Good morning! hope all is well with everyone. My wife and I have currently just taken delivery on a 2013 Laredo 266RL fifth, traded in our 2003 topaz touring unfortunate we had to be rid of it, but we were getting small delamintation bubbles that would still pop right back out after a professional repair, first trip out will be next weekend with it. This will be my first unit with an electric awning, Personally I prefer the old manual ones BUT seems most are coming with electric now and it is a very attractive feature. My biggest question is how robust/durable are these newer electric awnings? ive heard many mixed reviews. Ive already told the dealer one thing I will NOT do is spend my camping trips worrying about the wind and this awning and if it gets ripped off then the manufacturer should go back to the drawing board. Plus we will be having our add-a-room installed on this camper also so during our month long trips at the lake "rolling the awning back in" will not be an option. Having said that our spot is very sheltered with trees. Just looking for some real world insight! it would be my opinion to that maybe the add a room would help tie everything together better and "anchor" the awning too. I noticed that with our topaz anyway, that awning didn't move ever even in the stiffest winds.Thanks have a great day!

Mmmmm...I don't believe the power awnings are anymore durable than the older manual type.If anything they might be even more prone to damage.The old 16 foot Dometic manual on our last fifth wheel to me was a hassle.Had it out in a protected site when brand new and the wind still took it out :(...and that was with the struts out and corners strapped to ground ties.Mother nature will always win out.For convenience I prefer the power awnings.Here's to hoping you won't see any damage.

I currently have a power awning (sorry, can't remember what make) & like it a lot. Our last fifth had the manual kind & it was a lot more work to retract & extend, so when the wind came up there was always an internal debate as to whether I wanted to go through the hassle of retracting it. With the power awning it just takes a few seconds to put it away. The manual one has struts that go all the way to the bottom of the side so I'm sure it would take more of a beating from the wind. But those lower struts were always in the way.So with either choice there are compromises. Myself, I'd go with the power awning again.

I like my power awning for the convenience....push the button....and if kinda windy...use some tie down straps to anchor. If it gets too windy I just roll it back in.

I think you are going to be disappointed with those expectations. All awnings require judicious intervention in moderate/severe weather situations.

There are several models in the power awnings. There is the one that just goes straight out and back in. There is a model that can be tilted just as a manual can. Some even have a auto dump feature so if it does have a heavy buildup from rain, it will auto dump the load. I find them to be fairly non hassle. As with any awning, common sense as to when to roll it in goes a long way. For me, when I go in, the awning goes in (at night) If I leave the campground, the awning goes in. Here in the south we get a lot of random thunderstorms so why take a chance. As for durability, I see no difference

2013 Laredo electric awning | Good Sam Community

19 Replies

Atom_Ant
Explorer
Jun 16, 2013
captbru wrote:
Check the Keystone RV web site, there is recall on certain models.
The recall is on the electric awning motor.
I saw that recall as well. It was on the Dometic A&E power awning 9100 I think.
GPG52_
Explorer II
Jun 16, 2013
Well its a catch 22. I have had both.
On a TT where height is not as much an issue the manual is much easier; with a 5er's ~12ft height the electric feature is much easier.
We have a 2010 KZ 275 1500, this is a light weight trailer. Problem is when building a light weight unit they comprimise on two points thinner 1.5" walls vs. 2.0' secondly a uni-frame structure vs. having studded walls at regular intervals.
What does this have to do with awnings?... well on our KZ the back awning arm is anchored near the door frame, into a ~1" stud however, the front of the awning & arm did not line up with any framing studs and is anchored only in the coach's outer skin.
If you compare both awning designs the manual awning has an inverted Z design which shares the stress/weight from the top rail to the bottom of the coach. While the electric has a scissor shape design. The stress points/weigh distribution are all within about ~2'/~3' of each other at the top of the coach.
In our case we got caught in a micro burst in Florida, that pulled the front awning anchors completely out of the wall.
Now we have a fair weather awning which we have to constantly monitor. Eeerrrr
GPG
captbru
Explorer
Jun 16, 2013
Check the Keystone RV web site, there is recall on certain models.
The recall is on the electric awning motor.
pressure_welder
Explorer
Jun 16, 2013
unfortunately it will apparently be too short? according to my dealer. which is fine as theres a place in town that can add a section to the bottom. Although having said that I am wondering if it WILL work? because even on our topaz with the manual awning almost as high as it could go we had probably 16-20" laying on the ground folded underneath our mats. PLUS the topaz was lifted too. I seen the carefree one and it looks slick with no buckles on the camper but I don't like the Velcro as it never seems to work properly once it gets dirty.
Atom_Ant
Explorer
Jun 16, 2013
I wonder if the one you have will fit the new awning? I notice Carefree has an add a room now for their power awning.
pressure_welder
Explorer
Jun 16, 2013
we already have our add a room, that is just something that we will always have as my wife and I enjoy it so much, it makes the camper feel so much bigger, you can keep stuff outside list goes on. It will just be a welcomed amenity to have the power awning and add a room in one package!
Atom_Ant
Explorer
Jun 16, 2013
You might try it first before you go with the add a room. You might actually like it.

Its all in how you like to use them. I used to tie down my manual awnings and worry about rain and hope they didn't blow away, and sometimes they did. Now I'm accustomed to retracting both of our awnings when I go to sleep or leave the camper. takes about 6 seconds and no worries about it after that. No amount of wind or rain will impact a retracted awning.
pressure_welder
Explorer
Jun 16, 2013
hone-

Yes don't feel bad at all! "being Canadian" we felt that topaz is/still has the most high quality made parts. But triple E is aware of a gelcoat defect in our particular years that causes/aids in these bubbles. The glue simply breaks down my parents along with 3 other friends have had topaz's, all of which have had bubbling issues to various degrees, needless to say they've all traded the topaz's off on new units just as we did.

Yes, maybe being in Canada we don't experience the same consistant higher winds as some of you fellas down south? I will be excited to see how well everything tightens up once the add a room is installed.
hone_eagle
Explorer
Jun 16, 2013
pressure_welder wrote:
- hone eagle,

yes I kept on top of the caulking, stripped the old, and put new in every 3rd year yet we still have the issue. In more than one spot. I had a chance to talk with one of the technicians at the dealership a little more in depth. He said that with the weight of the add a room on it we will be fine as that acts as a big anchor itself. He said of course if a plow wind or something retarted like that rolls through the campsite then well have issues but of course I believe well have more than the awning to worry about. Like I say we just wont have the option to roll the awning in/out during our long stays at the lake. IMO if you have to roll the awning up every night or when you leave the campsite whats the point in even having one?

Thanks it least that makes me feel better ,I guess I did all i could .
We never stay in one spot more then a week - 10 days and looking forward to the convienance of push button operation.As far as rolling up nightly ,never in the far north ,often on the mid-western plains ,depends on prevailing and local wind conditions.
NancyLepri
Explorer
Jun 16, 2013
I have a 2009 Laredo that has a electric awning. I use it with precaution and it is still working fine. Never opened on windy days, or never leave it if gone for a while..easy to put it out when the time is right. Easy to put away when not good out...enjoy!

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2013 Laredo electric awning

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