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Old 02-27-2008, 05:25 AM   #1
exav8tr
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Awning Spring

Whoever said the awning spring was powerful was not kidding. Yesterday I was bringing in my awning and the front arm stuck before going all the way in, the rear arm was almost in. I got on a stepstool to free the arm up and I did, only MY arm was caught between the awning arm and the trailer. There I was stuck against the trailer with my arm stuck. At this point the rear arm had closed. Cathy had to climb on the stepstool with me to try and hold the awning arm out as I tried to raise my arm up and out between the beast. After a few painful minutes I was able to free MY arm from the Monty arm. Luckily I did not sustain anything other than soft tissue damage (swelling and bruising).

I have several questions for the learned many: If the awning is half way in does it have to go all the way in before you can release it and extend it again or could we have just hit the release and extended it again??? If you are extending it and you are half way out and decide to roll it back in do you have to extend it first and then hit the release or can you hit the release at any point?

I realize now, I should have had Cathy hold the awning rod and strap while I tried to free the arm, but you know what they say, Hindsight is 20-20.

I only hope this does not affect my pickleball playing as that was on my dominant arm. If you haven't played pickleball, it's a great sport for the over 60 crowd.......
 
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Old 02-27-2008, 05:48 AM   #2
H. John Kohl
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I have changed direction on the awning lever in the middle of closing. you might have to release a little pressure meaning it puts a little more on your arm. Glad you are ok.
Cheers,
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Old 02-27-2008, 08:56 AM   #3
exav8tr
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Thanks John for that info...I wish I had known that yesterday. Yeppers!!!!
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Old 02-27-2008, 10:56 AM   #4
ole dude
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Is a big oooppps the correct word? Glad all worked out pretty much O K.
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Old 02-27-2008, 12:12 PM   #5
noneck
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Glade your ok. As John stated yes...you can release it and sometimes I've had to grasp the roller and apply rotational pressure to allow the ratchet actuator to cam to the opposite direction. You can compare that spring to those that are in garage door's (the one's that are are coiled not the long stretchable side one's).
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Old 02-28-2008, 06:20 AM   #6
sreigle
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Wow, I'm glad to hear you were not seriously injured, Phil. Now I have to find out just what the heck is pickleball!
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Old 02-28-2008, 08:07 AM   #7
SAndreasen
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Glad to hear you are OK. It tough having to only be able to use one arm. (I broke mine two years ago) My dad ran a auto repair shop and I can remember those big door springs breaking once in awhile. Have fun at the rally!
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Old 02-28-2008, 10:00 AM   #8
boylanag
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So glad you are ok. We have stopped and changed direction with ours too. Unlike noneck, I always have to turn the tube by hand to take the pressure off the ratchet before it can be raised, not just sometimes. We do make it a two person job too since, on our old Montana, I slipped and let go of the strap once and damaged the arm when it snapped up quickly. - Jim
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Old 02-28-2008, 10:28 AM   #9
Bob & Lee
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Glad to hear nothing was broken they are powerful, I rolled my arm between the rear awning arm and the step railing,(learned quick to fold it prior to puting up the awning.) On the spring topic, has anyone tightened it so it will go tight aginst the side of the RV. Mine the rear arm appears to go up tight, the front arm which is longer appears to not roll UP all the way, I ran it up and down several times. Any sugestions

Bob
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Old 02-28-2008, 12:29 PM   #10
VanMan
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I've read where folks have lost fingers trying to adjust the tension and install new awnings and/or fabric. Pretty scary stuff when you think about it!
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Old 02-28-2008, 01:18 PM   #11
sreigle
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Bob, is it loose or is it misaligned so the inner and outer arms won't snap together?
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Old 02-28-2008, 03:15 PM   #12
Waynem
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I was at the dealer when the technician was on a ladder removing my damaged one. He removed the bolts on the upper arm and that thing snapped and made one heck of a nice for about 3 seconds while it unwound. I sure would not want to tackle that job. To dangerous.
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Old 02-28-2008, 03:49 PM   #13
OntMont
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Quote:
quote:Originally posted by Bob & Lee
[br Mine the rear arm appears to go up tight, the front arm which is longer appears to not roll UP all the way, I ran it up and down several times. Any sugestions
I'm not sure if this will work in your case, but you may need to adjust one of the stops at the bottom to the awning arm. We had to do this to get ours to go up evenly. Anyway, it is easy to try moving the stop one position up or down, and see what happens. Might take a bit of trial and error, but if it does not help, you can just put it back the way it was.
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