Tom
Administrator
- Joined
- Jan 13, 2005
- Posts
- 51,904
Not really techie, but I thought I'd pass this along in case someone has the same problem in future.
This morning I was outside watching the slideouts retract one at a time as Chris operated them from inside the coach. The slide topper awning on one of the living room slides made no attempt to roll up. Several things went through my mind, including the fact that it was in the low 20's overnight, although it was "dry". Icing was still a possibility though, given the rain we'd driven through yesterday. I attempted to turn the roller by hand, once from one end then from the other, but it wouldn't budge.
Since it was still cold, I retreated to the coach so my brain could function a little easier. I checked my coach owner's manual and the Carefree leaflets that come with every awning, but no clues. I then remembered I'd brought Bob Livingstone's excellent book along, but it didn't help.
I thought about the possibility of a broken recoil spring, but then realized that the window awning is wound around the same roller. Went back outside and tried to lower the window awning - it wouldn't come out. That's when I decided to try grabbing the awning cover (shared by the slide topper and window awning) and gently rocking it back and forth in the direction of deployment. That did the trick!
The awning rolled up as designed while the slideout retracted. I walked around the other side of the coach and noticed a small trickle of water had come off the awning that side when it was retracted and it was now frozen down the side of the coach. Looks like my ice guess was right.
This morning I was outside watching the slideouts retract one at a time as Chris operated them from inside the coach. The slide topper awning on one of the living room slides made no attempt to roll up. Several things went through my mind, including the fact that it was in the low 20's overnight, although it was "dry". Icing was still a possibility though, given the rain we'd driven through yesterday. I attempted to turn the roller by hand, once from one end then from the other, but it wouldn't budge.
Since it was still cold, I retreated to the coach so my brain could function a little easier. I checked my coach owner's manual and the Carefree leaflets that come with every awning, but no clues. I then remembered I'd brought Bob Livingstone's excellent book along, but it didn't help.
I thought about the possibility of a broken recoil spring, but then realized that the window awning is wound around the same roller. Went back outside and tried to lower the window awning - it wouldn't come out. That's when I decided to try grabbing the awning cover (shared by the slide topper and window awning) and gently rocking it back and forth in the direction of deployment. That did the trick!
The awning rolled up as designed while the slideout retracted. I walked around the other side of the coach and noticed a small trickle of water had come off the awning that side when it was retracted and it was now frozen down the side of the coach. Looks like my ice guess was right.
