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Old 05-29-2020, 03:14 PM   #1
John McLean
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Adding an awning to our 2019 MHC331RL

Wondering if any Montana Owners have had an awning added to their coach after purchase. We purchased our Montana last March and currently use it as a stationary unit in a campground on Lake Gaston, NC.

I know the awning can be added, but we would like it to be an electrically operated one just like the one that came on ours from the factory. The location of the new awning would be on our living room slide which is the same side as the factory installed awning.

My question has to do with how the wiring would be tied in and where would the 'Extend' / 'Retract' button would be installed.

I am not planning on attempting the installation myself. I would have it installed by a certified shop and have a warranty on parts and labor.

Thanks for your input,

John
 
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Old 05-30-2020, 02:33 PM   #2
DutchmenSport
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Hi John,

I do not have the same model that you do, but we had an awning added after market and it's worked out very well for us.

First, our 5er has a rear door on the opposite side of the trailer, and it's the opposite side we had the awning added.

Before we signed for delivery of this camper we made sure from our dealer that one could be added, and approximately what it would cost, and how long it would take to do it. We also wanted flip back handle for the back door, like the front, and wanted the same LED awning lights as the front. Our dealer assured us it could all be done, and before we even took delivery we set up an appointment to have the work done. And everything worked out fine.

The biggest decision we had to make was where we wanted the switches. They asked us if we wanted them outside or inside the camper. We wanted everything inside. We ended up with 3 switches on the side of the dresser cabinet in the rear bedroom nearest the back door. It's actually just an arms length from the door and I can see the awning clearly when extracting or retracting it, either through the door itself, or I can see the arm closest to the rear of the camper through the bedroom window. There is a switch for the awning, the LED strip lights now attached to the side of the trailer and the Dometic power strip added to the awning arm.

Wires were through that hallow space under the floor of the trailer, along the outside of the frame. I don't know what that's called, the rounded "skirting".

After the work was done, I secured the wires a little better. To me, it looked like they would eventually sag and rub the tires in the wheel well. I ended up tucking them between the main trailer frame and the floor of the trailer, then sealed them in place with gobs of liquid nails. Once the liquid nails dried, I sprayed it with black Rust-o-lium so the liquid nails would not be noticeable in the wheel well.

Now, we have an awning on both sides of the camper and can park any direction, as either door on either side can comfortably be used as the "front" door. And for what it's worth, when parked at home, the back IS the front, and when camping, the front IS the font. Now we can use the trailer parked either direction.









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Old 05-30-2020, 04:38 PM   #3
Route66Rambler
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We also have a 2019 MHC 330RL. I asked Keystone about adding an awning on the dinette slide. There is not enough structure in the slide to support an awning. Also, If you do add an awning is will void your structure warranty with Keystone. We are going to do MagnaShades instead.

https://www.magneshade.com/
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Old 05-31-2020, 09:16 AM   #4
John McLean
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Route66Rambler,

Thanks for providing that information. Guess we will not be adding one either.

John
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Old 05-31-2020, 09:17 AM   #5
John McLean
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Thanks for your input. Based on the response below, wee will not be adding an awning over our dining area slide.
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Old 06-07-2020, 08:22 AM   #6
rsaylor3
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We have an early 2020 331, and like yours it did not come with the awning over the dinette slide. The later 2020 models do! I called lazy days where I purchased mine and had the parts guy look into it for me. He called keystone and had to speak to several folks before finding the write item numbers. He offered to order the awning, with led light strip and the arm kit. Same as what now comes on the newer units. Cost was not that much really and it would match the factory installed one I already have. I will be doing fairly soon.

From looking at the newer units, with the second awning, unless they did something internally it doesn't look like they added anything to increase the strength of that slide wall. I'm guessing it could be done and keystone when he spoke to them didn't mention anything about it not working on my earlier 2020 model.
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Old 06-07-2020, 01:11 PM   #7
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My guess is that they added support inside the wall when they decided to add the awnings. I would not want to depend on just the fiberglass and luan To support an awning. You need to determine just what you are screwing into before you shell out the money.
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