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M3771 · 08-24-2021, 05:32 PM

A little background... In April I ordered the perfect trailer for me: 2022 Flying Cloud 25RBT with the oven AND microwave (and pretty much every other bell & whistle I could get). Last week the sales rep told me I can't have BOTH oven and microwave anymore and have to choose ONE (a side-effect of the "upgraded" fridge).

Begrudgingly, I picked the oven but took the opportunity to change my trailer to an International thinking I might as well have power awning if I can't get the appliances I want. Since then I've been reading a lot of posts about them, many of which are terrible.

So my question is: Are the power awnings reliable or did I just make a big mistake by changing my order?

Candid replies would be welcomed.

uncle_bob · 08-24-2021, 05:37 PM

Hi

Our power awning has done fine. The "gotcha" with them is that they need to be lubricated / cleaned ( = wipe off the old lube and crud) on a somewhat regular basis. How often this is depends a *lot* on how much blowing dust you run into. ( I'd bet that salt spray isn't great either ...).

Next layer to the onion is what to lube with. Spend some quality time looking at the videos on YouTube showing what to use and how to do it.

As a last resort, it appears that the warranty on your awning is normally something like 5 years. That's pretty impressive.....

Bob

IanPoulin · 08-24-2021, 06:27 PM

One week in, and my unit is back to the dealer for a few items; of which one is the power awning.

It worked ok for a few days, and then started sticking; and would only open half-way. a full retraction would usually reset the motors and allow it to open fully.

then the other evening it retracted back to within 18 inches of the trailer and stopped - no matter which switch I used, it would not open or close; and with a storm inbound, it took me about three hours to figure between the instructions and my equipment bag how to fully close it manually.

If Zip Dee had the option, I'd bring it in for a manual replacement.

ROBERT CROSS · 08-24-2021, 06:59 PM

When we were at JC in '19 the terraport was full, 5 were there for power awning repair, the nextport neighbor had been there 3 days.

Has anything changed since '19?

Our human powered has Zip'd fine for 17 Seasons....KISS

Bob
🇺🇸

JohnandDonna · 08-24-2021, 07:14 PM

We have the power awning on our 2020 International. Had problems with it fully retracting at first. Then I read a post in the forum here that said once you deploy the awning, do NOT shut it off. So I tried that and it has worked every time. So now we really love it!

Jolly53 · 08-24-2021, 07:19 PM

We have a 2019 International 25’ FB with at least 100 awning deployments and it has worked perfectly every time.

jondrew55 · 08-24-2021, 07:43 PM

We’ve had our GT for a little over a month now. It’s hiccuped a coupe of times but always managed to open or close as needed. We’re always opening and closing it because the wife loves having the awning out and I’m fanatical about closing it when we go out or go to bed (we get some pretty intense storms here). I’d much prefer a manual.

**wulfraat** · 08-24-2021, 07:47 PM

Electric awning on my 2017 30’ works just fine…..

s1000pre · 08-24-2021, 08:19 PM

I had a 2020 International, I love that trim level. This past February, we traded it in for a FC 30Bunk. No, I do not miss my power awning. The headaches far exceeded the slight convenience. I ended up changing out our counters for white corian. I loved the faux wood floor in the International until the floor in the FC grew on me. The FC’s floor doesn’t absorb as much light making it a lighter interior. The convection microwave combo was disliked at first, I now love it. I didn’t like the on-demand water heater either, though it is starting to grow on me.

Ephraim · 08-24-2021, 08:56 PM

Works just fine on our 2019 classic. Has roughly 100 open/close cycles per year on it. The only issue we had was caused by an inappropriately installed sink trap with the brain mounted right under it. Airstream covered the repair under warranty and moved the brain so it wouldn't happen again.

CMHM · 08-24-2021, 09:42 PM

Since January 2021, brand new Globetrotter:

- replaced rear cable harness
- replaced rear arm
- replaced motherboard
- replaced front arm

4 separate repairs. 10 prayers every time I click Open

Manual 10 times better!

thewarden · 08-24-2021, 10:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CMHM

Since January 2021, brand new Globetrotter:

- replaced rear cable harness
- replaced rear arm
- replaced motherboard
- replaced front arm

4 separate repairs. 10 prayers every time I click Open

Manual 10 times better!

