For those with "awning lock" how do you like it?

[path1]

Anybody that has this type? http://awninglock.com/index.shtml

How do you like it?

Easy to install?

Anybody have installed on manual "Carefeee of Colorado"?



I've been about getting one, Camping World doesn't carry them I was told Saturday by their parts person.

On my old rv I bent a rod that fit into roller tube hole and was strapped to side of the awning leg. Looked sort of weird and had to break out ladder in place peg in hole. But did the trick.

Thinking about "going first class" this time.

If you have one PLEASE what do you think about it???

(I did a search and don't see very many people that have one by the search results, but these were mentioned as a fix in a thread. Not actually how people liked them after buying and installing and using them.)


Thanks

[RCMAN46]

I rebend my awning rod so there is about 6 inches that engages the awning roller.

The fit on my awning is snug.

It is possible not all awnings are the same as far as hole size goes. I have a friend that had an awning that did not have a hole in the end cover. It only required drilling a hole of the required size in the end cover. (This would also be required for all of the other locks)

When the awning is unfurled it rotates towards the trailer. After less than a 1/6 rotation the awning rod will jam against the awning pin. With my awning the rotation will be less than 1/16 of a turn.
From my previous post you can see the awning rod is almost touching the awning pin.

The other end of my rod is tie wrapped to the awning rod so it has a 4ft plus lever. It is not going to come loose and with 6 inch engagement it is not going to come out of the awning.

The beauty of this method nothing to buy or make.

Rebending the rod a non issue in my mind.

I always know where my rod is and I can engage the rod from the ground. No climbing required.

[robatthelake]

LarryJM wrote:

robatthelake wrote:
Every Pull Down Awning that I have seen comes complete with the best locking device ever as standard equipment!

The pull down Rod is in itself the locking device!

The only thing that they forgot to include is a pair of Bungee Cords to keep it from falling off!

Insert the straight L into the accessory hole on the trailing end of the Awning Roller. bungee the Loop end to the Rafter so that it won't drop off and You are good to go!

That sounds good on the surface, but I'm not sure how effective it would be in an actual situation. The typical awning rod "L" section is only about 1" long and quite a bit smaller than the awing rail slot so there will be a lot of slop and play. I sure would want to test it out by installing it and then flipping the unroll lock and give the roller end opposite the supposed locked end some good jerks, giggles, and turns to see if the awning rod stays positioned. Also, what prevents the awning from unfurling is having the rod that is in the awing slot stick out long enough so as it rotates it jams up agains the awing arm and thus prevents the awning from rotating any more. I just don't see how what you are proposing to do is going to be that effective real world.

My awning lock consisting of a 8" 5/16" dia "BOLT" that I attached to one of the large umbrella arms and then inserted that into the tube about 4" with 6" still outside the awing tube and then secured the umbrella rod to the awning arm. Below are the pics of my homemade lock:






Larry

I have in fact tested the Original Pull Down Rod with the Ratchet Lock released! It worked fine !

We were near Catavina on the Baja when Our Awning Let go on a Brand New Rig.

Had to roll it back up by hand as the Springs inside broke along with the Pawl on the Lock/Release device.

It remained closed and tight all the way Home to Canada.

I learned this Trick from a fellow RVer who pulled over to help!

[Jack_Kay]

path1 wrote:
Anybody that has this type? http://awninglock.com/index.shtml

How do you like it?

Easy to install?

Anybody have installed on manual "Carefeee of Colorado"?



I've been about getting one, Camping World doesn't carry them I was told Saturday by their parts person.

On my old rv I bent a rod that fit into roller tube hole and was strapped to side of the awning leg. Looked sort of weird and had to break out ladder in place peg in hole. But did the trick.

Thinking about "going first class" this time.

If you have one PLEASE what do you think about it???

(I did a search and don't see very many people that have one by the search results, but these were mentioned as a fix in a thread. Not actually how people liked them after buying and installing and using them.)


Thanks

I bought this one a couple of years ago and installed it on the awning. The toughest thing is to drill the hole in the right place. On mine, it sometimes doesn't line up when I roll the awning up and I have to pull it out and try again. When it works, (lies up) it works well and I am happy to have it installed. I feel better about having it on there. I have never seen the option of using the awning rod though. That looks like a good idea too, (as long as it stays in place).

[RCMAN46]

robatthelake wrote:
Every Pull Down Awning that I have seen comes complete with the best locking device ever as standard equipment!

The pull down Rod is in itself the locking device!

The only thing that they forgot to include is a pair of Bungee Cords to keep it from falling off!

Insert the straight L into the accessory hole on the trailing end of the Awning Roller. bungee the Loop end to the Rafter so that it won't drop off and You are good to go!

I use the same method. I did rebend the end of my rod so there is about 6 inches that goes into the Awning Roller. I tie the handle end of the rod to the Awning arm with a large tie wrap. Serves two purposes. Holds rod in place and keeps awning rod folded.

Now I always know where my awning rod is and a handy useful place to store it.

[LarryJM]

robatthelake wrote:
Every Pull Down Awning that I have seen comes complete with the best locking device ever as standard equipment!

The pull down Rod is in itself the locking device!

The only thing that they forgot to include is a pair of Bungee Cords to keep it from falling off!

