Forum Discussion

Gjac's avatar
Gjac
Explorer III
Jul 31, 2015

Awning repair

While in Colorado 3 weeks ago a high wind came up and ripped about a ft of awning material away from the sewn bead flush with the Al extrusion that holds the awning in place. Has anyone been successful with repairing this type of tear? I hear folks on here talk about Gorilla Tape as holding well for other applications. I was thinking about trying a strip or tape on top and underneath the awning. Any thoughts about this or any other repair techniques. Awning tape has worked well for a split in the awning but I want something that will bond to the Al and FG wall as well as the vinyl awning material. As a second option has anyone removed 6 in or so of the awning and resewn or bonded the awning material around the bead and re inserted it back into the Al extrusion?
Class A

10 Replies

  • Gjac's avatar
    Gjac
    Explorer III
    Aug 03, 2015
    Gjac wrote:
    MrWizard wrote:
    i removed the drip rail
    and put the material under the rail
    used the rail as a clamp to hold it
    screws right thru the material
    used 3M polyurethane in the screw holes to make sure everything was water tight

    DiCor would also work
    This is sounds a lot easier than removing the bead,resewing and reinserting the bead and awning material back into the extrusion. I tried to remove the bead out of the extrusion but was very difficult after 20 years. I did try the Gorilla tape before I read your post, not sure of how long that will hold. When I bought the MH the PO had run into a tree branch or something and s****ed the top part of the roll. I like the idea of removing 6 ins of this damaged material. Next years project.
  • Gjac's avatar
    Gjac
    Explorer III
    Aug 03, 2015
    MrWizard wrote:
    i removed the drip rail
    and put the material under the rail
    used the rail as a clamp to hold it
    screws right thru the material
    used 3M polyurethane in the screw holes to make sure everything was water tight

    DiCor would also work
    This is sounds a lot easier than removing the bead,resewing and reinserting the bead and awning material back into the extrusion. I tried to remove the bead out of the extrusion but was very difficult after 20 years. I did try the Gorilla tape before I read your post, not sure of how long that will hold. When I bought the MH the PO had run into a tree branch or something and s****ed the top part of the roll. I like the idea of removing 6 ins of this damaged material. Next years project.
  • MrWizard's avatar
    MrWizard
    Moderator
    Aug 02, 2015
    i removed the drip rail
    and put the material under the rail
    used the rail as a clamp to hold it
    screws right thru the material
    used 3M polyurethane in the screw holes to make sure everything was water tight

    DiCor would also work
  • Gjac's avatar
    Gjac
    Explorer III
    Aug 02, 2015
    MrWizard wrote:
    I had one rotted and ripped at the top along the edge of the drop rail
    I removed about a ft of awning material, then fasten to the drip rail
    . How did you fasten it to the drip rail? Tape or resew the awning material around the rubber bead then insert into the extrusion ?
  • MrWizard's avatar
    MrWizard
    Moderator
    Aug 02, 2015
    I had one rotted and ripped at the top along the edge of the drop rail
    I removed about a ft of awning material, then fasten to the drip rail
  • Gjac's avatar
    Gjac
    Explorer III
    Aug 02, 2015
    louiskathy wrote:
    Gjac wrote:
    While in Colorado 3 weeks ago a high wind came up and ripped about a ft of awning material away from the sewn bead flush with the Al extrusion that holds the awning in place. Has anyone been successful with repairing this type of tear? I hear folks on here talk about Gorilla Tape as holding well for other applications. I was thinking about trying a strip or tape on top and underneath the awning. Any thoughts about this or any other repair techniques. Awning tape has worked well for a split in the awning but I want something that will bond to the Al and FG wall as well as the vinyl awning material. As a second option has anyone removed 6 in or so of the awning and resewn or bonded the awning material around the bead and re inserted it back into the Al extrusion?


    March 2009 we repaired our awning and the tape held until October 2014. But we strung string up the sides inside the hem and tied it off at the top to support the edges so the tape didn't do all the work to support the load.

    Awning repair
    Thanks for the detailed write up. My tear is different as it is where the awning attaches directly to the MH not on the tube section. However I think I will try to use a short section of a strap that I can slide into the extrusion end and sew to the awning fabric to take some of the load then apply the Gorilla tape and see how that holds up. I want to thank everyone for sharing there repair techniques.
  • Passin_Thru's avatar
    Passin_Thru
    Explorer
    Jul 31, 2015
    I used awning repair tape and it has held. I need to buy a new awning as mine is getting pretty stained and mildewed.
  • Son_of_Norway's avatar
    Son_of_Norway
    Explorer
    Jul 31, 2015
    The same thing happened to me about 2 years ago. I used Gorilla tape to fix it. The repair only took about 10 minutes. Looks OK and is still holding up with no problems.

    Miles
  • fcooper's avatar
    fcooper
    Explorer II
    Jul 31, 2015
    Gjac wrote:
    ............text deleted...... As a second option has anyone removed 6 in or so of the awning and resewn or bonded the awning material around the bead and re inserted it back into the Al extrusion?


    Yes I did that on the awning over my slideout. In my case, I had about 10 inches of rotten fabric to remove. Luckily, this awning can be deployed in two positions with one position just covering the slide top and the other position extending past the slide top at a 45 degree angle for about 14 inches. I was willing to eliminate the usage of the second position, giving me enough slack to remove the rotten material.

    I removed the awning assembly including removing the bead. I removed the rotten fabric, sewed a new pocket for the vinyl bead, and reinstalled. Still working after several years.

    The sewing was done on an ordinary sewing machine using a thread rated for outdoor use. I moved the sewing machine close to the motorhome as that awning gets bulky.

    If you have sufficient slack in your awning to accomplish this repair, I think it will be a lot stronger than trying to use repair tape.

    Obviously, you will need a helper to get that awning down and back up

    Good luck with your repair.

    Fred
  • louiskathy's avatar
    louiskathy
    Explorer
    Jul 31, 2015
    Gjac wrote:
    While in Colorado 3 weeks ago a high wind came up and ripped about a ft of awning material away from the sewn bead flush with the Al extrusion that holds the awning in place. Has anyone been successful with repairing this type of tear? I hear folks on here talk about Gorilla Tape as holding well for other applications. I was thinking about trying a strip or tape on top and underneath the awning. Any thoughts about this or any other repair techniques. Awning tape has worked well for a split in the awning but I want something that will bond to the Al and FG wall as well as the vinyl awning material. As a second option has anyone removed 6 in or so of the awning and resewn or bonded the awning material around the bead and re inserted it back into the Al extrusion?


    March 2009 we repaired our awning and the tape held until October 2014. But we strung string up the sides inside the hem and tied it off at the top to support the edges so the tape didn't do all the work to support the load.

    Awning repair

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