RV awnings are great once they work as they need to, offering shade on scorching summer season days. Nevertheless, like all RV parts, they could be a problem once they don’t work. Listed below are frequent RV awning issues and recommendations on repair or keep away from them.
Technician Tip: The totally different producers and varieties of RV awnings imply that the issues you expertise might require model-specific instruction. Your awning’s producer is your finest useful resource for extra operation and troubleshooting recommendation.
An RV Awning Elements Diagram
Avoiding and fixing frequent RV awning issues is simpler for those who’re acquainted with the components of an electrical RV awning. Every producer and mannequin might have barely totally different names for every half, however these are Lippert’s official names.
Now for some definitions:
Wall-Mounted Rail: Secures the highest fringe of the awning cloth to the RV’s exterior wall. The rail will get put in earlier than the remainder of the awning and is often a single piece of metallic with a channel for the material to slip into.
Cloth: Stretches from the rail to the curler tube when the awning opens. It’s sometimes UV and moisture-resistant and secures across the curler tube when the awning is closed.
Wall Brackets: Mount the assist arm assemblies to your RV’s exterior sidewall. They’re a part of the assist arm meeting.
Curler Tube Meeting: Extends parallel to your RV between the drive and loafer head assemblies.
Fuel Strut: Creates a push or pull pressure that controls the awning’s weight and movement when opening and shutting.
Drive Head Meeting: Powers the awning because it opens and closes. It’s sometimes discovered on the entrance of the awning. Relying in your awning make and mannequin, the drive head will use a spring or motor.
Loafer Head Meeting: Retains the curler tube meeting parallel to the drive head meeting. It’s positioned towards the rear of the awning.
Interior Drive Arms: Hook up with the wall mount at one finish and the outer lever arms on the different.
Outer Lever Arms: Join the inside arms to the pinnacle assemblies.
Pitch Arms: Provide help to customise your awning’s pitch or tilt angle.
Some awnings have a handbook crank deal with, a wise management system for operation, and different added options. Seek the advice of your proprietor’s handbook for an awning components diagram particular to your camper.
What If Your RV Awning Received’t Retract?
A caught RV awning can derail your departure time and have campground house owners asking you why you’ve overstayed your welcome. In case your RV awning received’t retract after opening, listed below are a number of potential causes:
- Lack of energy. Drained RV batteries can impair your capability to shut an RV awning.
- Warped or stretched cloth. Broken, torn, or warped cloth will impair your awning’s capability to open and shut.(Often from improper use or environmental injury.)
- Free or broken {hardware}. Free, broken, or lacking screws holding sure RV awning components collectively can impair correct operation.
- Improper positioning. Awning arms needs to be positioned parallel to one another throughout set up. If their place shifts on account of motion within the awning rail or wall brackets, the arms received’t align, and your awning will retract inconsistently or under no circumstances.
Study manually shut an RV awning to get to a service middle for inspection and prognosis.
Not Sufficient Energy to RV Awning Motor
There’s a transparent signal that your RV awning isn’t getting sufficient energy. Merely put, you don’t hear the motor working in any respect once you press the button to function your awning.
If that is your case, start by checking the fuses and breakers, flipping popped breakers again to the On place, and changing blown fuses, if relevant. Then, verify your 12V home battery energy. If the cost drops too low, it might not provide adequate energy to increase/retract your awning.
Place a volt meter throughout the home battery and take a look at working the awning. When you see a big voltage drop, change the battery.
If the facility provide is deemed adequate, however the motor nonetheless isn’t working, verify for unfastened or corroded wiring in and across the awning motor. Free connections should be mounted to your motor to operate correctly. Frayed or corroded wiring needs to be changed by somebody skilled in RV electrical techniques.
To check the wiring, unplug the awning motor and join the wires on to your battery of one other 12-volt supply. If the awning strikes, the issue is within the wiring or the awning swap.
