Broken Awning Arm

[gaylejoe]

Yesterday our awaning snapped in two at the arm. No bending just a clean break on the arm which holds it in place. Then the other arm which extends from the body of the trailer out to the extended awaning broke near the open "C" connection.

At the time we had a light rain and no wind. The awaning had a good slope allowing the water to drain off it.

Doesn't appear to have any damage other than the supporting arm at the rear of the trailer. I am going to replace all the arms just in case. It took us several minutes to free ourselves from the blocked door.

[CanoeStream]

Was it part #7 at this link? A few years back I did that once while closing the awning in the dark. Turns out I got the 'C' misplaced onto the wider base of part 3E. Should have realized something was going wrong the way the rollup tube stayed up high and out from the trailer. You can temporize for travel with some zip ties, but you're done deploying the awning until you get the replacement part.

I called my local Airstream dealer and they had one part in stock. ZipDee is one of those amazing service companies. Bet if you give them a call that you could have the part by the end of the week. Installing the part was simple.

[gaylejoe]

Canoe, it broke at #7 near the hook and broke at #2. I don't know which broke first. When I tried to open the trailer door the spring tension started spinning the remaining part of the arm. It nearly broke my right arm when it hit me. Received some good bruises from it. All this was very strange since there was no wind and light rain.

[gaylejoe]

Got the awaning repaired and it looks as though the break or failure was where one of the holes was drilled. It was a clean break.

[azflycaster]

Did you have the hook (#7) attached to the roller where it enters the head (#1) or to the pin on the side of arm (#3) when it broke. I have seen several people extend the awning with the rafter arm attached to the arm and not the roller. This will cause a lot of stress to the arm that you broke.

[gaylejoe]

Richard, it was attached at the roller. That's where I've always attached it and the way they did it at Zip-Dee. There is a small fracture at one of the drilled holes.

[Airtandem]

I have had 2 of the "crab claws" break. I now carry one with me at all times. I have also had part "2" break from the rain. It broke at one of the drilled holes. I think that the holes are drilled too deep. Anyway,I called zipDee got the part and fixed it myself. Yes, be careful of the tension on the roller spring when doing so. Ouch.

I drop the awning about "2 holes" in case of rain but still got pooling. The water collected between the center seam and the edge binding. I considered purchasing the center brace, but this still would not have helped. One would still have 2 puddles. Any other suggestions???

[newroswell]

Originally Posted by CanoeStream

Was it part #7 at this link? A few years back I did that once while closing the awning in the dark. Turns out I got the 'C' misplaced onto the wider base of part 3E.

Wow, we did the same thing late one night. I called Zip Dee, and had the part a few days later, easy to fix.

[joelin1]

I had #2 bend really bad . when I was setting up wrong . I replace the new one
with stainless steel from zip dee . It looks much stronger . but the price more than 2x

[wareaglewalt]

Originally Posted by joelin1

I had #2 bend really bad . when I was setting up wrong . I replace the new one
with stainless steel from zip dee . It looks much stronger . but the price more than 2x

How did the stainless steel arm work out for you? We're in the process of having to replace that same arm.

[joelin1]

Originally Posted by wareaglewalt

How did the stainless steel arm work out for you? We're in the process of having to replace that same arm.

It works perfectly