Carefree awning
I have a manual Carefree Awning and have problem when closing. I hit the unlock switch and awning rolls up and goes under aluminum cover. When I pull on the top near rear end it seems locked. Whe...
Forum Discussion
Here's what I'm thinking. I have had to replace my springs a few times and I had a rear one do the same as your front. I remember when I deployed it one day it made a weird popping noise almost like something slipped or spun in the tube. When I went to roll it back up the rear didn't go up tight to the body like yours. I'll bet like me you heard that noise one day and thought hmm that was weird. But since the awning seemed to still work you didn't give it a second thought.
Having replaced springs before I knew the spring had slipped in the tube and that I had to have a set number of turns in each spring (for mine it's 8 turns when retracted and 16 turns when deployed). So when I got home I tried to unwind and then rewind the spring to restore the tension. When I got to about 15 turns the spring slipped in the tube again. The spring wasn't broken. But it's mounting point on the end cap just could not hold the required torsion and it would partially slip. I tried various ways to secure the end cap to the spring but it kept failing. In the end I replaced the spring and the problem was resolved.
The front and rear springs are the only moving parts in these manual awnings. These two springs are always under tension. When the awning is deployed the springs are under a lot of tension to help you roll it up. And when the awning is stored the springs keep it rolled tight against the body. If not enough winds to preload the spring there is no tension at all when rolled up.
If you open the PDF from the link above you will see that each awning has a very specific number of turns that you need to preload the replacement spring. That number of turns puts enough pressure on the springs when deployed to allow it to roll back up without putting undue pressure on the springs when deployed. But it also leaves some residual tension in the springs to hold the awning closed. If the tension slips in the tube there won't be enough residual spring force to hold the awning closed.
Having replaced springs before I knew the spring had slipped in the tube and that I had to have a set number of turns in each spring (for mine it's 8 turns when retracted and 16 turns when deployed). So when I got home I tried to unwind and then rewind the spring to restore the tension. When I got to about 15 turns the spring slipped in the tube again. The spring wasn't broken. But it's mounting point on the end cap just could not hold the required torsion and it would partially slip. I tried various ways to secure the end cap to the spring but it kept failing. In the end I replaced the spring and the problem was resolved.
The front and rear springs are the only moving parts in these manual awnings. These two springs are always under tension. When the awning is deployed the springs are under a lot of tension to help you roll it up. And when the awning is stored the springs keep it rolled tight against the body. If not enough winds to preload the spring there is no tension at all when rolled up.
If you open the PDF from the link above you will see that each awning has a very specific number of turns that you need to preload the replacement spring. That number of turns puts enough pressure on the springs when deployed to allow it to roll back up without putting undue pressure on the springs when deployed. But it also leaves some residual tension in the springs to hold the awning closed. If the tension slips in the tube there won't be enough residual spring force to hold the awning closed.
