So ..... We were packing up to leave yesterday in the nice hot sun. Finally get to the point of almost hooking up and I ask the wife to put the awning in. She pushes the button inside and I hear the motor in the end of the arm running but the awning is not retracting. Going to be hard to drive down the road with 10' of awning hanging out. I grab my trusty tool kit and start taking things apart. Now for those that are not familiar with the motorized awnings, they are not spring loaded. There are gas shocks that push the awning out as the motor unspools the canvas. And when the motor rolls up the canvas it compresses the gas shocks back to the side of the house. Anyhow, I get things opened up and I can see the spindle coming out of the motor is turning. This spindle goes through the middle of the roller end cap. And it is just spinning instead of turning the end cap to roll up the canvas. I remove the two screws holding the end cap to the tube and pull things apart. The spindle has a flat side on it and the cap as a flat spot in it to line up with the one on the spindle. But there seems to be a gap or space when they are lined up. Is there supposed to be a "key" in this flat spot? I did a little creative repair with a bobbypin and aluminum foil that got it rolled up and then ran ratchet straps around the camper to get it home. Now I am trying to find the part or parts I need to fix it. Looked at the online repair manual carefree has on their website for the Travel'r awning. The end cap I am talking about is in the picture but not called out with a description and there is nothing on the picture that looks like a key for in the slot. Any ideas?

There was a post sometime back which described drilling a hole through the receiver and the shaft of the motor where the flat sides meet. Then putting a pin or even a cotter pin in the hole which fixes the problem. I cannot find the post but I bet someone will chime in with it.

peaches&cream wrote:There was a post sometime back which described drilling a hole through the receiver and the shaft of the motor where the flat sides meet. Then putting a pin or even a cotter pin in the hole which fixes the problem. I cannot find the post but I bet someone will chime in with it.I've thought about something to that effect. Maybe drilling and tapping to put a setscrew in to the flat on the spindle. But if it is supposed to have a soft shear key in there it would be there to prevent motor or gear damage if someone were to hold the button too long or the switch would short. I would rather replace a cheap shear key than to replace a hundred dollar + motor. I'm just not sure if there was actually a key in there to begin with as I never had it apart before I had the problem.

call and talk directly to Carefree for your answer

Is this a Carefree Eclipse awning? If so there were a batch made with only one flat spot on the shaft and that would over time allow the shaft to round out the hole and then the shaft would just spin in the hole. You are lucky, on our motorhome the awning was rolled up and we were driving down the road when the awning fully deployed due to this problem. You need to contact Carefree as you will need a complete new motor assembly with end cap. The awnings have a four year warranty so not sure if yours will be covered. I changed out the parts myself but was fortunate enough to get them for free under the warranty. If you change it out yourself have help and be very careful as the gas shocks are strong enough to knock you off a ladder.

bdpreece wrote:If you change it out yourself have help and be very careful as the gas shocks are strong enough to knock you off a ladder.Sounds like the voice of experience?You can use a shear-pin, which is just a softer material than the rest of your components and still protect your motor and such. In which case you would drill straight through, eliminating the one flat side of the shaft problem.But the first attempt should be as bdpreece mentioned- try the warranty if it still exists.

Help with my Carefree awning | Good Sam Community

14 Replies

DiskDoctr
Explorer
Sep 05, 2013
schlep1967 wrote:
I already have a reply from Traci asking for my shipping information. Says they will send a replacement free of charge.

Traci ROCKS! And carefree will be getting an email telling them the same!

Big THUMBS UP for CareFree!!!
bdpreece
Explorer II
Sep 05, 2013
Glad to see everything working out for you. As I stated before be very careful when you change out the motor assembly. I changed mine out by myself, what I did was open the awning then tie it with straps both to the coach and out the other way to the trailer hitch on the back of my car so it could not move in or out. I then used two 8 ft ladders one to climb on and one to lay the roller on once I removed the cap from the end. It would be much safer if you can find someone to help as I found I was short on hands a couple of times trying to hold everything together and get the screws back in. Good luck and let us know how you make out.
schlep1967
Nomad
Sep 04, 2013
I already have a reply from Traci asking for my shipping information. Says they will send a replacement free of charge.

Traci ROCKS! And carefree will be getting an email telling them the same!
schlep1967
Nomad
Sep 04, 2013
bdpreece wrote:
You could be right on the edge for a warranty. All coaches purchased prior to January of 2009 come with a 4-year Carefree Warranty to the original owner. Although my coach was a 2008 I purchased it new in June of 2010 and Carefree honored the four year warranty in July of this year. Try contacting

Traci Deyoung,
Carefree of Colorado
1-800-621-2617 Extension 6319
tdeyoung@carefreeofcolorado.com

Thanks for the info. I sent Traci an email. Hopefully she can help. Heck I would be happy if they would sell me the end cap for $20. That would beat the $208 motor assembly.
NC_Hauler
Explorer
Sep 04, 2013
bdpreece wrote:
Is this a Carefree Eclipse awning? If so there were a batch made with only one flat spot on the shaft and that would over time allow the shaft to round out the hole and then the shaft would just spin in the hole. You are lucky, on our motorhome the awning was rolled up and we were driving down the road when the awning fully deployed due to this problem. You need to contact Carefree as you will need a complete new motor assembly with end cap. The awnings have a four year warranty so not sure if yours will be covered. I changed out the parts myself but was fortunate enough to get them for free under the warranty. If you change it out yourself have help and be very careful as the gas shocks are strong enough to knock you off a ladder.

In his post, he stated it was the Travel'r...but sounds like same set up as far as the drive shaft goes.
bdpreece
Explorer II
Sep 04, 2013
You could be right on the edge for a warranty. All coaches purchased prior to January of 2009 come with a 4-year Carefree Warranty to the original owner. Although my coach was a 2008 I purchased it new in June of 2010 and Carefree honored the four year warranty in July of this year. Try contacting

Traci Deyoung,
Carefree of Colorado
1-800-621-2617 Extension 6319
tdeyoung@carefreeofcolorado.com
schlep1967
Nomad
Sep 03, 2013
Looks like I will be making modifications myself. Went to the RV place they said to try calling carefree as their book shows replacing the $208 motor assembly. Called Carefree. They have a one year warrantee. I'm on my own for the motor assembly. So it is looking like I will be drilling a hole and inserting a spring pin.
schlep1967
Nomad
Sep 03, 2013
Keep the input coming. I will be stopping at a local RV place that is an authorized dealer with carefree awnings in about an hour. We will see if they have any answers.
JamesBr
Explorer
Sep 03, 2013
I would find the awning model you have and call carefree or goto PPL and research the part before modifying it.

But if parts are no longer availible, drilling and tapping for a softer metal set screw (like brass) could work just fine.
DiskDoctr
Explorer
Sep 03, 2013
bdpreece wrote:
If you change it out yourself have help and be very careful as the gas shocks are strong enough to knock you off a ladder.

Sounds like the voice of experience?

You can use a shear-pin, which is just a softer material than the rest of your components and still protect your motor and such. In which case you would drill straight through, eliminating the one flat side of the shaft problem.

But the first attempt should be as bdpreece mentioned- try the warranty if it still exists.

Forum Discussion

Help with my Carefree awning

14 Replies

About RV Tips & Tricks

Related Content

Carefree awning

Vinyl Carefree awning stains

Carefree Awning strut replacement

Manual Carefree Colorado Awning issue

Carefree awning failure