Progress on the 1976 Sovereign

[juel]

Are there bits and pieces that go with the awning? I don't have any bits or pieces. Right now I'm scared to put it out for fear of not being able to get it back up. Is it hard to do? I emailed Carefree for some instructions. We'll see how that works out. Thanks for the offer. I guess you don't have the actual manual or instruction do you?

[overlander63]

Originally Posted by juel

Well, think we're almost finished with the Sovereign and will be towing down to the lake next week end - I HOPE! Got all the vinyl inserts in and the big blue stripe on the curb and street side. Got the LCD's hooked up to their VCR/DVD's. That gets harder with each new TV. Thanks Overlander63. I might try to get a manual for that awning. I understand you can't get parts for them any longer, but it would be nice to know how to open it. In our restoration we found the center arm under one of the beds in mint condition. Looks as if they never used it.

To open your awning, you will find a small lever on the roller at the front awning arm. Flip the small lever back. Loosen the small plastic knobs on each awning arm, and unfurl the awning by pulling on the pull located near the center of the awning, on the fabric. You should have found a long rod with a 90 degree bend in the end. Put the end with the 90 degree bend through the loop on the pull, use that to reach the pull . When the awning is unfurled, slide the end braces up to the topof the awning arms, they will latch into place, and tighten the plastic knobs. Unlatch the catches on the arms, and raise the awning to the desired height.
If you don't like whacking your head on the awning arm, you can unlatch the base of the arm from the trailer, and swivel it straight out to the ground, where you can secure it by a couple of large nails through the holes you will find in the base into the ground.

[drag'nwagon]

Juel,


I have the same carefree awning on my '74 31'. It is easy to operate and it is easy to adjust the spring if needed. I have the manual for mine if you need a copy send me a PM and I will scan and email to you. We replaced the fabric last year and added the alumigaurd to it, it was very simple to do. You really need two people to open and close as it requires that you go a little slow to give the spring some time to release (open) and regain tension (close). Once you do it twice you will have no problem.

[overlander63]

Originally Posted by overlander63

If you don't like whacking your head on the awning arm, you can unlatch the base of the arm from the trailer, and swivel it straight out to the ground, where you can secure it by a couple of large nails through the holes you will find in the base into the ground.

It looks like you don't have that variant on your awning, but the rest should be about the same.

[maccamper]

We recently discovered that forum Member qjktx has put scanned pages of a Carefree manual in his public photo gallery. The manual has a copyright date of 1976, so it should be applicable to several years of our trailers.

I tried to print a copy, but the text was not legible. When I went back and single and then double clicked on the images, they enlarged to a legible size, and printed off nicely. Many kudos and positive Karma to qjktx.

Carefree's customer service service folks also recently shared the following information: if there is a sticker on the awning arm that says" CN3N4, then the old hardware probably cannot be replaced with new. If the arm has a sticker that says "AN3N4", then some of the old hardware can be replaced with new if the arm is smooth and not corrugated.

I do have one question for other Carefree owners: do you have a bracket just above the windows that is about in the center between the arms? I have enclosed a picture of the bracket I took off our trailer. I think it may be associated with the awning since it was installed with the same cheap plated lag screws that were used to fasten the arms to the trailer body. We have no pull down strap on our awning, could this bracket have been for a center arm for the awning (now missing) or to hold down the strap?

Thanks very much for all the helpful instructions that have been posted, they are much appreciated.

Laird

[juel]

I have that bracket on my 76 Sovereign. I assumed it was part of the awning and left it there. I also found a center arm stored under one the the twin beds. Looks new. Thanks for the info on the awning manual. I will try to get it.

[overlander63]

Let's see if I can upload the manual:

[Distantdrummer]

Juel, some odds & ends questions please.

Did you make your curtains? They look very professional.

Where did you get the replacement vinyl for the belt rails?

Is the stripe stock on that model and year?
I thought some years wide blue stripes were aluminum between two belt rails and were lower on the trailer sides.

Where did you get the stripe kit?
Was it pre punched to fit around indicator lamps etc.?
Putting on decals of any size is an art. I don't see one bubble in you alls work. Do you guys build Rose Bowl Parade floats also??

On the AIRSTREAM letters on the rear did you paint just the top of the raised letters or all the way down to the trailer skin?
That masking job looks very professional too.

Have you all had to replace anything on the Armstrong? If so what and where did you find the parts?


Do I understand you guys are goin to park this and make it a "park model" no pull weekend home?
Anyhow it looks wonderful.

thanks

[juel]

The 8" decal came from here Vinyl Striping,. It was a bugger to put on and yes there were bubbles in it but I got them out with several insulin syringes. Just takes patience. I used a wall paper knife to cut around what was in the way on that curb side and that was a nightmare. Two tries on the door alone. It did turn out very well and I do like it a lot. The reason I put that blue stripe on is that there was a nasty scratch down the side that I hated. Too deep to buff out. The vinyl inserts came from my local Airstream repair man Tom Griffin. No dealership in this state, but Tom and his wife work on Airstreams and can order what I need from the factory. Inland RV had it too. Two different widths, so you need to tell them what trailer you have. The curtains were made by the PO's daughter. Hate the pink but she did a wonderful job, so instead of paying $600. to replace them, they stay for now. And no, we are not making this a park model. We have property that we put it on in the Spring and then pull it home in the Fall. We have the 24ft Argosy if we want to travel, but it use to stay at the lake before we had the Sovereign. The rear blue letters were blue down to the skin on the trailer, so I taped around them, sprayed them, then sanded off the raised edges just like they were before. Took about an hour to tape those off! The Armstrong A/C works well, so we haven't done anything to it. I read where you should not trash them as they can be fixed, but that's all I know. All the installation and operation manuals are still in the trailer. Very detailed information. Pictures show the scratch and the blue letters after just painting. Edges haven't been sanded off yet in one picture but have in the other. Oops, sorry, I didn't include a picture of the sanded edges. May not have taken one yet.

[juel]

Maybe this shows the sanded letters.

[juel]

WOO HOO! The Sovereign's at the lake and everything worked perfectly on it. Even the old Armstrong A/C worked better than we ever could have hoped for and it is really, really quiet. What a difference from the Old Coleman and new Carrier in the Argosy. I will cry when this one stops working. Just a word of caution here....never follow your husband towing your 31ft Airstream at 70 MPH.

[wahoonc]

Originally Posted by juel

WOO HOO! The Sovereign's at the lake and everything worked perfectly on it. Even the old Armstrong A/C worked better than we ever could have hoped for and it is really, really quiet. What a difference from the Old Coleman and new Carrier in the Argosy. I will cry when this one stops working. Just a word of caution here....never follow your husband towing your 31ft Airstream at 70 MPH.

Juel,
Find your self a GOOD commercial refrigeration mechanic. The Armstrong Baybreeze unit is very fixable with mostly off the shelf parts, if someone is willing to take the time to trouble shoot and repair it. Unlike the current disposable units

Aaron

[juel]

Thanks for the info. I was certainly surprised at how well this 1976 unit worked and how quiet it was. Why can't they make them that quiet now. I hate to turn that Carrier on in the Argosy. Can't hear the TV or anything else. People talk about generators being noisy, maybe Honda should market a quiet RV A/C unit. That would be a good seller I imagine. That and my inflatable hail cover could make me a fortune. Too bad I don't know how to make these things.

[maccamper]

Juel, the finish on your trailer looks really nice, I don't see any sign of fading clearcoat when I am looking at the pictures. Did you remove the clearcoat and then wax it or have a new clearcoat reapplied? How did you do that?
Thanks.

Laird