For those with "awning lock" how do you like it?

I rebend my awning rod so there is about 6 inches that engages the awning roller.

The fit on my awning is snug.

It is possible not all awnings are the same as far as hole size goes. I have a friend that had an awning that did not have a hole in the end cover. It only required drilling a hole of the required size in the end cover. (This would also be required for all of the other locks)

When the awning is unfurled it rotates towards the trailer. After less than a 1/6 rotation the awning rod will jam against the awning pin. With my awning the rotation will be less than 1/16 of a turn.
From my previous post you can see the awning rod is almost touching the awning pin.

The other end of my rod is tie wrapped to the awning rod so it has a 4ft plus lever. It is not going to come loose and with 6 inch engagement it is not going to come out of the awning.

The beauty of this method nothing to buy or make.

Rebending the rod a non issue in my mind.

I always know where my rod is and I can engage the rod from the ground. No climbing required.

LarryJM wrote:

robatthelake wrote:
Every Pull Down Awning that I have seen comes complete with the best locking device ever as standard equipment!

The pull down Rod is in itself the locking device!

The only thing that they forgot to include is a pair of Bungee Cords to keep it from falling off!

Insert the straight L into the accessory hole on the trailing end of the Awning Roller. bungee the Loop end to the Rafter so that it won't drop off and You are good to go!

That sounds good on the surface, but I'm not sure how effective it would be in an actual situation. The typical awning rod "L" section is only about 1" long and quite a bit smaller than the awing rail slot so there will be a lot of slop and play. I sure would want to test it out by installing it and then flipping the unroll lock and give the roller end opposite the supposed locked end some good jerks, giggles, and turns to see if the awning rod stays positioned. Also, what prevents the awning from unfurling is having the rod that is in the awing slot stick out long enough so as it rotates it jams up agains the awing arm and thus prevents the awning from rotating any more. I just don't see how what you are proposing to do is going to be that effective real world.

My awning lock consisting of a 8" 5/16" dia "BOLT" that I attached to one of the large umbrella arms and then inserted that into the tube about 4" with 6" still outside the awing tube and then secured the umbrella rod to the awning arm. Below are the pics of my homemade lock:






Larry

I have in fact tested the Original Pull Down Rod with the Ratchet Lock released! It worked fine !

We were near Catavina on the Baja when Our Awning Let go on a Brand New Rig.

Had to roll it back up by hand as the Springs inside broke along with the Pawl on the Lock/Release device.

It remained closed and tight all the way Home to Canada.

I learned this Trick from a fellow RVer who pulled over to help!

path1 wrote:
Anybody that has this type? http://awninglock.com/index.shtml

How do you like it?

Easy to install?

Anybody have installed on manual "Carefeee of Colorado"?



I've been about getting one, Camping World doesn't carry them I was told Saturday by their parts person.

On my old rv I bent a rod that fit into roller tube hole and was strapped to side of the awning leg. Looked sort of weird and had to break out ladder in place peg in hole. But did the trick.

Thinking about "going first class" this time.

If you have one PLEASE what do you think about it???

(I did a search and don't see very many people that have one by the search results, but these were mentioned as a fix in a thread. Not actually how people liked them after buying and installing and using them.)


Thanks

I bought this one a couple of years ago and installed it on the awning. The toughest thing is to drill the hole in the right place. On mine, it sometimes doesn't line up when I roll the awning up and I have to pull it out and try again. When it works, (lies up) it works well and I am happy to have it installed. I feel better about having it on there. I have never seen the option of using the awning rod though. That looks like a good idea too, (as long as it stays in place).

robatthelake wrote:
Every Pull Down Awning that I have seen comes complete with the best locking device ever as standard equipment!

The pull down Rod is in itself the locking device!

The only thing that they forgot to include is a pair of Bungee Cords to keep it from falling off!

Insert the straight L into the accessory hole on the trailing end of the Awning Roller. bungee the Loop end to the Rafter so that it won't drop off and You are good to go!

I use the same method. I did rebend the end of my rod so there is about 6 inches that goes into the Awning Roller. I tie the handle end of the rod to the Awning arm with a large tie wrap. Serves two purposes. Holds rod in place and keeps awning rod folded.

Now I always know where my awning rod is and a handy useful place to store it.

robatthelake wrote:
Every Pull Down Awning that I have seen comes complete with the best locking device ever as standard equipment!

The pull down Rod is in itself the locking device!

The only thing that they forgot to include is a pair of Bungee Cords to keep it from falling off!

Insert the straight L into the accessory hole on the trailing end of the Awning Roller. bungee the Loop end to the Rafter so that it won't drop off and You are good to go!

That sounds good on the surface, but I'm not sure how effective it would be in an actual situation. The typical awning rod "L" section is only about 1" long and quite a bit smaller than the awing rail slot so there will be a lot of slop and play. I sure would want to test it out by installing it and then flipping the unroll lock and give the roller end opposite the supposed locked end some good jerks, giggles, and turns to see if the awning rod stays positioned. Also, what prevents the awning from unfurling is having the rod that is in the awing slot stick out long enough so as it rotates it jams up agains the awing arm and thus prevents the awning from rotating any more. I just don't see how what you are proposing to do is going to be that effective real world.

My awning lock consisting of a 8" 5/16" dia "BOLT" that I attached to one of the large umbrella arms and then inserted that into the tube about 4" with 6" still outside the awing tube and then secured the umbrella rod to the awning arm. Below are the pics of my homemade lock:






Larry

robatthelake wrote:
Every Pull Down Awning that I have seen comes complete with the best locking device ever as standard equipment!

The pull down Rod is in itself the locking device!

The only thing that they forgot to include is a pair of Bungee Cords to keep it from falling off!

Insert the straight L into the accessory hole on the trailing end of the Awning Roller. bungee the Loop end to the Rafter so that it won't drop off and You are good to go!

Brillant!! :B

Every Pull Down Awning that I have seen comes complete with the best locking device ever as standard equipment!

The pull down Rod is in itself the locking device!

The only thing that they forgot to include is a pair of Bungee Cords to keep it from falling off!

Insert the straight L into the accessory hole on the trailing end of the Awning Roller. bungee the Loop end to the Rafter so that it won't drop off and You are good to go!

I like the awning lock a lot. Easy to instal, easy to use, effective, little to no maintenance, it just 'works'. I probably didn't get my hole in the but EXACTLY in the right place, but it works anyway. Biggest problem is that I sometimes forget to unlock it and can't figure out what's going on, until i remember the lock on the roller tube.

Have installed 3 and on all the hole in the awning tube winds up in a different location each time awning is rolled up making them useless. Had many conversations with the manufacturer and supplied pictures and they could not offer a fix. I do not recommend it.

u use your awning pull dn rod. i wrapped small amt of tape on rod to make it easier to keep hook from slipping off i love this thing so simple & u can do both ends if u want. i only did back so to keep slot open for lights (the secret is to pull dn on chain while holding rod in other hand)