Upper awning arms pop out of lower arms

[stillRV]

Hi, this is my first RV and so my first awning. I bought it used and I guess the lower awning arms have some damage, they seem to be pried open. This allows upper awning arms to pop out of the track. I tried bending it shut with a vice, but it just springs back to this shape. Can this be fixed? Thanks.

 

[Ranger smith]

The arms should slide up and down in the track you can put a self drilling screw in there as a stop to keep it from popping out

 

[Rene T]

Hi, this is my first RV and so my first awning. I bought it used and I guess the lower awning arms have some damage, they seem to be pried open. This allows upper awning arms to pop out of the track. I tried bending it shut with a vice, but it just springs back to this shape. Can this be fixed? Thanks.

View attachment 155178

View attachment 155179

Does it happen on both sides?

 

[stillRV]

The arms should slide up and down in the track you can put a self drilling screw in there as a stop to keep it from popping out

Yes they slide up and down in the track, but when they get to the top where they are supposed to snap into place, they sometimes pop out. If I snap them into place gently they usually do not pop out. But then if we have any wind and the awning moves a little, they sometimes pop out.

I thought about using a screw or bolt to hold the track together tight, but could not find a spot for it. I did not think about using a screw to stop the travel, I am not sure where I would place it. The foot has to move enough in the slide to lock into place past the latch.



Here you can see the arm is mostly all track. No flat surface to put a screw though.

Does it happen on both sides?

Yes both sides are bent open as in the first photo.

 

[stillRV]

Here's another photo that illustrates what's happening.

 

[Mark_K5LXP]

This photo shows the extrusion might be splayed. That would allow the brace foot to pop out of the track. The fix would be to bend it closed again, being careful to not crack the rail.



Mark B.
Albuquerque, NM

 

[Rene T]

Is it just on the ends that this will happen or does it happen the entire length of the arm? If it’s the entire length I’m wondering if the wasn’t at one time some type of cap that would go over each foot keeping it in the track and making it quiet to slide. My friend has the same awning but it’s 1500 miles away in FL and I won’t be able to look at his till November.

One last thing. How old is this rv? I wonder if the width of the feet are really worn out allowing it to come out of the track. We need to know if this happens the entire length of the arm or just at the end.

 

[stillRV]

This photo shows the extrusion might be splayed. That would allow the brace foot to pop out of the track. The fix would be to bend it closed again, being careful to not crack the rail.

View attachment 155186

Mark B.
Albuquerque, NM

Yes, it is splayed. I have tried bending it back, using my vice to clamp it, but it just springs back to where it is now. Because of the cap I cannot squeeze it extra tight to get it to stay in the correct shape when it rebounds. If I took it completely apart I might be able to squeeze it enough to return to it's original shape, but I don't know if I can handle that job. I am handy but the spring & roller etc. kind of worries me.

Is it just on the ends that this will happen or does it happen the entire length of the arm? If it’s the entire length I’m wondering if the wasn’t at one time some type of cap that would go over each foot keeping it in the track and making it quiet to slide. My friend has the same awning but it’s 1500 miles away in FL and I won’t be able to look at his till November.

One last thing. How old is this rv? I wonder if the width of the feet are really worn out allowing it to come out of the track. We need to know if this happens the entire length of the arm or just at the end.

It's only at the end. The rest of the track is the correct size and holds the foot in the track.

The RV is a 2006. The awning fabric was replaced recently but I imagine the hardware is original.

 

[Mark_K5LXP]

My guess is the awning suffered some trauma, like an impact or maybe some wind that tweaked it. Since it's right outside my back door I looked at mine, and it would seem you could "squish" the channel back. You might have to remove the casting at the end to allow it to move. Something else you could try is drilling a hole through both sides near the ends and using a long bolt to compress the channel back together. Extrusions like this tend to be brittle and it might crack if it's been bent too far, and bent back. In that event what I'm thinking would be to cut the ends off, and re-install the support arm spring catch into some new holes you'd have to make. Definitely falls under the category of "project" but doable with basic tools.

