Art ,there are many ways that can you go about fixing this problem one way that i have seen is to just move the arms over enough to drill new holes and still cover the old ones , another method is to use nutserts or rivnuts , the method that was used on Kevins unit sounds more or less like a patch which I would only try as a last ditch effort , my 71 A/S has a Carefree awning which is more or less like an A&E awning and the drilling new holes method was used on mine at some point during the life of A/S and has been very successful ,infact I had no idea mine had been even repaired until I started restoring my awning .I reused the second set of holes and they still are holding tight .One other solution is to use the next larger size screw I believe the screws used on mine were # 8 or # 10 ,You could easily use # 12 inplace of either one .I also replaced all my hardware with stainless steel screws ,bolts and nuts where ever I could .I also made sure to put some sealant into the original set of holes before i put the arms back inplace, I dont the person who did the repair originally thought to do that .The Zip Dee awning is very pricey ,I own both a Zip Dee on my 74 Tradewind and a Carefree on my 71 Tradewind , personally .......and I know others wont agree with this but again this is my personal opinion I feel the Carefree is easier to use and less of a hassle to put up and down,but the Zip Dee does appear to be a better built awning .As far as worth the Extra $$$$$ thats your call !I feel both awning sytems still leave alot to be desired in way of mounting. I hope this helps Tom
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