Awning Center Tension Rafter Installation Pics

**Sunline Fan** · 05-10-2009, 12:10 AM

Had to pop rivet the bottom hole because there was no wood there.

Jon

DF5.4 · 05-10-2009, 07:08 PM

Ours had the center tension rafter on ours when we got it. We have a 21' awning. I couldn't imagine an awning that long without one.

**JohnB** · 05-10-2009, 09:30 PM

Jon

Good job and thanks for the pics.

Your center rafter has the fold down leg that is stored in it. Mind does not but has the space for it. I found one but it is $57 plus shipping just for the leg.

So for that price I can pick up some thin wall sq tubing and make one. but it would be nice to see how Dometic does it.

If you have your camera out and handy can you take some pics of how it mounts and works?

I'll also be over to visit and see it in person this weekend at the M & G.

OK how do you get all this help? I was drilling under the camper today and about and came out felling like "Gumby". Have a spring hanger problem I'm addressing. It is times like this when I need to invite son over. The can crawl under and drill over head a lot easier on the more limber types...

Nice job. Thanks for posting

John

And nice job on the slide topper too. That is on the yet to do list.

**Sunline Fan** · 05-10-2009, 11:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JohnB

Your center rafter has the fold down leg that is stored in it. Mind does not but has the space for it. I found one but it is $57 plus shipping just for the leg.

Yeah, I had the option for either, but General only stocks the combo because it's demanded most. They'd have to special order the regular one, and the price would be similar or possibly more. They hadn't ordered a regular one in a while, so they didn't know a current price.

Quote:

Originally Posted by JohnB

So for that price I can pick up some thin wall sq tubing and make one. but it would be nice to see how Dometic does it.

Unfortunately I took the trailer back to storage today, but we happened to get two rafters, one for me and one for my dad's toy hauler. I went into the basement and just got some pics of that one. The whole weekend has been extremely windy, so I really contemplated putting off the drilling of the hole in the awning tube. Fortunately I got a few minutes when the wind died down, so I was able to do that, but I never put it up at all so that the ground support could go down. I did try it in the basement before I took it outside to know how it works though. I didn't want to take the shrink wrap off the other one, so I'll just explain the operation.

Upon looking at the other one, it looks like the inner part is simply bolted into the other arm:

To latch the ground support into the arm, loosen the adjustment knob for the ground support and fold the ground support into the arm. Rotate the ground plate to sit flat against the inside face of the arm (this is the gray part). Retract the ground support inside itself to where the rivets holding the ground plate on fit into the groove inside the arm. Then tighten the ground support adjustment knob. That's all there is too it. Here's a few pics:

Quote:

Originally Posted by JohnB

OK how do you get all this help? I was drilling under the camper today and about and came out felling like "Gumby". Have a spring hanger problem I'm addressing. It is times like this when I need to invite son over. The can crawl under and drill over head a lot easier on the more limber types...

That's a good question. They seem to invite themselves in to help, which I really can't complain about. Especially my Grandpa. He always has to be busy with something. I've noticed recently that my suspension is starting to squeak a lot, so I've been contemplating doing the wet bolt/bronze bushing upgrade. It's currently got 2222.8 miles on it, including the original trip from the Sunline factory, so I'm a bit surprised it's this bad already. He doesn't know this yet, but if I just mentioned that I was thinking about this, he'd want to start on it first thing tomorrow. I put some Vaseline on the DC today because it really made a lot of noise and was starting to wear, so I could really tell how much noise the suspension was making and not the DC.

Jon

MACK C-85 · 05-11-2009, 07:48 AM

Ours came with the center rafter from the factory and we love it, but one thing I'll mention about the center rafter.....

If you leave the awning down and tilted to shed rain, the center rafter will create a pocket in the upper half that will still catch water.....don't ask the big dummy how he knows this

..the answer involves a new awning after the main roller snapped in half (see the picture of the hole that Jon drilled into the roller) in a major (unexpected) thunderstorm

Needless to say, we are now totally anal about the awning being up whenever we leave the trailer and all it takes is a hint of a storm and up it goes

Mike · 07-19-2009, 07:35 PM

Same thing happened to us two days ago. The boomer came through just about midnight. The accompanying downpour was so heavy it snapped the awning in half in less than five minutes. At first I though a tree or part of one had landed on it.

When it gave, it came down like a battering ram. We would have had a nice hole in the siding if we hadn't had one of those portable aluminum tables in the right place to catch it. Needless to say the awning and the table is are no more.

That storm came in so fast that I don't think I could have gotten the awning rolled up if I had tried. I always angle the awning with one end down for water run off, but to no avail this time. When I peeked out the door there was at least 5" of water on the ground. Granted, we were in a low spot, but that's how fast the rain was coming down. We usually camp at the beach and I had always expected that the wind would end up being the awnings' downfall.

Oh yea... That nice long aluminum roller is nothing more than a 19' long beer can with a tension spring in it.. Not structurally sound at all.

Next awning will have a center rafter and will also get rolled whenever we leave or there is even the slightest hint of a storm.