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Old 06-19-2016, 05:23 PM   #21
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I saw a tip on one of the daily RV blogs relating to water pooling in an awning.

They suggested installing a brass grommet in the awning cloth at the point where the water pools to drain it off. Same kind of grommet found at the corner of tarps

Tip was aimed towards those with awnings that don't tilt but it could be a useful "belt and suspenders" approach for ours.


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Old 06-19-2016, 05:37 PM   #22
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Just so you know....
all replacement ZipDee arms, rafters and supports are available in stainless steel. These parts offer much greater strength and resistance to this tyoe event in the future. AS specs the aluminim parts as it saves THEM money during build, I have all stainless parts and never have broken arms.
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Old 06-19-2016, 06:40 PM   #23
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Quote:
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I don't think you need to be a boondocker to understand how to use a awning
Everyone knows boondockers are the smarter older brothers of us regular campers!
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Old 06-19-2016, 06:50 PM   #24
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Quote:
Originally Posted by greghoro View Post
I saw a tip on one of the daily RV blogs relating to water pooling in an awning.

They suggested installing a brass grommet in the awning cloth at the point where the water pools to drain it off. Same kind of grommet found at the corner of tarps

Tip was aimed towards those with awnings that don't tilt but it could be a useful "belt and suspenders" approach for ours.


Greg
The older Zip Dee awnings did have holes with brass grommets along the tube.
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Old 06-19-2016, 07:08 PM   #25
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FCStreamer, sorry to hear about your failure with the awing support. As Bart noted about the stainless steel supports, I too have considered buying a set. Looking at the picture of the broken support arm I see there is hardly any metal left once they bore out the stop ( just about where it failed). Have to wonder what it would cost Airstream to put SS on all their trailers, or at least putting them on the 27Ft and up trailers with the larger awning.
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Old 06-19-2016, 07:32 PM   #26
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Thanks everyone for your kind words and encouragement. They actually make me fill a little better.

I'm having work done on the ACs tomorrow, and I have the number of a local Zip Dee guy I will call. I will ask about the stainless steel supports.
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Old 06-20-2016, 07:22 AM   #27
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Foiled Again View Post
The ZipDee awning isn't really all that intuitive. I'm sure everyone of us who was lucky had someone else explain the "how to" or saw a youtube video.

We should provide a skicky post on "ZipDee for newbies"- especially how to get it down in a hurry! I rather dislike using mine simply because I'm normally alone AND I'm not tall enough to hand crank the lockdown wheels. Getting it up and down is not as bad as lifting full 40 lb propane tanks, but it sure goes SO much easier with two someone helping with it.

I just bought a "Clam" screen room... which I plan to use in lieu of the missing awnings on the Avion. Chose it for several reasons: (A) one person CAN get it up and down fairly simply (B) if it gets fouled up by wind or rain, it's a lot cheaper to replace than an awning (C) with decent tent stakes it shouldn't be able to come apart and foul up anything ELSE like the side of the trailer. My sister, a tent camper of long experience warned me about how bad the 5 inch plastic stakes they include with tents and screen rooms work.

I don't know what I'm going to do if as I suspect, this screen room will "integrate" with the hatch of the EB. It doesn't pack small. Right now it's on the shelf behind the couch in the Avion. Going to have to redo the whole packing job in the truck if I want it for both trailers.

My campground just got hit by straight line winds last weekend. Lawn chairs, screen rooms, awnings, a BIG tree, grills, bikes, golf carts etc. were tossed everywhere. Even one trailer slid almost 4 feet sideways - why it didn't roll no one knows - and even though three screen rooms were damaged none of them whacked a trailer or car.

Paula
No one is tall enough to tighten the clamp wheels by hand.
I reach up there with the awning rod to turn the wheels.
I pull down on the clamp wheel with the awning rod for the initial loosening or final tightening.
Use the awning rod in a circular motion to loosen or tighten the clamp wheels.
Also use the awning rod to flip the clamp wheel down out of the awning for deployment or flip the clamp wheel up into the notch in the awning hardware for stowing.
It might have been demonstrated in the walk through at the dealer. I later watched a YouTube video.
I made an instructional video deploying and stowing the little awnings and the big awning and posted it on a thread on Facebook Airstream Addicts where a lady was curious about how to open the awnings.
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Old 06-20-2016, 07:43 AM   #28
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I feel your pain. I had a similar experience a year ago. We went to sleep with clear skies and no wind. About 1:30am I was awakened to the sLund of a light shower (or so I thought!). A little while later later...BAM! It sounded like someone hit the side of the camper with a baseball bat. I looked out the window and only saw blue. The water pooled even though I had the awning tilted and bent the roller arm (the outer tube). It swung down and hit the hubcap hard enough to dent it. I was quite a sight to see at 2am in my underwear un the picnic table trying to bend it back and roll it up. A soaking wet 25 foot awning is very heavy to try to roll up! The awning was toast and, luckily, insurance paid out. Expensive learning lesson! I always put up the awning from now on.
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Old 06-20-2016, 08:01 AM   #29
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That scratch on the side will polish out but you want someone to do it with repainting the damaged clear coat. Otherwise moisture will get under there and strip the clear coat off in very little time.
You will want to be careful when trying to "polish" out that scratch. You can very easily damage the mill finish around it, wich changes the look of the aluminum. You will go from the frying pan into the fire quickly. Since yours is a '14, I'd be talking to a dealership about the proper way to deal with the scratch, or, just live with it. That might be the safest bet.
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Old 06-20-2016, 08:33 AM   #30
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Called a mobile service guy. They can't come out until next Wednesday. So nine days awning less to contemplate whether I really want/need an awning or not. They will quote me a repair with and without the stainless steel hardware.

