Zip Dee Hell

[Silvertwinkie]

I have to agree that Zip Dee is a well engineered product. I had a bit of binding recently and found that in fact like the linked youtube video, the bars need to be lubricated, which I never did. So last bind, I stopped back it down, but by then it was too late, my stabilizer horizontal bar claw had cracked and broken off.

I zip tied my zip dee bracket for transport home, and promptly called Zip Dee. Said sure we have the part it's $14. So I take my arm, damaged claw about 15 miles down to Zip Dee (great that they are right down the street). Guy I talked with on the phone saw me and said, I can help ya. Brings out the part and asks "Do you want us to install this for you into your bar assembly?" I said if you would I'd be grateful. So in less than 5 minutes, the guy comes back, with the reassembled tube and says we also replaced your spring, the old one had worn out. I asked if this would be a warranty thing and he said no it really isn't, but this one is on me.

Went home slide the bar on (after I lubricated it and the rest of the moving parts) and was up and running 100%.

I've heard rumors about customer service for both Fantastic Vent and Zip Dee. Had unreal positive exp with Fantastic Vent and this week, verified that not only is Zip Dee a great product, but the support company provides is really top notch in my book.

After this exp, I also would suggest checking your springs. The one they installed for me is far more effective than the one that I didn't replace. I may buy a new spring for the other side given my exp with the new spring.

[Airslide]

I was standing in the showroom of our dealer today looking out to the 101 freeway and before my eyes was a fairly new airstream going southbound with a perfectly even 2-3 foot section of the awning fabric sticking straight up and the owner had no idea. The awning looked clamped down and stowed away so i would assume the spring snapped or something similiar to this thread. Crazy to see it happening. Hopefully someone had the decency to stop him down the road.

Vin

[2airishuman]

hi vinny

r u sure that wasn't 1 of the new cali hYbird streams?

running with da spinnAker out?

cheers
2air'

[Inland RV Center, In]

Originally Posted by Airslide

I was standing in the showroom of our dealer today looking out to the 101 freeway and before my eyes was a fairly new airstream going southbound with a perfectly even 2-3 foot section of the awning fabric sticking straight up and the owner had no idea. The awning looked clamped down and stowed away so i would assume the spring snapped or something similiar to this thread. Crazy to see it happening. Hopefully someone had the decency to stop him down the road.

Vin

All RV awnings have "hold downs".

If not properly used, or not used at all, then the awning material "will" furl out when the trailer is being towed at highway speeds.

Not unusual at all.

Any brand awning will do the same thing.

Andy

[Aage]

ShinyRoad,

If you sense that you're having trouble getting folks on here to believe your experience, I think it's due to two reasons:

1. Apparently, the vast majority of Z-D owners have been happy for a long time with the performance of their awnings.
2. You came out of the box slamming them pretty hard (in "hell", "dump the brand" ect)

I suppose that it's often the case that if you attack the favourite, you will be booed.

I personally don't doubt that what happened to you is true, and I agree that it's doubly sad and off-putting that the 2nd Z-D contact person had poor communication skills (to say the least).

But I think that once you get your problems sorted out, eventually you will agree that it is a superior product.

My own interaction with Z-D was completely satisfactory and very professionally handled. I broke a part (yes, I admit it, I did a dumb thing). and when I called them, within five minutes of dialling I had placed an order for a part that they had me confirm something about, in order to be certain of them shipping the right version of the part.

I got it three days later (by USPS!) and it included clear instructions on how to put it on.

I was quite impressed. Sorry that you weren't.

[NJtoNC]

Any brand awning will do the same thing.

Haha! I laughed at this. you forgot us 'vintage' awning owners, (see poll) who don't have this trouble.
we just fold our awnings up and stash them in the trailer.

when my awning poles bend, i'll bend um right back into position and keeping using them!!!

Muah ha ha ha!!!

[Airslide]

Originally Posted by Inland RV Center, In

All RV awnings have "hold downs".

If not properly used, or not used at all, then the awning material "will" furl out when the trailer is being towed at highway speeds.

Not unusual at all.

Any brand awning will do the same thing.

Andy

I dont know Andy.. The whole thing was traveling down the freeway pretty fast. I could only see that the awning appeared to be anchored to the trailer in the usual way. The bars were tight up against the coach and the awning was taking perfect flight straight upwards. It makes me think that the tension failed on the roller and the latch must have come undone to allow the metal protector to open up.. Maybe the owner will see this and give us his account.. Passing by at 50 makes it hard for me to tell but I was surprised to see this actually happen as it passed by.

