Forum Discussion

schlep1967

Nomad

Sep 03, 2013

Help with my Carefree awning

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?

Seeking Advice

14 Replies

bdpreece
Explorer II
Sep 03, 2013
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.
spadoctor
Explorer II
Sep 03, 2013
call and talk directly to Carefree for your answer
schlep1967
Nomad
Sep 03, 2013
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.
peaches_cream
Explorer
Sep 03, 2013
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.