Mark B.
Albuquerque, NM

 

[NY_Dutch]

You said you could squeeze it back in place with your vice, so I think there's enough of a slot in the roller bracket just past where the foot stops that you could through drill a 1/4" hole in the arm and insert a bolt, lock washer, and nut to keep it drawn together.

 

[CharlesinGA]

Yes, when you squeeze it, it just springs back. That top cap and the shaft are connected to a spring inside, so you would need to put a vice grip on it somehow and hold the top cap from turning, when you unbolted it and pulled it out of the arm. You could carefully unwind the spring, counting the turns and direction and put it back when done, or secure the vice grip while you work with the arm.

The small telescoping "brace" that the slider is connected to is called a rafter, just so you know. Somehow that large extrusion has become spread. With the top fitting out of it, you could easily over squeeze it and hopefully it would spring back to the correct width.

Dometic does have repair kits available that have upper and lower main arms, available in white, and gray. Many parts have been discontinued.

Dometic 8483000.002 Awning Hardware - Short Straight Side, Satin
SKU: Z1384-8483000.002 $462.53

They make a long arm version also.

Charles

 

[NY_Dutch]

Yes, when you squeeze it, it just springs back. That top cap and the shaft are connected to a spring inside, so you would need to put a vice grip on it somehow and hold the top cap from turning, when you unbolted it and pulled it out of the arm. You could carefully unwind the spring, counting the turns and direction and put it back when done, or secure the vice grip while you work with the arm.

The small telescoping "brace" that the slider is connected to is called a rafter, just so you know. Somehow that large extrusion has become spread. With the top fitting out of it, you could easily over squeeze it and hopefully it would spring back to the correct width.

Dometic does have repair kits available that have upper and lower main arms, available in white, and gray. Many parts have been discontinued.

Dometic 8483000.002 Awning Hardware - Short Straight Side, Satin
SKU: Z1384-8483000.002 $462.53

They make a long arm version also.

Charles

There's no need to remove the top cap. The arms can be drilled with the cap in place. The added bolt could even be used to draw the sides back into place without using the vice. If significant pressure is required to draw the sides into place, I would probably use a grade 5 bolt to minimize stretching or possible breakage with a grade 2 bolt. The bolt could also be upsized to 5/16", but I think 3/8" might weaken the arm too much.

 

[CharlesinGA]

So you are suggesting drilling horizontally thru the arm below the pivoting attachment where the cap and spring shaft attaches, BUT not low enough to interfere with the slider of the rafter from locking into place? That is a workable solution and use the right length bolt with a self locking nut and very little threads sticking out and it would look good too.

Charles

 

[NY_Dutch]

So you are suggesting drilling horizontally thru the arm below the pivoting attachment where the cap and spring shaft attaches, BUT not low enough to interfere with the slider of the rafter from locking into place? That is a workable solution and use the right length bolt with a self locking nut and very little threads sticking out and it would look good too.

Charles

Look at the photos closely, Charles. There's a slot in the bottom of the roller cap that will allow a bolt to pass through the arm without interfering with the rafter slide at all.

 

[CharlesinGA]

But too far down and it will interfere with the latching of the rafter. I have the same design on my Bigfoot.

 

[stillRV]

Is it safe to remove this grey cap from the end of the awning arm? Will the awning want to roll back up if I pop that out?

If I remove it I think I can bend the arm closed to the proper position, then reinstall the cap. Looks like there is just one bolt on the bottom that holds it in.

 

[Kirk]

If the roll latch is in the unroll position and remains that way it should be fine. You will need to support the awning roll tube when you do this.

 

[CharlesinGA]

Put some large vise grips on it and have someone hang on. Awning rolled up will lessen the tension but not completely relieve it and you don't want it to unwind. That is what I mentioned before about disconnecting it and carefully counting the turns as you unwind the spring inside.

Charles

 

[stillRV]

Fixed!