Awning Tear, thoughts?

The friendliest place on the web for anyone with an RV or an interest in RVing!
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.

_Rusty_

Well-known member
Joined
Sep 19, 2017
Posts
213
Location
Pennsyltucky
Apparently a freak wind caught my awning out today, resulting in a 6~8" tear right next to the roller seam. I've been reading some repair articles as well as "how-to" replacement articles. I am interested in the communities thoughts and/or opinions on both.

A repair would be literally on top of the take-up roller, so I'm thinking the repair would have to be "one-sided".
 
I would go the repair route and budget for new material down the road. Replacing the fabric is not hard for two or three people.
 
Mine got damaged in a "Wind Event" My insurance company, AAA, covered the repair. Have you contacted your insurance company?

I didn't discover mine was damaged until about three weeks after it happened. AAA looked up the area I was camped in on that date and saw there had been a "Wind Event" so they took care of it.
 
I saw a recent review of Eternabond tape where it was used to fix a tear like you describe.
 
Use sail-repair tape from West Marine or others. It's for patching rips in dacron-type material.
 
There is a specialized awning repair tape that is quite good. On any tape, clean the fabric well beforehand, probably with alcohol. Cut the tape longer than the rip, and round the corners. Press well and leave it flat for a day or so before rolling it up. We had a too-close encounter with a tree and our rolled up awning once, and the real awning repair tape stayed on for 3 years. Might still be therem but we sold the trailer.
 
A seam rip repair has to be pretty strong and will not stretch. So tapes made of fabric might not work. I'm a fan of Eternabond but it is sticky, stretchy, and has no strength. I used Eternabond to cover the very bottom edge of my awning that was getting pinholes from sun exposure. But I would not use it anywhere that gets rolled up. Like only on the top strip that is exposed to sun when rolled up most of the year. Gorilla tape works for a while but the adhesive "melts" then gets sticky and comes loose. 3M stainless steel duct tape will not stretch and might work.
 
When my cousin's main awing was torn (6" tear) we repaired it with of all things - awning repair tape. It was still holding strong when he sold the trailer 8 years later. Proper preparation is the key to any good repair job.
 
I just did that same repair on mine, same place with awning tape from an RV store. I cleaned both side with alcohol, cut longer than the tear and taped both sides. Mine was close enough I was able to reach both side and press together. I rolled it and left over night, only been a few weeks but fall I'll order new fabric and rplace both.
 
I had a tear in my main awning starting at the edge about a foot from the lead rail. Mine was caused by a zip tie that had come loose from the lead rail, and the razor sharp edge from where the zip tie was cut off tore into the fabric. I didn't notice it right away, and putting the awning in and out managed to cause a 6" tear horizontally from the edge. I got a hold of a buddy in Red Bay that has an awning replacement service. He sent me a square piece of awning fabric for the patch. I first taped over the rip with black Gorilla tape, then folded the piece of patch material over the edge of the awning like a sandwich. I stitched around the whole edge of the patch with nylon thread and a upholstery needle. I needed a pair of needle nose pliers to push the needle through both layers of the patch and the awing material. It blends fairly well, (both the awning and the patch are black) and it rolls in and out with the awning without a hitch.
 
I just noticed a small rip, about 1", above the sewn front seam at the outside edge of our main awning, where it attaches to the roller. Otherwise the awning is in good shape. The material appears to be a woven vinyl. I'd like to halt or delay further ripping if possible. I appreciate the info on here. None of the suggested products are expensive, especially when compared to the replacement costs of a new awning. It has given me some hope that we might be able to extend the life of this awning at least for a while longer. :)
 
This was my repair job. The replacement fabric will be $500 from Dometic, and they provided the correct part number based on the model and serial number from my information.

I ordered a yard of 10" Sail repair cloth with adhesive backing from "Sailrite" (the shipping was more than the material, so I did order extra). I also now have on hand the campmor repair tape, as it needed to be mail-ordered here.

After cleaning, I taped the torn fabric in place with auto-body masking tape. Then I used the sail-fabric material on the underside next to the roller and burnished it on pretty well. After that i removed the auto-masking tape and put a square of the Fabric material on top. This got burnished pretty heavily too. It's a hot day here, so I hope the material benefits from the added heat. I later rolled the awning up a couple feet to use the pressure from the roll to help keep it all in place. I may stitch it as well, wait and see

20210625_122830.jpg20210625_124148.jpg20210625_124159.jpg20210625_124341.jpg20210625_124528[1].jpg20210625_124953.jpg20210625_130244.jpgWill see how this holds up this year, and place an order for the replacement fabric in the near future.
 
This was my repair job. The replacement fabric will be $500 from Dometic, and they provided the correct part number based on the model and serial number from my information.

I ordered a yard of 10" Sail repair cloth with adhesive backing from "Sailrite" (the shipping was more than the material, so I did order extra). I also now have on hand the campmor repair tape, as it needed to be mail-ordered here.

After cleaning, I taped the torn fabric in place with auto-body masking tape. Then I used the sail-fabric material on the underside next to the roller and burnished it on pretty well. After that i removed the auto-masking tape and put a square of the Fabric material on top. This got burnished pretty heavily too. It's a hot day here, so I hope the material benefits from the added heat. I later rolled the awning up a couple feet to use the pressure from the roll to help keep it all in place. I may stitch it as well, wait and see

View attachment 147122View attachment 147123View attachment 147124View attachment 147125View attachment 147126View attachment 147127View attachment 147128Will see how this holds up this year, and place an order for the replacement fabric in the near future.
Exactly our problem. This is very helpful, thank you!! :)
 
Back
Top Bottom