Long Term Report - Shademaker RV Awning

[Booker B.]

Hi,

3 years ago I bought an 8' Shademaker Supreme bag awning from Interwest sports and I have had many email questions about them over that time. We have used it extensively in rain/wind/sand storms and of course, sun. Initial Install & Purchase Page.

We have been very happy with the awning and I would highly recommend them to anyone. However, what people want to know is the bad stuff.

First, if you take it down or put it by yourself you WILL bend the top rail inset poles. Once you do this the top rail pole will never run smoothly again, no matter how straight you think it is. You don't need another adult, a kid will do, but I recommend always do it with 2 people.

Second, if you have wet winters take the bag awning off when winterizing. The aluminum poles use steel pins. Water over time leeches into the bag, the pins get wet, the pins rust, and rust tracks through the awning. The awning will also get mildew - you can remove it but it's a pain so just take the whole thing off.

Third, the leg cams and pins MUST be greased with white lithium occasionally. We ended up in a dustbowl outside Idaho and the legs did not want to retract. A light coating with white lithium fixed everything. Probably a teflon spray would work too.

Other notes - make sure you slope the awning down at night - it only takes a few seconds and it's a drag to get up in a rainstorm and drop them. I still haven't found a nice way to keep the bag out of the door when it's open - the open bag hangs right into the door. A stick against the rain sill has worked best. The velcro that holds the aluminum rails in has started to fail.

So saying all that we are probably buying another one to go on our 4500. As the rail is 9' I will probably buy the 10' model as I discussed in the above post.

Hope people find this info useful
Booker

[Denise T]

Hi Booker, this is late reply to your posting but I just joined the forums and am looking for info on awnings - I lost my old-style bag awning recently and am looking at the Shademaker, but I need something I can get up & down by myself -- preferably without bending anything! But other than that. a lot of people seem happy with it.

re: keeping the awning bag from hanging over the door frame. I took along a couple of clothespegs and pegged the bag to the edge of the awning rail above the door, and it worked like a charm.

Cheers,
denise (Kamloops)

Originally Posted by Booker B.

Hi,

3 years ago I bought an 8' Shademaker Supreme bag awning from Interwest sports and I have had many email questions about them over that time. We have used it extensively in rain/wind/sand storms and of course, sun. Initial Install & Purchase Page.

We have been very happy with the awning and I would highly recommend them to anyone. However, what people want to know is the bad stuff.

First, if you take it down or put it by yourself you WILL bend the top rail inset poles. Once you do this the top rail pole will never run smoothly again, no matter how straight you think it is. You don't need another adult, a kid will do, but I recommend always do it with 2 people.

Second, if you have wet winters take the bag awning off when winterizing. The aluminum poles use steel pins. Water over time leeches into the bag, the pins get wet, the pins rust, and rust tracks through the awning. The awning will also get mildew - you can remove it but it's a pain so just take the whole thing off.

Third, the leg cams and pins MUST be greased with white lithium occasionally. We ended up in a dustbowl outside Idaho and the legs did not want to retract. A light coating with white lithium fixed everything. Probably a teflon spray would work too.

Other notes - make sure you slope the awning down at night - it only takes a few seconds and it's a drag to get up in a rainstorm and drop them. I still haven't found a nice way to keep the bag out of the door when it's open - the open bag hangs right into the door. A stick against the rain sill has worked best. The velcro that holds the aluminum rails in has started to fail.

So saying all that we are probably buying another one to go on our 4500. As the rail is 9' I will probably buy the 10' model as I discussed in the above post.

Hope people find this info useful
Booker

[Forrest M]

Thanks Booker and Denise for the advice about Shademaker awnings. I realize that this also is a late post, but the topic touches on something that that I'm trying to puzzle out as the brand new owner of a 7 foot Shademaker that I recently installed on my 13 foot Scamp. I know the answer is probably somewhere in one or other of the past gazillion posts, but my internet is on a copper phone line dial-up, and it would take until next Christmas to go through the first 10 pages of even one Forum, let alone all of them. So, my question for anyone out there is, how do you go about setting up an awning when you have no one to give you a hand? What sequence have you found that works best? Which of the poles do you put out first? Do you put them out only a little at a time, or extend them fully right off the bat? Is your procedure changed if there is a wind? And so on. Thanks to any and all who can take a moment to help me with this, it's very much appreciated.
Forrest M

[Rick G]

Originally Posted by Forrest M

Thanks Booker and Denise for the advice about Shademaker awnings. I realize that this also is a late post, but the topic touches on something that that I'm trying to puzzle out as the brand new owner of a 7 foot Shademaker that I recently installed on my 13 foot Scamp. I know the answer is probably somewhere in one or other of the past gazillion posts, but my internet is on a copper phone line dial-up, and it would take until next Christmas to go through the first 10 pages of even one Forum, let alone all of them. So, my question for anyone out there is, how do you go about setting up an awning when you have no one to give you a hand? What sequence have you found that works best? Which of the poles do you put out first? Do you put them out only a little at a time, or extend them fully right off the bat? Is your procedure changed if there is a wind? And so on. Thanks to any and all who can take a moment to help me with this, it's very much appreciated.
Forrest M

Hi Forrest
We have a new Shademaker 9 foot on our Trillium 4500, and it works great. I usually put it up/down by myself, and have not yet had issues, although it is cumbersome. To put up, I first unroll the awning and let it hang down to the ground, then I unhinge both arms and put them vertical at their retracted length. Then put the horizontal extensions out one at a time to an approximate fit (obviously, it would be better to have two people do this if possible). The end fittings that go on the trailer (which I put on with 3M VHB tape) help with this a lot. Then, raise the vertical poles to their final height and tighten everything up. Collapsing the awning is pretty much the reverse, you just have to be careful not to let it get away from you.
It can be done without too much trouble, but 2 people makes it more reliable.
Later,
Rick G