2021 Interstate Grand Tour - Carefree Awning replacement

[MnRocketman]

Anybody replaced the awning on their Interstate?
My dealer says the awning cover is bent and the entire unit needs replacement.

[Life is a Highway]

Hello,


Is it not under warranty? Have you contacted Jackson Center for resources.

[Rocinante]

I would simply have it professionally removed, stopping up any holes, and go with a MoonShade or two, depending where I want them at any given time.

https://moonfab.com

OTOH, since this is a nearly new unit, have you checked with your insurance company?

[MnRocketman]

We understood from the dealer that the awning needed replacement, due to damage to the cover (visibly bent). The dealer had one on order from Airstream but it had an unacceptably long lead time and the dealer indicated they felt the lead time given was probably not reliable. As we purchased the unit from an out of state dealer we did not want the hassle of returning out of state to have it replaced at a future date, plus I simply don't like the dealer "owing" me $4K+ of goods. Who knows what might happen between our purchase date and some unknown future date (bankruptcy, change of management or ownership, etc.) .

We negotiated a deduction to the RV's purchase price for the non-functional awning (price of replacement) and moved forward with the purchase.

Given the situation; warranty replacement or asking our insurance to cover would not be appropriate.

Originally Posted by Life is a Highway

Hello,


Is it not under warranty? Have you contacted Jackson Center for resources.

[Rocinante]

Cool! In that case, my suggestion of removal and getting a MoonShade stands.

Here are some reasons why:
* When you want shade the built-in shade is never where you need it, at the angle you need it to create the shade you want. You can put up a Moonshade wherever you want it, at whatever angle works for you in the moment.
* The built-in shade is no good for rain, as water pools on the awning and could easily destroy it...if not now, then in a couple of years once the fabric stretches out a bit. Moonshade isn't exactly a rain canopy either, but if you accidentally leave it out and it gets destroyed, it's not as expensive to replace.
* The built-in shade is very expensive to repair and/or replace. Replacing or repairing a moonshade is relatively inexpensive.
* Moonshade doesn't go up as quickly as pressing a button, but it's still remarkably fast and easy to deploy and then put away once you get the hang of it, and it's quite small when packed up.

[StogieMan]

Originally Posted by Rocinante

Cool! In that case, my suggestion of removal and getting a MoonShade stands.

Here are some reasons why:
* When you want shade the built-in shade is never where you need it, at the angle you need it to create the shade you want. You can put up a Moonshade wherever you want it, at whatever angle works for you in the moment.
* The built-in shade is no good for rain, as water pools on the awning and could easily destroy it...if not now, then in a couple of years once the fabric stretches out a bit. Moonshade isn't exactly a rain canopy either, but if you accidentally leave it out and it gets destroyed, it's not as expensive to replace.
* The built-in shade is very expensive to repair and/or replace. Replacing or repairing a moonshade is relatively inexpensive.
* Moonshade doesn't go up as quickly as pressing a button, but it's still remarkably fast and easy to deploy and then put away once you get the hang of it, and it's quite small when packed up.

Funny that you say that. I can't remember the last time that I pulled out our awning for the reasons that you state. The thing never covers the sun at the right time and when it does a light wind pulls it back in! Just carrying extra weight with that awning.

I even ended up ordering the fix kit from Fiamma and doing the repair work myself on it just in case as I didn't want to the darn thing deploying while I was driving like others have.

[Titus]

Curious what kit StogieMan ordered from Fiamma. I looked into the repair kit for the Fiamma 65 Eagle used by Pleasure Way. Determined that the problem with PW application would not solve a self-deploy of 65 S on Interstates. On Interstates (65 S) the winch could be ruined if limit switch was not set right, causing the motor to continue to run. The ruined winch could then allow a self-depoly. The new winch is better than the old one, but apparantly is not the root cause of the problem.

[StogieMan]

Originally Posted by Titus

Curious what kit StogieMan ordered from Fiamma. I looked into the repair kit for the Fiamma 65 Eagle used by Pleasure Way. Determined that the problem with PW application would not solve a self-deploy of 65 S on Interstates. On Interstates (65 S) the winch could be ruined if limit switch was not set right, causing the motor to continue to run. The ruined winch could then allow a self-depoly. The new winch is better than the old one, but apparantly is not the root cause of the problem.

Titus, I can’t recall completely and tried to check my old emails for the kit that I ordered and couldn’t find exactly what I ordered. I repaired this a couple of years ago. I do remember that I called Fiamma at 407-672-0091 and spoke with someone there and ordered the winch and some parts that I replaced. Very helpful folks there unlike Airstream! My winch was separated and was going to be an issue for sure. I followed this thread below for the repair.

Warning - make sure that you secure the awning or it will fully extend on you during repair. It happened to me and I jumped off the ladder in a nick of time.

https://www.airforums.com/forums/f24...up-197983.html


https://www.fiammausa.com/en/fiammas...ite-290-450-en