Awning gap

When I close the electric awning, there is a gap at the top of the front arm (1st photo).  If I push on the arm, it will close (2nd photo), but it will not stay.  Rear arm closes all the way.  Probably not a big issue but with the arm not closing all the way it does obstruct a bit while driving and using the passenger side mirror. 

Does anyone know of an easy fix for this?

Thanks,

JJ

Open the awning and check the distance of each end of the awning on the roller tube.  Needs to be dead centered.  If not, slacken a little and tug it either way to get it centered.  I put some dishwashing soapy water to lube it up some.  When you get it centered, put a small stainless screw in each end, anchored to the roller.  When off center, it will roll up quicker one one side than the other, throwing the arms out of wack.

Open the awning and check the distance of each end of the awning on the roller tube.  Needs to be dead centered.  If not, slacken a little and tug it either way to get it centered.  I put some dishwashing soapy water to lube it up some.  When you get it centered, put a small stainless screw in each end, anchored to the roller.  When off center, it will roll up quicker one one side than the other, throwing the arms out of wack.

Thanks for the tip!  I checked it this morning and the awning was within 1/2 inch of being centered on the awning tube.  I centered it and that helped, but still had a gap.  I then looked at the awning where it attaches to the RV.  That was off center by an inch.  It had screws like you mentioned so it must of came that way from the factory.  So I centered that and it helped, but I still had a gap.  I suspect the awning is a bit longer in the front than in the back.  Maybe it stretched?  My final step was to make the roller tube's diameter a little larger in the front than in the back.  I had some foam board laying around so a slid a small piece (6" x 1/2" x 1/8") under the awning at the front end of the tube.  That took care of the rest of the gap.  It kind of surprised me that 1/8" was enough, but it gets multiplied with each rotation of the awning on the tube.

Thanks again for the tip, that got me pointed in the right direction.

JJ

My final step was to make the roller tube's diameter a little larger in the front than in the back.  I had some foam board laying around so a slid a small piece (6" x 1/2" x 1/8") under the awning at the front end of the tube.  That took care of the rest of the gap.  It kind of surprised me that 1/8" was enough, but it gets multiplied with each rotation of the awning on the tube.



JJ

I had a similar problem when I replaced the awning fabric on our Fiamma. The proper replacement wasnt available, so i just ordered a 13' 'universal' off amazon and trimmed the rear edge. Figured i would keep the pretty seam up front.

Nope.       The seam on just one side added so much circumference that the awning barely made it half way and really crooked.        Trimmed off the front seam , all was well.  At least both ends matched.     Ended up being a good $99 repair, still looking good going on 2 years later.



Regarding the centering screws - if having the awning off center can cause it to roll up unevenly, I wonder if you can offset it slightly as an adjustment.    I am hoping to replace the Fiamma with a 14' roll up in the next few weeks, hurricanes permitting.    Might try a few adjustments on the centering of the fabric, and see how it affects operation. See if it can make up for the installer errors.. 

Quote from: JJCruiser on July 29, 2020, 01:04:49 pm

My final step was to make the roller tube's diameter a little larger in the front than in the back.  I had some foam board laying around so a slid a small piece (6" x 1/2" x 1/8") under the awning at the front end of the tube.  That took care of the rest of the gap.  It kind of surprised me that 1/8" was enough, but it gets multiplied with each rotation of the awning on the tube.



JJ

I had a similar problem when I replaced the awning fabric on our Fiamma. The proper replacement wasnt available, so i just ordered a 13' 'universal' off amazon and trimmed the rear edge. Figured i would keep the pretty seam up front.

Nope.       The seam on just one side added so much circumference that the awning barely made it half way and really crooked.        Trimmed off the front seam , all was well.  At least both ends matched.     Ended up being a good $99 repair, still looking good going on 2 years later.



Regarding the centering screws - if having the awning off center can cause it to roll up unevenly, I wonder if you can offset it slightly as an adjustment.   I am hoping to replace the Fiamma with a 14' roll up in the next few weeks, hurricanes permitting.    Might try a few adjustments on the centering of the fabric, and see how it affects operation. See if it can make up for the installer errors.. 

I thought the same thing and tried to offset the awning on the tube as well as on the RV to eliminate the remaining gap.   After few tries, I was not able to find a combination that did the trick.  What I found is that too much offset would pull on the awning arm to the point that one or the other arms would not seat properly at the top of the vertical bracket mounted to the RV.  That made the gap worse.  You might have better luck with your setup.

JJ

     Thanks!   Guess i will have to get the brackets installed right then. 

For what it's worth, I have a similar gap on my 2551's awning.  The way I deal with it is to roll in until it stops, then give the IN button another quick push and the gap closes.  I have been doing that for several years now.  No issues.

Your mileage may vary.

For what it's worth, I have a similar gap on my 2551's awning.  The way I deal with it is to roll in until it stops, then give the IN button another quick push and the gap closes.  I have been doing that for several years now.  No issues.

Your mileage may vary.

Manual awning.     Mine does have clips that are supposed to engage, I will see when it is installed.   

I have a 3100 so a long awning.  It got so it didn't close right. the first year.  I was headed to the factory anyhow.  Doug said the sun can cause the material to shrink and then it doesn't work evenly.  He had to do some sort of reset on the awning.  It worked for awhile but back to the same thing.  Seems like the material they use for an awning shouldn't change size because of the sun. Or perhaps it was just a line I was given - it happens

Thanks, JJCRUISER.   I am going to try a slight increase in the tube like you detailed.   I have the same problem you described and have had the problem for about three years.   

Paul