Vinnie

[2airishuman]

Originally Posted by Airslide

...The whole thing was traveling down the freeway pretty fast.
I could only see that the awning appeared to be anchored to the trailer in the usual way...

ok now it's clearer...

was this trailer being towed by a toyOH!-ta ?

that was the new zipdee parachute

used to control sudden eXcelleration...

cheers
2air'

[Airslide]

Originally Posted by 2airishuman

ok now it's clearer...

was this trailer being towed by a toyOH!-ta ?

that was the new zipdee parachute

used to control sudden eXcelleration...

cheers
2air'

Moving forward!

[azflycaster]

While the hold downs for the arms will keep the arms and roller parked against the trailer, it will not prevent air from catching the the roll. On the older ZipDee awnings there was a Z-lock built into the roller that prevented it from unwinding when stowed. On the later awnings the Z-lock went away and a travel latch was installed to prevent the fabric from opening. The links below show each of the two items.

Awnings By ZipDee
Awnings By ZipDee

[Airslide]

Yep.. I bet thats what happened..

[ROBERTSUNRUS]

Hi, I recall seeing a motorhome, with a brand new awning on it, that didn't have the safety hook installed and the installer said it would never open on the road.

[Minnie's Mate]

In February 2009 I saw a vintage Airstream on I-75 southbound in Forsyth, GA with his awning unfurled about two feet standing straight up. Unfortunately I wasn't in a position to let him know. I hope there was no damage when he reached his destination.

[ShinyRoad]

Zippy Dee Hell – Final Chapter Y’all (by Original Poster)

It was great seeing all the input on my Zippy Dee Awning adventures. I can relate to and appreciate all the posts. Life on the road is an adventure and each person’s experiences with Zee Dee Awnings and everything else Airstream are interesting and mostly informative.

One person mentioned that I started out ‘tough’ by labeling my article ‘Zip Dee Hell.’ I agree completely, and for me that was tough love. I would venture to say that 9 out 10 people sharing my experience would be as tough or tougher.

Trying to travel across the bleak Nevada and California deserts in 100+ heat and 45 MPH winds, while watching your Zip Dee slowly unfurl behind you is and was frankly unsettling to say the least. Stopping every 20 minutes to re-wind the awning in by hand for hour and after was the pits and is very difficult work. Hours later finally reaching a Home Depot and buying a very large C-Clamp to hold the awning in was my only fix.

That said, I likely would not have included ‘hell’ in my title, were it not for the put down I got over the phone from the Zip Dee lady (sorry didn’t note her name). I was told that what happened to me was “impossible and never happened,” and that I was basically “wrong” in trying pointing out a potential design flaw because their engineers were very smart guys who did wind tunnel work.

$150 later at Benlo RV Repair in the Palm Springs area, my Zip Dee Awning spring was re-wound. The tech confirmed that this spring is the only part on newer models that keeps the awning material stowed. The rotating outrigger clamps only hold the supports in place. I also purchased a second safety catch for $12.95 and had Benlo install it towards the front of my awning.

Note that Benlo is a Zip Dee dealer and repair center. I was asked to pay for the repairs out of pocket, and in advance as the dealer did not want to go through the hassle of trying to get paid by Zip Dee. So I paid my money and went securely down the road.

Follow Up: Seeking more room, we recently traded our Flying Cloud 27FB in on a new Flying Cloud 30 with the front lounge chairs at George Sutton RV in Eugene, OR. What a great floor plan, as my wife and I work full-time while traveling and we operate our businesses via the Internet and cell phones (3G wireless router w/booster amp and external antenna works great).

Back to Zip Dee. I had Sutton add a second safety catch on our new Zip Dee Awning near the leading edge. Sutton’s service manager Tom confirmed this was a good move. Tom also confirmed also that the spring is the only thing holding the awning in place on newer models. And Zip Dee, no matter what you say, the rear catch alone WILL NOT keep the awning stowed at 55 to 60 MPH with a decent head wind or cross wind.

I also had the Sutton Tech completely walk me through the best way to extend and stow the awnings just to make sure I am performing this task correctly. Regardless of any potential operator error or not though, the spring is the weak point on all newer awnings.

My suggestion to Zip Dee is why not add that second $12.95 retail second safety catch to future products so when that next spring lets loose, drivers don’t see another Zip Dee parachute running down the road. I would guess this part is likely $5 wholesale.