Expensive lesson learned. Will post back what they say.
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Old 06-20-2016, 08:57 AM   #31
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For my money, Airstream could omit the awning and charge less. Make it an option. In 21/2 years of ownership, I bet our awning has not been deployed more than 5-6 hours. Guaranteed, if I bring it out the wind will immediately pick up. If it is sunny, it will start raining. If it is raining, it will turn to sleet.


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Old 06-20-2016, 09:07 AM   #32
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You should be able to repair the awning. Make sure you use hi tensile steel bolts when you put it back together; the ones zipdee used are very poor and one snapped on me. It's easier to rewind it with three people, be careful, it's under mucho pressure. Save the beers till afterwards. Zipdee spares site is good, just make sure you ID the year, they changed it in lates 80s (I think)


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Old 06-20-2016, 09:56 AM   #33
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strach damage from awning arm

Quote:
Originally Posted by redthies View Post
You will want to be careful when trying to "polish" out that scratch. You can very easily damage the mill finish around it, wich changes the look of the aluminum. You will go from the frying pan into the fire quickly. Since yours is a '14, I'd be talking to a dealership about the proper way to deal with the scratch, or, just live with it. That might be the safest bet.
Totally agree, I have done furniture finishing over the years and when you break into the clear coat using an abrasive you will haze the surrounding area even if you get to the aluminum and polish out the scratch. Maybe see your dealer about what they recommend. If you are concerned about possible corrosion in the future because the clear coat is damaged, this could be solved by shooting a clear coat over the area then polishing it out.
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Old 06-24-2016, 08:53 AM   #34
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Sorry to hear about your trouble with your awning. We love our Airstream, but I have to admit our awning is a real disappointment. The 30ft models have a huge awning, too long for one continual piece in my opinion. Ours does not handle wind very well at all. I see all types of other RVs with their awnings out when we go to the beach, but we do not even try to open ours as we know it will get ripped off. If the wind picks up we are always the first to roll our awning up and we never leave it unattended.
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Old 07-01-2016, 03:14 PM   #35
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Well, the repair estimate is in. Around $50 for the part and a couple hours labor @ $100/hr to reassemble everything. Sigh. Expensive lesson. But it could have been worse.

Glad to be Airstreaming!
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Old 07-01-2016, 05:05 PM   #36
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Well, the repair estimate is in. Around $50 for the part and a couple hours labor @ $100/hr to reassemble everything. Sigh. Expensive lesson. But it could have been worse.

Glad to be Airstreaming!
If I were in your shoes (since you have a late model), I would plan a trip to the factory to repair the panel. File a claim. They just did some repairs on mine due to some road debris, and the folks at Jackson Center are fantastic.
Based on some of the other repairs being done there that were somewhat similar in nature, that panel replacement will probably be around $4500 and up. (completely a guess).

D
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Old 07-01-2016, 05:48 PM   #37
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Last September I was sitting under our Zip Dee then a 5 minute micro burst came thru. No time to get it completely in and the claws broke and seams popped. Our insurance replaced 2 awnings with a $500 deductible. We did get a little dent at end of roller but we let that go.

We were told never tie the awning down and the claws are made to break to lessen the damage. We now have 2 new awnings and it still scares me to put the big awning out. We never leave them out when we are not at home.
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Old 07-01-2016, 05:55 PM   #38
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LOL! Thanks, but for $4500 and a 1200 mile trip, I think I will live with the scratch. It give my AS more "character".
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Old 07-01-2016, 09:42 PM   #39
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You may be able to find an experienced painless dent removal company that may be able to remove it.
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Old 07-02-2016, 10:11 AM   #40
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You may be able to find an experienced painless dent removal company that may be able to remove it.
There is no dent. The scratch didn't even penetrate the aluminum. I'd call it a nasty scuff mark. I tried a couple of things but it's not coming out without a fight.

In December, when the temperatures get below 90, I may try again.
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