Solera adjustable tilt power awning question

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So, another derp moment...

I am currently living in my 5W, and driving home on my weekends; 480 miles is just too much for a daily commute... lol. Anyway, we really hadn't used the awning much, because the first time I rolled it out, it was kinda nasty, with dirt and some mold taking root. Other than to get a quick wash, it really hasn't been used. So, this last week, I had been playing with it, getting a little cover from the rain as I came and went for work. However, in what was apparently a bad move, I didn't roll it up when I went home for the weekend. Yes, I was in a hurry to see my lovely wife after a long week, but still...

So, when I came back yesterday, the awning was just hanging there; it had detached itself somehow from the railing (it sounds like this isn't exactly uncommon), and was just lying on the ground, still attached to the roller. I have taken the opportunity to give it a good scrubbing, but am now stuck with the issue of getting it attached back to the trailer. It doesn't look to be hard, but as a one man job, it does look like to be a pain in the arse. My idea is to use a long strap to grab it, after lifting and propping it up enough to bend the 'elbows' of the frame, and bring it to the roof, where I will have previously taken apart the slot(?), frame(?), runnel(?) that it slides into, and re-attach the bolts/screws from one end to the other. It does seem that it is made to slide into the slot, but then I'm faced with re-attaching it to the roller as well, plus the fact that it seems heavy enough (it's about 14') to be a real pain to do that with just one person.

Does anyone have a better idea of how to do this, or some tips from prior experience to make it less of what I expect to be a hassle? It certainly looks doable, though perhaps not agreeable... 

 

[Rene T]

Did you mean it became unattached at the top rail which is screwed  to the RV?  This rail is where the awning fabric slides into during installation.

 

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Did you mean it became unattached at the top rail which is screwed  to the RV?  This rail is where the awning fabric slides into during installation.

Yes; the rail is still there, the awning didn't 'tear out' in the manner of getting ripped or anything, but it is just hanging there...

 

[Rene T]

Any chance of taking a picture of hat you have?

 

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Any chance of taking a picture of hat you have?

At work now; I'll try to get one tomorrow...

 

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This is an almost exact replica; it even looks like the same model trailer.

What has happened is that the portion that is attached to the trailer, on a railing, came out, disengaging from the railing, without ripping; the portion on the right side of the photo, nearer the camera, is still attached to the 'roller'. The awning is not connected to the trailer at any point, only to the power 'roller', and it is cleaned and completely rolled up. The weight of the rolled awning, plus the fact that it is not attached/anchored to the trailer has resulted in the arms no longer being in the same position as in the photo, but essentially straightened out, holding the 'roller' out from the trailer at about a 40 degree angle. There is an arm in the photo that is attached to the upper portion of the trailer, and also to the longer, upward-pointed arm attached to a lower area of the trailer; it is pointing downward in the photo. That is about what angle the entire assembly sits now...

I'll try to post what it looks like now, sometime tomorrow morning (I have weird work hours...lol).

 

[Alfa38User]

It sounds to me that the bolt rope has pulled out of the rail, probably due to constant ragging of the awning in the wind. After squeezing the track of the awning rail closed a bit down its length with a pair of vice grips, you may be able to slide the awing itself back to the spot where it is barely in the track and then re-feed the whole thing back into the track.

What I did after squeezing the track closed a bit was to remove 3 or 4 feet of the broken plastic rod (in my case), inserted the empty awning sleeve back into the slot and then carefully fed the rod back into place.

 

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I'm having issues with posting a picture; the photos taken on my phone are all too large to be posted, and I am too much of a tech-doof to know how to down-size or adjust them to fit... 

 

[Alfa38User]

Just emailing them to yourself may do the trick (if using an Apple). This might help as well:
http://bricelam.net/ImageResizer

 

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This is what it looks like right now; I think the way to go about it as just one person is to try to get it into the channel or rail again by taking the top of the channel off, rather than by trying to re-slide the whole thing in. I think that that would require taking it off the roller part as well, and fighting with it to slide it in while it wants to fall off the roof...

 

[Alfa38User]

Ahh, completely off. The only way to handle that, IMHO, is to remove the roller and then remove it completely from the roller, then slide it back into the channel bit by bit. Use a step ladder and perhaps one on the roof.  BUT... you will have to figure out why it came out in the first place. Where is the plastic rod?? What is the condition of the sewn in pocket where the rod goes? Has the channel opening been spread open too much allowing it to pull out? Note that there is supposed to be small screws in the ends of the roller and the rail to prevent it moving side to side. They have to be removed first.

Putting it back on the roller end is relative easier as you will standing on the ground

 

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From a cursory inspection when it happened, it looks like the rod is still in, and that the 'sleeve' is still intact; my guess was that the channel stretched enough to get it started, and it worked itself out from there. I'll take another look at it next week, when I'm back in town...