Awning.

[Gregorym]

I have 2000 Sunline Solaris. I attempted to replace the awning fabric. The awning fabric was replaced but the awning wont go up or down on its own. It's a manual awning. I can.wind it up by hand. I took it to a rv repair shop. At 1st he said he has to.get a new spring that is inside the roller tube then called me back and said he can't fix it and I need a complete new awning at the cost of $2500. Why couldn't I buy just the new tube with a new spring.why do I have to a whole new awning.? Your thoughts.?
Thanks Gregory.

[BenB]

If it worked properly before the fabric replacement it sounds like the springs were not rewound correctly to give it tension. Did you rewind the springs? Or another question would be did you unwind the springs? Usually the end cap has to come off to replace fabric which requires unwinding the springs.

[BenB]

Here is the write up JohnB did for fabric replacement. It shows the unwinding and winding of the springs.

https://www.sunlineclub.com/forums/f...ics-14771.html

[JohnB]

Hi,

I now see you have two close posts that are almost the same. I responded to the other post on getting parts.

But you may be able to fix what you have unless something actually broke. If you want to get into trying to fix what you have, we need pics of what you have and a description of how you did the awning replacement.

Also, describe what the awning does now. Is there no tension at all? How do you roll it back up?

[Gregorym]

Hi Ben. Thank you for your reply. I took trailer to a reputable rv repair place and they said it could not be fixed. I assumed they tried unwinding or winding spring. They said the spring broke. Wonder why I can't just by a newer tube instead of having to by a complete awning.?

[BenB]

Sounds like they are trying to sell you a whole assembly so they can just bolt it on. If it just a broken spring, replacements are available, but the awning needs to be disassembled to replace. If your tube is straight buying a new tube won't solve the problem, the springs are not included. I replaced my tube because it was bent, had to move the springs/endcap parts to new tube. I think the only way to get the tube with the springs installed is a whole assembly. If you can replace the spring or find someone who will, it should be cheaper than a whole assembly, a quick look showed springs to be $120-200 each.

[Tinstaafl]

Really reaching here, without looking into options like JohnB mentioned in the other thread (which probably should be merged with this one).

If you know an old-school machinist who has [access to] the proper equipment, he could fabricate that spring for you, for way less than a whole new assembly. I did a number of those for various equipment a few lifetimes ago. Just a thought...

[JohnB]

Hi Gregory,

We may be able to help you with your awning, but we need more info on which exact awning vintage you have. Dometic changed the end caps on the 8500 series sunchaser awing several times from about the 2000 to the 2007 models.

There are some parts still available but we have to know which vintage you have to help better.

If the springs are all this is broken. Oddly I found a right hand spring only still for sale. https://www.ebay.com/itm/30399280974...06255b129ddb54

But I can’t tell you that will fit your awning for sure, until you can post pics of the end caps on both ends of the awing and the part number sticker on the awning tube that tells what awing you have. And you can confirm that it is only the spring that is broken. You will have to take the awing apart to see what is wrong. If the concern is this is too much to do for you, we understand, but then you are looking at your dealer to install a new one. Or find another repair place.

As to the dealers, many may not want to hunt all over to find just the one or two individual parts needed. It costs them time to do this hunting. They want the whole subassembly and it is easier and less labor to install. Finding an entire right end spring subassembly with a latch , spring and end cap assembly is really hard now with the parts shortage. They just may not want to deal with independent parts sellers as they can be held accountable and have to warrant their labor if the part and awning fails soon. They have to turn a profit, dealing with old campers costs a lot of time that they may not be able to charge for or the customer wants to pay.

Hope this helps

John

[64Econoline]

Hey Greg
How is your hunt for parts going?? I clicked on John’s link to eBay and a whole bunch of parts were available…
Keeping everyone updated helps us all .
I have a Keystone Sprinter and I just purchased a 1995 Sunline Soltice?.?? I believe, for my grandson as a base at the Motorcross track.
Both need awnings, and no matter what brand the trailer is, a lot of the awnings are the same. I’ll be doing mine shortly.
Keep us posted with your progress…Al

[harleycouple]

Hi everyone,

It’s Gene, I thought I had a T-2499 so said the dealer I purchased it from, however right on the camper it has a plack saying T-2363 duh!!!
Anyway, this is my first summer in it. I purchased land and had an excavating company put in a Pad and driveway for me in which the camper sits on. My question is, how do I operate the awning? Is it electric or manual, I’ve been tinkering with it and see no attachment so again assuming it’s Manuel!! I’ve not opened it. I don’t want to rip the awning, it’s 20 years old. Any instructions on how you set it up??


Any help is much appreciated. Thank you Gene.

[JohnB]

Hi Harleycouple,

You did not say what year your camper was, but you did say it was 20 years old, so I am assuming it is a 2004-ish model. It helps to know the model year, as Sunline changed the awning brands/models over the years, and the awning instructions can change.

If it still has the original hardware, your awning is an A&E Sunchaser 8500 series manual awning made by Dometic. Dometic bought out A&E, so both names show up.

I searched the web for a good video. There are lots of them out there, and some could be better.

This is an RV tech explaining the process. His actions tell me that he is a seasoned tech and touches on all the right topics. I will add a few tips he did not mention.

How to setup the awning.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Ss72UZXdpw

Tips.

1. The awning he demonstrates is a Carefree brand; the travel locks on your A&E are black clips in the middle of the arms you squeeze to release. Squeeze the clip on each side of the arm, and the arm will pop loose. You grab the back and front arms and squeeze them together to lock them, and they will click when locked.

2. The awning arms are always attached to the camper in their video. You want to make sure it stays connected like that; it is stronger and more windproof from damage. You may hear or see the arms being disconnected and standing upright on the ground; they call this patio mode. I highly recommend only using the patio mode if you have the arms bolts to a secure heavy deck. I have seen two good, well-seasoned friends have their awing heavily damaged while doing patio mode, even when the roller was tied and staked to the ground. A large wind gust came up, and the awning lifted and slammed to the ground. One of them went up and over the top of the entire camper.

3. When you go to close up the awning, you follow the procedure the tech showed you, but before flipping the spring latch to allow the awning to roll up, press down on the awning tube with the hand that is holding the strap/tether, and tube. By pressing down a little, 1" is enough; it releases the heavy spring tension on the spring latch lever so it will flip easily. If you have a hard time flipping the spring latch lever, it means there is too much tension against the gear pawl inside the tube. Pressing the tube down a little rotates the tube to back off the tension, and it will release easily.

4. The tech stated that when you roll up the awning, place the strap/tether in the center of the awning. This is important as the awning then rolls up more even on both ends. Some folks do not know this and leave the strap at one end of the awning, and the T2363 or T1950 is a prime target for this as the entry door step is close by at one end. They hold the strap, walk up the step, and roll it up with the strap way off center. This off-center rolling up over time will cause one end of the awing to roll up out of sync with the other end. Over time, the awning will shrink tighter on one end than the other, and, again, over time, the awning will start having issues rolling up even as the fabric has shrunk unevenly on both ends.

I hope this helps. Have fun with the camper.

John