Awning fabric replacement

[Lectric80]

Ok everyone, I finally managed to fully fix my Servel fridge, now it's time for the fun stuff. I've got a new awning fabric I'm installing this weekend on a Carefree of Colorado Spirit 18' awning.

A few questions though:
The awning fabric was removed by the previous owner, he however left the awning in the unlocked position. Is there going to be any spring tension, or am I going to need to wind both springs?

If there isn't spring tension, how many turns would be typical?

Does the number of turns relate to the number of wraps of the fabric, or is there some other way to know how much tension to put back in?

The fabric I picked up is a two piece, anyone have any tips to make it as easy as possible? I've watched videos on doing this, but the trailer is on family property and about 8 miles from cell signals, so I need to be prepared.

Any idea on typical rivet sizes on the end cap and arms?

Any and all help is appreciated.

[Lectric80]

Thank you everyone. We picked up the new fabric and got up to the trailer Friday, enjoying the awning just a little later. It took just over an hour to install, including tensioning both springs.

There was no spring tension at all when I removed the awning, there were also no screws securing the fabric to the channel on the trailer. It doesn't appear there were ever any screws there, as there is no holes in the channel. I'll fix that when I return from traveling in a few days.

Overall, it's a relatively easy task if you take your time and plan ahead. Having three people at least is very helpful as well.

[Lectric80]

I've got two people, and two kids, so I'm sure I can pull it off. Heading out shortly but I wanted to thank everyone for the tips. I also managed to grab a PDF from Carefree for my awning that lists the turn counts.

[Ron3rd]

All good advice above, I've done this repair once helping a friend. It's a minimum 2-person job IMO and 3 is ideal.

[mikakuja]

Almost forgot... Make sure to run the awning in and out a couple times and center the fabric before putting the two screws through the track on the trailer that hold the fabric it in place..... If the fabric isn't centered and stretched a bit it will bind up when rolling the awning in, and cause the fabric to crease.

[mikakuja]

11 turns on average is where I start, then adjust a turn or two from there if necessary.
A vice grip works great for winding, and doesn't seem to get in the way when bolting the arm back on.
You will need two people to feed the fabric into the track on the trailer, three makes it a lot easier.
Sorry, can't remember the rivet size off hand, it is a pretty standard size though, nothing special is required.
Overall it's not a difficult job. Good luck with it.

[stickdog]

You can google the number of windings necessary for the legnth of awning.The longer the awning the more tension is needed.