To my fellow travelers: If this can happen to me, and to others, it can indeed happen to you. I strongly suggest the $12.95 investment on newer awnings (does anyone know what year forward this applies to?) It took a tech 10 minutes to install.

Happy Airstream travels my fellow shiny people!

[2airishuman]

Originally Posted by ShinyRoad

[B]....My suggestion to Zip Dee is...

a/s SPECIFIIES the z/d parts used.

z/d PROVIDES what a/s requests.

the additional hooknloop doesn't cost a/s 12$.

and apparently NOT spending for that extra fastener WORKS.

since you traded UP to another new unit quickly...

and PAID for the depreciation AND purchased latches.

schemes like this happen in hell.

cheers
2air'

[TinCrumpet]

Originally Posted by ShinyRoad

Zippy Dee Hell – Final Chapter Y’all (by Original Poster)

It was great seeing all the input on my Zippy Dee Awning adventures. I can relate to and appreciate all the posts. Life on the road is an adventure and each person’s experiences with Zee Dee Awnings and everything else Airstream are interesting and mostly informative.

One person mentioned that I started out ‘tough’ by labeling my article ‘Zip Dee Hell.’ I agree completely, and for me that was tough love. I would venture to say that 9 out 10 people sharing my experience would be as tough or tougher.

Trying to travel across the bleak Nevada and California deserts in 100+ heat and 45 MPH winds, while watching your Zip Dee slowly unfurl behind you is and was frankly unsettling to say the least. Stopping every 20 minutes to re-wind the awning in by hand for hour and after was the pits and is very difficult work. Hours later finally reaching a Home Depot and buying a very large C-Clamp to hold the awning in was my only fix.

That said, I likely would not have included ‘hell’ in my title, were it not for the put down I got over the phone from the Zip Dee lady (sorry didn’t note her name). I was told that what happened to me was “impossible and never happened,” and that I was basically “wrong” in trying pointing out a potential design flaw because their engineers were very smart guys who did wind tunnel work.

$150 later at Benlo RV Repair in the Palm Springs area, my Zip Dee Awning spring was re-wound. The tech confirmed that this spring is the only part on newer models that keeps the awning material stowed. The rotating outrigger clamps only hold the supports in place. I also purchased a second safety catch for $12.95 and had Benlo install it towards the front of my awning.

Note that Benlo is a Zip Dee dealer and repair center. I was asked to pay for the repairs out of pocket, and in advance as the dealer did not want to go through the hassle of trying to get paid by Zip Dee. So I paid my money and went securely down the road.

Follow Up: Seeking more room, we recently traded our Flying Cloud 27FB in on a new Flying Cloud 30 with the front lounge chairs at George Sutton RV in Eugene, OR. What a great floor plan, as my wife and I work full-time while traveling and we operate our businesses via the Internet and cell phones (3G wireless router w/booster amp and external antenna works great).

Back to Zip Dee. I had Sutton add a second safety catch on our new Zip Dee Awning near the leading edge. Sutton’s service manager Tom confirmed this was a good move. Tom also confirmed also that the spring is the only thing holding the awning in place on newer models. And Zip Dee, no matter what you say, the rear catch alone WILL NOT keep the awning stowed at 55 to 60 MPH with a decent head wind or cross wind.

I also had the Sutton Tech completely walk me through the best way to extend and stow the awnings just to make sure I am performing this task correctly. Regardless of any potential operator error or not though, the spring is the weak point on all newer awnings.

My suggestion to Zip Dee is why not add that second $12.95 retail second safety catch to future products so when that next spring lets loose, drivers don’t see another Zip Dee parachute running down the road. I would guess this part is likely $5 wholesale.

To my fellow travelers: If this can happen to me, and to others, it can indeed happen to you. I strongly suggest the $12.95 investment on newer awnings (does anyone know what year forward this applies to?) It took a tech 10 minutes to install.

Happy Airstream travels my fellow shiny people!

Weve just had one installed and Ill mention to Hans to read all these posts
With little help on how to use it after the installation, any advise is a bonus
Hans is pretty smart and he struggled a bit on the first erection, but no doubt he will get used to it.
It was too dusty at the event we have just attended to put it to use,
but we will do a trial run next week end
We like 100% safe ..so we note your experience
love Lili

[redex]

Wife called said awning fell , front was down, found bolt and nut missing through pin, I replaced with 11x 32 x 1 1/2 '' , locks and can't roll up or down without taking out bolt and then carfully roll up , or down but with bolt in hole it locks , any help would greatly be appreciated,