+1 Same repairs, only I am on my 3rd motherboard. I envy every AS I see with a manual awning.

Bcc75 · 08-25-2021, 05:03 AM

We had a warranty issue right off the bat with ours. Rear Arm was not working in tilt mode. Turned out to be Airstream Installation error not a Zip Dee error.
It has worked fine since.

4 Key points (already mentioned in the posts above but worth mentioning again)

1. NEVER turn power switch off with awning deployed
2. ALWAYS turn power switch off when traveling and storing.
3. ALWAYS hit the close button(yes - while the awning is fully retracted) BEFORE pressing the open button to deploy it. I know this sounds stupid but it somehow resets everything.
4. LUBE-LUBE-LUBE. White Lithium grease and silicone spray. just a tad after every trip for me. We open and close ours a lot because I am anal about wind. If I see any substantial wind picking up, I close it. And always close at night, when we leave the trailer, and in heavy rain. The manual rear and street side awning I don't worry so much about.

jondrew55 · 08-25-2021, 06:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bcc75

We had a warranty issue right off the bat with ours. Rear Arm was not working in tilt mode. Turned out to be Airstream Installation error not a Zip Dee error.
It has worked fine since.

4 Key points (already mentioned in the posts above but worth mentioning again)

1. NEVER turn power switch off with awning deployed
2. ALWAYS turn power switch off when traveling and storing.
3. ALWAYS hit the close button(yes - while the awning is fully retracted) BEFORE pressing the open button to deploy it. I know this sounds stupid but it somehow resets everything.
4. LUBE-LUBE-LUBE. White Lithium grease and silicone spray. just a tad after every trip for me. We open and close ours a lot because I am anal about wind. If I see any substantial wind picking up, I close it. And always close at night, when we leave the trailer, and in heavy rain. The manual rear and street side awning I don't worry so much about.

I've sent ZipDee an email over a week ago asking about lubrication guidance. No reply. I did not receive any manuals with my trailer (previous owner said he did not have them). What do you lubricate? The arms? Where do you put the lithium grease?

GettinAway · 08-25-2021, 06:38 AM

We have the power awning on our 25’ 2020 GT. It works fine. It’s given me a few instances where I had to hit buttons again. I now hit close 1st. I leave power on. I switched to lithium so it always operates on a full battery charge. It’s nice, but I’d prefer manual if I had a choice. Same with powered stabilizers. Manual is just a bit less worrisome.

SVTRIDE · 08-25-2021, 06:43 AM

We have a 2021 International 25’ FBQ, new as of April '21..with ~25 awning deployments and it has worked perfectly every time.
I do follow rigorously the above 4 bullet points on awning usage since day one.
So far so good.
But I do keep handy the owners manual and emergency retract hardware kit supplied with the AS just in case.

Biker · 08-25-2021, 06:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jondrew55

I've sent ZipDee an email over a week ago asking about lubrication guidance. No reply. I did not receive any manuals with my trailer (previous owner said he did not have them). What do you lubricate? The arms? Where do you put the lithium grease?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5fxpVgbZclk

thewarden · 08-25-2021, 08:23 AM

Thanks for that. It is the first time I have seen it. I have always been meticulous about spraying the awning arms with silicon spray but I did not know about the lithium spray location.

M3771 · 08-25-2021, 09:09 AM

Great information! This'll be my first RV, so I really appreciate all the intel. My takeaway thus far is:

~50-50 split on those who prefer power vs manual (the latter because of simplicity/reliability concerns)
Correct use of the awning controls is critical (close cycle, don't cut the power)
Proper lubrication of the awning arms has to be done frequently
Know-how and tools to manually close the powered awning should be included in my travel plan

Does that sound about right?

uncle_bob · 08-26-2021, 07:16 AM

Hi

The only thing I would add to the "standard" instructions is to wipe down the arms before you lube them. If you have blowing dust, the arms will accumulate more than a bit of "grit". You want to get that off of there before you lube. If you have a lot (what's a lot ... who nose ...) you might want to clean / lube / cycle / clean / lube.

Note that silicone spray and "normal" petroleum based lubes should not be used on the same surface. There can be (but might not be) interactions that form a sticky "sludge" as a result. White lube on the screw and silicone on the arms is fine, just don't get them mixed up. No, this is not specific to awning arms, it applies to most everything.

Bob