Awning resting on kitchen slide out

[hogcard]

Love my new Palomino Solaire and the extra room from having slide out on both sides but have a couple concerns about the awning and kitchen slide.

When extended the awning rests on the kitchen slide and it will definitely wear holes in it. I took one of those pool floats and cut 3 pieces and fit over the corners to protect it, but wonder why the manufacturer would do this? If you adjust the awning to have any pitch to it for rain to drain off, it really rests very hard atop the slide.

2nd issue.....my power awning does not seem to get very tight when out all the way. One thing I liked about the manual is that you could get them very taut then tighten the knob on the arm to keep it tight. The power awning does not let me do this.

Ideas on both?

[fdwt994]

I also have a Solaire with the kitchen slide and have been meaning to get something to put on the top of the slide so it won't scratch the awning. The pipe insulation is a great idea.

I'd probably stay away from such a floorplan again because I hate not being able to angle the awning down in all directions since the slide gets in the way.

As for the auto-dump, I'm going to test mine to see if it has this feature. Usually we bring the awning in during heavy rain as I'm gun-shy after my former camper's awaning broke during a heavy rain / wind event. This one also flaps quite a bit in the wind.

[calewjohnson]

Cecilt wrote:
My Keystone Outback 323BH does the same. I used pipe insulation to lay on top of the kitchen slide as it is much smaller in diameter than a pool noodle and its black so it hides much better than a lime green noodle will 🙂

I have the same trailer Cecilt has....when a hole wears through the awning, then I will just trade the trailer in for a newer model....

Cale

[dadmomh]

Since you said the word "new", to me that means an trip back to the dealer. Agree that over time you're going to have holes there and then they'll be your problem...not good. Is there a chance that the awning is mounted too low? There surely must be some adjustment to take care of this. Good luck.

[rbpru]

I can tell you this, auto-dump or not, if you pull on the support members after a rain, you will get doused. :E

Some lessons are learned the hard way.:W

That is how it is supposed to work, one side loads a bit more than the other and it dumps. Again it may be Sales hype.

My personal preference is an awning that you can lower the front to block the sun, but the straight out powered retractable came with the unit.

[hogcard]

Thanks for the replies. I am already doing what most of you are saying (hit the button until I feel the awning is most taut, swimming pool floats, etc). I had no idea about an auto rain dump feature and will see if I have it.

[goducks10]

I will never buy another trailer that doesn't have an adjustable awning. Elec or not. I had one of those kind that goes straight out with no adjustments. Hated it. To tighten our awning up I hit the retract button a coupe times after we let it out. That seems to pull it tighter.

[rbpru]

Our awning does not get very tight either. It is tightest when it is extended to where the edge piece drops down.

I was told that this was intentional so that when it rains the wieght of the pooled water will cause one end to sag and empty the culmulated water pool. It would not do that if it were pulled tight.

It may be a sales gimmick but it has never been a problem. It really does flap in the wind though.

[spadoctor]

all of that floorplan have that issue....clearly a design defect. Foam pipe wrap is about the best solution to the problem. As for the awning none of the power awning will get as tight as a manual

[poppin_fresh]

Interesting question about the slide and awning.

We have recently decided on our next TT and it too is an opposing slide model. I was literally thinking about this exact same issue the other day wondering if it might be a problem.

It sounds like it might really be an issue for this design, not that it will change my mind about a purchase. 🙂

[oughtsix]

My girlfriends 91 Class C has a little plastic wheel on the outside top corner of the door that was there when she bought it. Sure enough, when the awning is in all but a completely horizontal position the door rubs on the awning. The awning isn't new and there are no holes worn in it so the wheel must work pretty well.

[wmoses]

hogcard wrote:
2nd issue.....my power awning does not seem to get very tight when out all the way. One thing I liked about the manual is that you could get them very taut then tighten the knob on the arm to keep it tight. The power awning does not let me do this.

I have a Dometic awning with the rain dump feature. It is not designed to be very taut, but then the awning dows not sag either. Maybe yours can be adjusted slightly to make it less slack, but too tight and it may afftect the rain dump feature (if you have that feature in your awning).

[Cecilt]

My Keystone Outback 323BH does the same. I used pipe insulation to lay on top of the kitchen slide as it is much smaller in diameter than a pool noodle and its black so it hides much better than a lime green noodle will 🙂