Maintenance & Restoration

Raspy · 06-18-2019, 12:48 PM

Have any of you seen, or have, one of the new self supporting awnings, that have no support legs? How is it working out? Does the wind sensor work reliably? What happens in the rain?

I have a hard time believing these can last or not do damage to the side of the trailer.

It's the new awning Oliver uses and so does Black Series. There must be others too. Dometic is the only brand I know of.

Here's a link:

https://shop.camperprofi.nl/en/43682...silver_casing/

Jon Vermilye · 06-18-2019, 04:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Raspy

Have any of you seen, or have, one of the new self supporting awnings, that have no support legs? How is it working out? Does the wind sensor work reliably? What happens in the rain?

I have a hard time believing these can last or not do damage to the side of the trailer.

It's the new awning Oliver uses and so does Black Series. There must be others too. Dometic is the only brand I know of.

Here's a link:

https://shop.camperprofi.nl/en/43682...silver_casing/

My 2017 Escape 21 has the linked Dometic awning. Many like it; I don't. I prefer an awning that can be tilted so water runs off, and to block low angle sun. The only choice with the electric awning is in or out (although you can stop it along the way). It does automatically retreat in high wind, and I have to admit it is easier to use (just push the button on the remote) than my armed awning I had on my Escape 17.

If you leave it out in the rain, the center will fill. Some people have had them break due to heavy rain. Dometic says it is a shade, not rain awning. I've met a few individuals that have used painter's poles, combined with either a ball or swim noodle or something on the top to spread out the pressure. Arranged correctly, it will fall out of the way if the awning automatically retreats (hopefully).

Escape now offers a choice between the manual & electric awning.

Raspy · 06-18-2019, 04:38 PM

"Dometic says it is a shade, not rain awning. "

Oh boy, here we go.

You make a good point about being able to tilt a conventional awning to let water off or adjust the shade pattern. I wish there was another option with my new rig, but there's not.

Thanks Jon

Borrego Dave · 06-19-2019, 02:04 AM

Besides the non tilt feature you may want to look into the problems you may have trying to get it retracted for an electrical/gear issue. A number of friends have them and a few have had issues. None of them would have this type again. I called a major Dometic dealer in town to get info on retracting one with those problems just in case.....they had no answers. I'll take the manual one any day. YMMV

Raspy · 06-19-2019, 03:14 AM

Thanks Dave.

Yep, not very encouraging. I've got an HQ19 on order and that is what it comes with.

My biggest concern, right away was the stress it puts on the side of the trailer where it bolts on, but also, it is an inherently weak design.

Borrego Dave · 06-19-2019, 03:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Raspy

Yep, not very encouraging. I've got an HQ19 on order and that is what it comes with.

Is there still time to have it deleted or changed to a manual one?

Wayne Collins · 06-19-2019, 10:56 AM

I would be antsy with no support legs. Consider how much stress is placed on the camper body at the attaching points.
Having a "sun shade" that is not able to take rain or wind is pretty wimpy.
Our Fiama awning's instruction book says it should not be out in rain. So, why even have it?
By staking the legs to the ground, and adding guy ropes to more stakes should be able to handle any rain and wind … short of a deluge or gale.

WaltP · 06-19-2019, 11:13 AM

When I filled out the build sheet for my 2017 Escape, I took one look at the power awning and said no way, for all the reasons mentioned earlier. I opted for the optional manual. I soon discovered the manual box awning they supplied at the time was flimsy and awkward to use. Earlier this year I learned they were now back to the sturdy pull down awning of previous years and I decided to replace mine with the newer version. An expensive move, but I couldn't be happier.

Walt

Raspy · 06-19-2019, 03:24 PM

I wasn't offered any alternative on the awning. But it bugs me.

The stress on the mounting locations is one of the concerns I have. If it dents the exterior, I will be pissed.

I saw an Oliver with one of these on each side and extended out at the same time. It was gracefully flapping it's wings like a giant bird. I was trying to find a practical way of adding legs.

A lot of the new stickies have a scissors arrangement supporting their awnings that looks good and has a track setup attached to the side of the unit.

The Fiamma on my Oliver looks strong, at first glance, but the wind can destroy it easily. We had a disaster at the Rally last year that damaged some of them and ruined at least one.

TimR · 06-21-2019, 12:54 PM

Might be a bit small for your trailer, but have you looked at the awnings from Shady Boy?

John in Santa Cruz · 06-21-2019, 04:01 PM

I'm quite happy with the carefree manual awning on my 2014 escape 21, except the PO's replaced the fabric with an 8' one, and it should have been 7', so when its fully extended, there's still about one wrap on the drum, and the slot for accessories isn't exposed.

we've used it in heavy rain as long as its not real windy, by not raising one end as high as the other, all the water runs off. for larger multiday events where there's no local shade at all (cough, GSSP next weekend), I also bring a 10x10 standalone awning, which I setup right up against the carefree, they seem to provide mutual support.

oh, I also have the Camco 'clamps' that you put on the middle of the sides of the awning and strap down to the crossbrace bar, this hugely helps in moderate winds by preventing the awning from flapping.

at GSSP, the consistently heavy afternoon winds are nearly always from the west to northwest, and I setup the trailer with the hitch pointing due north, curb side with the awnings faces the sunrise, street side faces the hot afternoon sun and winds, double-awnings makes for a nice community shade area for my friends...

WaltP · 06-21-2019, 04:27 PM

John
You have the old style pull down awning which ETI has now gone back to. It's very sturdy and easy to operate. When they went to the new models they used a flimsy, bow awning for the manual option and it was clearly inferior.
I made the decision to replace the box awning with the pull down model and am glad I did.

Walt

John in Santa Cruz · 06-21-2019, 04:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by WaltP

John
You have the old style pull down awning which ETI has now gone back to. It's very sturdy and easy to operate. When they went to the new models they used a flimsy, bow awning for the manual option and it was clearly inferior.
I made the decision to replace the box awning with the pull down model and am glad I did.

Walt

indeed, yes I do.

hey, question for those with the pull-down style awnings... I've only once tried detaching the legs from the body clips and staking them down to the ground, and I wasn't at all happy with the result, the awning seemed much more stable leaving the legs on the trailer clips. anyone else ever deploy the (bent) legs separately ?