Replace Manual Awning with Power Awning ... Anyone ?

pappcam wrote:

the bear II wrote:
In reading through the posts on several RV Forums I decided not to go with a powered awning. It seems the manual awnings provide more flexibility options in bad weather. Tie the manual awnings down while deployed even in brisk winds. Can't do it with the powered awnings.

My choice was based on what I had read over the past year.

I have a power awning and I wouldn't in a million years go back to a manual awning. I have no idea what causes people to like a manual over a power one. It's one of a few head scratching opinions around here.

Some people who dry camp like to save battery by having a manual awning, I personally wouldn't trade my power awning for the world.

the bear II wrote:
In reading through the posts on several RV Forums I decided not to go with a powered awning. It seems the manual awnings provide more flexibility options in bad weather. Tie the manual awnings down while deployed even in brisk winds. Can't do it with the powered awnings.

My choice was based on what I had read over the past year.

I have a power awning and I wouldn't in a million years go back to a manual awning. I have no idea what causes people to like a manual over a power one. It's one of a few head scratching opinions around here.

I looked into doing as you describe but ran into a problem. The power awning mounts very different than the old one. The new arms are secured at their top edge by two large lag bolts that must go into some solid wood - not just luan paneling. The location for these is just under the gutter. Unless your RV has some blocking for this or wood framing in that location, there's nothing to secure these bolts to.
In our case we have a thin aluminum channel up there that the side wall slips into. We had nothing solid to mount to. The existing blocking was directly behind the gutter, not under it as the power awning required.
I suspect some shops just screw into the thin paneling and use lots of caulk to secure the awning arms to the side of the trailer but the instructions plainly spell out what the structural requirements are.

On our previous fifth wheel, we did install the power awning and removed the manual. It was too hard and high for me to reach. We simply brought the awning in if winds were strong. Today's automatic awnings have options for tilting and such. I would look into it. Ours was bought on ebay and we had an RV tech from a local shop install it. I think the arms were about 500 dollars, used our same roller and fabric. It worked well for us and I am happy to have an electric one on the 2010 we now have. You are right, pushing a button is so much easier.

In reading through the posts on several RV Forums I decided not to go with a powered awning. It seems the manual awnings provide more flexibility options in bad weather. Tie the manual awnings down while deployed even in brisk winds. Can't do it with the powered awnings.

My choice was based on what I had read over the past year.