh-dahs.."

I am harvesting the gas push rods, the awning cloth and the "$500" motor although I have no idea what I'm gonna do with the motor. The big sad part was cutting up that beautiful straight 15-20 foot extruded aluminum pipe - LOL...
 
Isaac-1 said:
but the card the responding officer gave my son with the incident number and type of case listed it as Hit and Run
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According to the web, I had it all wrong anyway, even for CA.

I think what they can do is stop, exchange the information and if drunk, walk or run away leaving the car and then they cannot then be charged with drunk driving or hit and run if a cop is on his way.

Won't apply in your son's case anyway.

-Don- Mustard, FL (oh, make that Mayo instead!):)
 
Inglorious Endings...

Here is the sad end to an expensive awning - The metals section of the local dump. Who knows, it could come back from China as an awning frame - LOL...

The caretaker at the dumpty-dump asked for the awning material so I gave it to him. In a way totally glad I didn't guilt myself into keeping it - LOL...

Kirk said:
Any way to tell what happened that it came apart so easily? What brand & model is it as it would seem to be a good candidate for a public review. Might the issue have been with the installers?
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Here's also a couple of pictures of the end fitting. You can almost see from the driven end that the whole plastic housing mounts to the tube with 4 pop rivets.

Missing from the drive end is the motor which Don harvested. You can see the 3 mount bolts and the motor fits in the cavity, the spiral gear of the motor meshes with the ring gear of the tube through the socket on the right of the photo.

I Didn't expect bulletproof construction but as expensive as these are I am surprised that it is as flimsy as it is. I am pretty sure we didn't have winds higher than 20mph and you think it should survive that easily - it's an awning for Pete's sake...
 

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BTW, can other motor-driven awnings be "over-extended" or is that only an issue with mine?

The question I am curious about is would it have held up if it were not "over-extended". I always had it all the way out.

But IMAO, if that is an issue, they need better engineers at "Carefree" or at least change their name to something more honest.

-Don- Sweet Alabama Welcome Center (I-10)
 
Don - I don't know if that was a "high end" awning or not.

I would expect on a high end awning an auto-stop feature which would require smarter sensoring and technology.

Not having run your awning in and out, they could have simply decided, let's put the onus on not driving the motor to it's limit, having the operator keeping their thumb smashed on the button burning out the motor on the coach owner by adding this little sticker...

(kinda like a coffee lid saying, "Be careful the stuff in here is hot" - LOL... kaching)

My guess is there was no auto-stop and if you kept your finger on the button too long you could have burned the motor out or at least blown the fuse.
 
DonTom said:
How much of a wind gust can they normally handle?
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I was unable to find anything specific to wind on the Carefree website but I can tell you that I currently have an awning from Carefree that has been deployed in winds exceeding 30 mph with gusts to 40 and no damage was done. I do use the deflappers when in windy conditions and I fold it up if it gets extreme but those numbers come from the weather reports of a storm that we weathered a couple of years ago with it out. I would suggest that you start by contacting Carefree and tell them exactly what happened and offer to share the pictures.
 
Ex-Calif said:
My guess is there was no auto-stop and if you kept your finger on the button too long you could have burned the motor out or at least blown the fuse.
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No, mine did NOT work like that. If I left my finger on the awning out button, when it got to the end, it would roll up the opposite way and come back in.

Thinking about that, the warning COULD be just so out is out and in is in. IOW, if I let it go until it reverses, it would probably be okay, just rolled the opposite way, which is probably still okay, but then I would have to select "Awning IN" to put it back out next time.

-Don- Alabama Welcome Center on I-10.
 
Don, be aware we have a front blowing through western Louisiana right now, and the coldest night of the year so far is forecast for tomorrow night with a low around 24-28F the next 3 nights

p.s. latest update calling for a low of 22 Fri, highs in the low 40's the next 3 days, if you want warmer weather, I would suggest staying within 15-20 miles of the coast, we like Palmetto Island State park south of Lafayette, but the roads are bad to get there. Though it looks like it will be only 5 or so degrees warmer there
 
Isaac-1 said:
Don, be aware we have a front blowing through western Louisiana right now, and the coldest night of the year so far is forecast for tomorrow night with a low around 24-28F the next 3 nights
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I am in Eastern Louisiana right now, at the Welcome Center Rest Stop on I-10. I have enough propane to handle a few nights of being boondocked in 24F, but I will be looking for a better place to stay for a few nights in your area tomorrow. In fact, I will start looking tonight on the web.

-Don- Louisiana Welcome Center on I-10. (I put on some miles today!).
 
ziplock said:
How many?

What is your Louisiana destination town today?
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Exactly 440 miles. I've a lot done more when the days were longer, but I try to stop before dark, or if it's sunny, before the sun is right in my eyes going west.

My next stop will be close to or in De Ridder, LA-- near where Isaac-1 lives.

-Don- Slidell, LA

​

 
DonTom said:
My next stop will be close to or in De Ridder, LA-- near where Isaac-1 lives.
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So, I guess you found a campground near @Isaac-1 ?

It's cold here in Maryland this morning. 12degrees but feels like 1degree. Yuck. Woodstove is busy here. hahaha
 
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