Awning Help

[JJnLilly]

Went to put up our sun screen for the winter now that we are settled at Tampa and found that the replacement awning installed at it seems that the end caps were put on wrong. Is there a way to rotate an end cap without working about the spring action? We are too far and to settled to take it to a dealer.

[Hank_MI]

Yes, basically. You'll need to slide it and the torsion assembly out of the roller tube, just enough so the endcap is free of the roller tube. Then rotate and push it back on. As I recall there are some 'stops' on the inside of the endcap that will keep it from rotating when it's all the way on. That's from what I can remember, if I'm wrong someone please correct me..

[JJnLilly]

So I can just drill out the rivets, rotate the plastic end cap and then re-rivet?

[Hank_MI]

Chris Bryant wrote:
FWIW, rotating the rear end cap is trivial- there is no spring tension on the cap itself. Rotating the front one can be a pain on A&E.

You are correct. I misspoke when I mentioned using vice grips to rotate the end cap. That's only required when adjusting tension or removing torsion assembly.

[Chris_Bryant]

FWIW, rotating the rear end cap is trivial- there is no spring tension on the cap itself. Rotating the front one can be a pain on A&E.

[Hank_MI]

I guess a drill, hacksaw, file and more rivets is one way to fix it or you could just do it right.

[beemerphile1]

Drill, hack saw, and file a new slot in the cap. You might want to add some new rivets on each side of the new slot.

[Lenny_K]

The cap was installed incorrectly but I would try as suggested by Old-Biscuit before taking the cap off if the awning is working OK.

[Hank_MI]

Old-Biscuit wrote:
No the end caps were NOT installed wrong.
Common for end caps to be installed W/O opening lining up with grove in roller tube so awning stays secured.

Get 1/4" drill bit and drill motor
At one end of roller tube drill into grove at an angle making a slot to use for installation of Sun Screen

Simple.....and not messing with end cap/awning springs etc needed

I've replaced awning material on 2 different awnings. The left end cap only had one opening. This opening is meant to line up with the groove that the pull straps slides into. The other 2 grooves in the roller assembly are closed off by the end cap. I don't know what kind of awning he has but it's quite possible the end cap was installed in the wrong position. The 3 grooves in the roller tube on an A&E awning are not equally spaced and there is only one way to install it correctly. Both the torsion assembly and end cap can be installed in the wrong positions.

In the wrong position the 3 arms on the torsion assembly don't all hit one of the grooves due to the unequal spacing. In the wrong position the opening in the end cap doesn't line up with the pull strap groove. Only way to correct it is drill out the rivets and with the use of vise grips rotate the end cap to the correct spot. I would also check that the torsion assembly is in the correct position. That requires unwinding the spring and pulling the torsion assembly out to the end to confirm that the 3 arms align with the 3 grooves in the roller tube. In the wrong position you may have only 1 or 2 of the arms hitting a goove instead of all 3.

[ArticFox_676]

We have a new trailer with an electric awning and can't find a way to slide our twin track in the roller. We like to use the sun screen and awning lights. Worked great on the old manual. Any suggestions would be welcomed.

[Old-Biscuit]

No the end caps were NOT installed wrong.
Common for end caps to be installed W/O opening lining up with grove in roller tube so awning stays secured.

Get 1/4" drill bit and drill motor
At one end of roller tube drill into grove at an angle making a slot to use for installation of Sun Screen

Simple.....and not messing with end cap/awning springs etc needed

[darsben1]

Mobile RV tech