Insert the straight L into the accessory hole on the trailing end of the Awning Roller. bungee the Loop end to the Rafter so that it won't drop off and You are good to go!

That sounds good on the surface, but I'm not sure how effective it would be in an actual situation. The typical awning rod "L" section is only about 1" long and quite a bit smaller than the awing rail slot so there will be a lot of slop and play. I sure would want to test it out by installing it and then flipping the unroll lock and give the roller end opposite the supposed locked end some good jerks, giggles, and turns to see if the awning rod stays positioned. Also, what prevents the awning from unfurling is having the rod that is in the awing slot stick out long enough so as it rotates it jams up agains the awing arm and thus prevents the awning from rotating any more. I just don't see how what you are proposing to do is going to be that effective real world.

My awning lock consisting of a 8" 5/16" dia "BOLT" that I attached to one of the large umbrella arms and then inserted that into the tube about 4" with 6" still outside the awing tube and then secured the umbrella rod to the awning arm. Below are the pics of my homemade lock:






Larry

[dannytas]

robatthelake wrote:
Every Pull Down Awning that I have seen comes complete with the best locking device ever as standard equipment!

The pull down Rod is in itself the locking device!

The only thing that they forgot to include is a pair of Bungee Cords to keep it from falling off!

Insert the straight L into the accessory hole on the trailing end of the Awning Roller. bungee the Loop end to the Rafter so that it won't drop off and You are good to go!

Brillant!! :B

[robatthelake]

Every Pull Down Awning that I have seen comes complete with the best locking device ever as standard equipment!

The pull down Rod is in itself the locking device!

The only thing that they forgot to include is a pair of Bungee Cords to keep it from falling off!

Insert the straight L into the accessory hole on the trailing end of the Awning Roller. bungee the Loop end to the Rafter so that it won't drop off and You are good to go!

[Ron_Nielson]

I like the awning lock a lot. Easy to instal, easy to use, effective, little to no maintenance, it just 'works'. I probably didn't get my hole in the but EXACTLY in the right place, but it works anyway. Biggest problem is that I sometimes forget to unlock it and can't figure out what's going on, until i remember the lock on the roller tube.

[Esacnj]

Have installed 3 and on all the hole in the awning tube winds up in a different location each time awning is rolled up making them useless. Had many conversations with the manufacturer and supplied pictures and they could not offer a fix. I do not recommend it.

[Sfla2]

u use your awning pull dn rod. i wrapped small amt of tape on rod to make it easier to keep hook from slipping off i love this thing so simple & u can do both ends if u want. i only did back so to keep slot open for lights (the secret is to pull dn on chain while holding rod in other hand)

[IAMICHABOD]

I have had a awning unravel because of strong side winds in our deserts, It is not pretty. Back then I tried all the home made inventions that have been discussed here and none worked really well and were cumbersome to use.

As others have said it is a bit tricky to get the hole just right but with a little thought it can be done. I found that after I installed it on the arm then taking the awning down a time or two and marking the roller each time I came up with the best place for the hole, it will change a bit if it is hot or cold when putting it away but I have always got it to latch in.

You asked about a Carefree awning, my friend that suggested I put the Awninglock on my new awning has a Carefree and has had one on his for years with no problems at all.

I would never have another awning without one of these.

[Clay_L]

path1 wrote:

Sfla2 wrote:
I have this 1 take a look at it real simple
http://www.dasplace.net/Awning/AwningFix.html

live link...http://www.dasplace.net/Awning/AwningFix.html

Yes, looks simple, so nothing to break down, which is good. Never saw one like that. How much of a hassle to get the awning hook tool into get "S" hook from ground or do you use ladder?

After reading link...Just went outside and looked at rv trying to get better mental pic of forces at work.

I see how this would help prevent awning maybe bouncing up and down to prevent unfurling.

But(and maybe I'm missing something) shouldn't there also be tension to keep awning against rv?

(I'll try to explain better) Tension could be created if you were to place the pic holder (D ring) between rv and awning; so that tension created was not only downward (prevent bouncing off) but also place tension in opposite direction of awning unfurling?

As shown it does provide tension to prevent the awning from unfurling.
To unfurl the roller has to roll up. You might want to deploy your awning so you can see which way the roller moves.

I have used one of these for years and it will take a heck of a side wind to force the ratchet and make the awning unfurl.

I use a small Velcro strip keep the cable against the arm to keep the cable from humming as I drive - the humming sound annoys my wife.

[Dick_B]

IF you can get it installed correctly it works perfectly. The hardest part is getting the hole in the awning end in the right place. The instructions are not crystal clear. They talk about 1/8 inch over from where the tip hits the end but it is not clear in which direction.
I just installed a second one (replaced awning) and put the hole 1/8 inch toward the rig and it seems to work just fine.
Even if you get it wrong the awning will only unwrap partially then stop.

[RJCorazza]

path1 wrote:
Anybody that has this type? http://awninglock.com/index.shtml

How do you like it?

Easy to install?

I installed one on my previous rig... Easy install, but was occasionally a pain to use. The added step in deploying / storing the awning was well worth the trouble considering the peace of mind it gave me driving down the road. I will be installing another one on our new trailer soon.