To check swap connections, take away the awning swap and use a brief piece of wire to attach the 12-volt energy terminal to the lengthen and retract sides of the swap. In case your awning then extends and retracts correctly, it’s possible you’ll want to switch the swap.
Technician Tip: When awning electrical points are extra difficult than guaranteeing ample battery energy, circuit breaker place, and fuse well being, most RVers schedule an awning diagnostic at their native RV service middle.
Warped or Torn RV Awning Cloth
The material of an RV awning could be torn or broken in some ways. Frequent examples embrace falling particles, excessive winds, and improper operation. Failing to retract and safe your RV awning in inclement climate vastly will increase the probabilities of torn RV awning cloth.
RV awnings may stretch if uncovered to an excessive amount of water or particles. This sometimes occurs once you depart your awning open throughout a storm and expose it to heavy rain and/or particles accumulation. Warped RV awning cloth will stop your awning from opening and shutting easily and evenly.
So, what are some methods to keep away from this frequent RV awning drawback?
- Retract your awning earlier than storms to guard it from sudden snow, rain, hail, and excessive winds.
- Watch out the place you park to attenuate the probabilities of heavy pine cones, branches, and different particles falling onto your awning.
- Know open and shut an RV awning accurately. Working procedures differ based mostly on awning kind and, typically, the producer. Seek the advice of your proprietor’s handbook to keep away from damaging your RV awning cloth on account of improper use.
What’s the answer in case your RV awning cloth is torn?
For starters, changing RV awning cloth is a two-person job, at minimal. Because of the pressure on the awning roll tube, it may be harmful for many RVers to take away the awning to carry out an RV awning cloth substitute. Due to this fact, many campers with broken awning cloth search the assistance of skilled technicians at an Tenting World service middle.
Damaged or Broken RV Awning Arms
When working correctly, RV awning arms ought to transfer parallel to one another. If one aspect extends extra shortly than the opposite, or your awning isn’t opening and shutting easily, your awning arm could also be broken.
These are the almost certainly causes of damaged or broken RV awning arms:
- Contact with an obstruction when extending an awning with out correct clearance.
- Driving with an awning that’s not absolutely retracted.
- Leaving your awning out throughout extreme climate.
Regardless of the trigger, it’s possible you’ll want to switch your total RV awning. The diploma of the required restore will depend upon the extent of the injury. Your finest path is scheduling an RV awning inspection with a licensed RV service middle.
Technician Tip: Different broken or corroded components may cause RV awning points. Whereas designed to withstand corrosion, awnings stay outdoors and are topic to the weather. That is extra frequent in older awnings, however you may verify by visually inspecting awning parts for corrosion. Use a heavy-duty rust dissolver or oxidation remover to wash awning parts.
RV Awning Is Improperly Loaded
Awnings should be loaded evenly into their roll tube to open and shut correctly. In the event that they aren’t, your awning might jam. Sadly, it’s exhausting to check for this for those who can’t lengthen or retract your awning.
In case your awning labored correctly and stopped midway by extending/retracting, you might have an awning jam. That is particularly potential if the facility provide is adequate and the motor is working once you press the swap.
Don’t drive with an awning jam during which your awning isn’t absolutely retracted. Contact a cell RV service skilled. Cellular service divisions can be found at choose Tenting World places. Name the location close to you to inquire if they provide cell RV providers.
Different Frequent RV Awning Issues
Extra RV awning issues might end result from a stripped motor screw, damaged or lacking RV awning strap, burnt-out RV awning lights, a damaged RV awning wind sensor, different motor points, and extra. For many of those extra awning points, you’ll want to seek out components suitable with the unique tools producer (OEM).
Our components specialist at retail places throughout the US may help you, offered together with your awning’s make and mannequin. Moreover, technicians can full these RV repairs to get your awning operational and also you again on the street.
Contact your native RV service middle about damaged, lacking, or broken RV awning components and schedule an appointment for RV awning restore.
Have you ever skilled different RV awning issues? Inform us about your experiences and options within the feedback under!