Awning replacement material?

[DiskDoctr]

Our NTU camper has an aged awning with some separation, so we are going to replace it. Roller tube is 19'7"

What is a good awning material/brand to get? We use an awning a lot, anchoring with straps and leave it out in all kinds of weather when camping.

Durable is good. 50 year life, not really necessary 😉

Thanks!

[fj12ryder]

We got the heavy duty vinyl from ShadePro and have been very happy with it.

[rhagfo]

Well I see posters on her claiming 12, 15, 22 years and still going strong, BUT how many days in a year are your awning out? Two weeks, 5 days, too windy not at all?
We replaced our awning with This from RV Awnings Mart, inexpensive we paid $150 or so for a 21' awning. Installed our self. It will have been on four years this April, and is due for replacement. Now before you say you get what you pay for, we Full Time in the PNW as Camp Host, our awning is out basically 24/7/365. Most of the time I have three ratchet straps securing it down, so it can be out in the wind without flapping too much, it has had an inch of snow on it a couple times, when it wasn't predicted. If I had it in a total time of two weeks a year, it has still been deployed about 1,300 +/- days, we had one location we didn't put out under pine trees for most of a month.
We are looking at a slightly better material for it's replacement.

[Camille32]

The most common materials awnings are made from are acrylic and vinyl. Acrylic RV awnings have distinct advantages, including:

1. Good air circulation and breathability
2. Ability to handle sun, rain, ice, snow, winds, dust and dirt, and
pesky bugs
3. Repels water on the surface
4. Dries quickly
However, there are a few drawbacks:

1. Not waterproof, so water can seep through
2. Can get overstretched which causes “whipping” in the wind.

You can visit here for getting more details about awnings.

[jessica123]

You can try them for new ***Link Removed*** I have tried them their quallty is good.

[Gjac]

From what I have heard Sunbrella material is the best but most expensive, acrylics are good but vinyl is the cheapest. Cold pressed vinyl can delaminate and water can collect inside where the layers are pressed together. The better vinyls are hot pressed together and would not delaminate. Mine are hot pressed vinyl and are 21 years old and still holding up well except where the PO scraped the top 6 ins with a tree branch.

[MrWizard]

DiskDoctr wrote:

MrWizard wrote:
Never have had water drip under/from thru the awning
When blown yes, but no drips thru the fabric

Do you waterproof it? As in Aerospace 303 or similar treatment?

No, i haven't done anything other than the occasional hosing off

[RLS7201]

I have 20 year old acrylic on my MH. One patio and 4 window awnings. No rips or drips. If you balance the price against time served, it costs no more than vinyl.

Richard

[Woodtroll]

I'm curious about the acrylic woven fabric also. I always passed it off as sun shade only, thinking that it wasn't "waterproof" rain protection. But if I understand correctly, the acrylic fabric sheds rain well?

[DiskDoctr]

MrWizard wrote:
Never have had water drip under/from thru the awning
When blown yes, but no drips thru the fabric

Do you waterproof it? As in Aerospace 303 or similar treatment?

[MrWizard]

Never have had water drip under/from thru the awning
When blown yes, but no drips thru the fabric

[DiskDoctr]

Here's a pic of the label from my awning roller.



Our camper is 2005, so I believe this is a replacement.

The top mount for the front arm is slightly off, so when we replace the material, I'll adjust that, too.

PS- I should mention this is a MANUAL awning, not electric 😉

[DiskDoctr]

MrWizard wrote:
Acrylic fabric is the best
Our carefree awning is 22 years ago and looks almost new

This part concerned me about acrylic.

It’s also important to remember that acrylic fabrics are water repellent, but they're not waterproof. What this means is that you should never touch the underside of your awning if it’s wet or else water will seep through the fabric.

Found at this site: Carefree of Colorado

We use the under awning space for keeping gear and stuff we want to keep DRY.

I picture acrylic as tent material that is okay until it gets saturated or is bumped, etc?

Maybe you can share your experiences there? Thanks.

[alcaracu]

x2 toughtop awnings

[Johno02]

Here is the place. Ours camt from them, and we are well pleased.

http://www.toughtopawnings.com/index.html