Rear Patio Awning... Wind Damage Assessment - Dutchmen Owners
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Old 04-04-2016, 12:19 AM   #1
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Rear Patio Awning... Wind Damage Assessment

So I'm sitting out on the patio deck this afternoon, watching the race on tv, and playing cards on the computer. Mid 70s, sunny skies, mild breeze... when all the sudden, WHOOSH! A gust of wind comes along out of nowhere, and rips the rear awning completely off the back of the rig. Bends the stabilizer arms, rips the canopy... the damn thing comes down on me and cuts my leg.

After cleaning things up and getting things put away... my first conclusion is that the "mod" I did last year, moving the stabilizer arm bottom brackets from the patio deck to the rear wall of the rig is a contributing factor to the failure.

When the gust of wind got under the canopy (making it a sail)... even though the orange locking tabs were "locked", they weren't strong enough to keep the legs from extending. This allowed the legs to fully extend so that the canopy was in a near vertical position to the ground. The canopy, being at its full extent & connected to the roller, pulled the entire assembly right off the wall... the screws stripping their holes in the bodywork.

Had the stabilizer legs been secured to the ramp deck... they would have already been nearly fully extended, thus limiting the amount of travel the awning could move.

Bottom line... even though this will probably never happen again... once repairs are made, I will be moving those bottom brackets back down to the ramp.

My first inclination was to simply order a whole new assembly tomorrow... that is until I looked up the price. WOW! It's called a Freedom Wall Mount from Carefree, and they're in the $1,400 range. Having just spent $800+ for those 3 Season doors I installed, that's just a tad more than I wanna spend right now.

So, I began looking up repair & replacement parts. A new canopy will cost me about $270. Both stabilizer arms are bent beyond repair... they're $75 each, and I'm hoping I can just use larger screws to remount the assembly back on the rig. If so, I guess I'll get off fairly cheap.

Anyway, just thought I'd share today's experience. Just because the wind isn't/wasn't blowing hard, doesn't mean it can't or won't.
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Old 04-04-2016, 07:06 AM   #2
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Tom,

Sorry about your misfortune. Thanks for sharing.
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Old 04-04-2016, 09:22 AM   #3
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Tom, I feel your pain. A micro burst hit us in Florida this year. My rear awning was properly installed with the legs mounted in the original position. Awning pulled off the wall. Having it repaired as we speak. Supposed to be ready today or tomorrow. I'll let you know the cost. My damage, despite the whole awning blowing of the RV, was not as bad as yours. Bummer is just the day before, I had just removed straps from the extendable rods under the canopy to the deck railing that I had used for just an occasion.
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Old 04-04-2016, 03:10 PM   #4
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Tom,

I hope the cut wasn't bad enough that you needed major repairs.

I'm surprised there aren't move awnings getting blown off give the track record Dutchmen has for missing the studs or top plate with the screws.
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Old 04-04-2016, 03:50 PM   #5
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Tom
Sorry to hear about your awning, but I still wouldn't change from the mood I did after seeing your post. I'm leaving my brackets on the rear and will take my chances. Wind & awnings don't mix no matter how well they are made or mounted. Years ago I lost a 60' one of my home in 15 min. Winds were 60 mph +. Nothing I could have done to stop it.
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Old 04-04-2016, 10:53 PM   #6
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Tom,

Sorry to hear, hope your OK, and it's just another annoying wallet hit. I have the floor mounted clips, which I've never been able to get to lock in. I suspect that if you had the floor mounts locked in, it still would have ripped loose.
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Old 04-04-2016, 11:18 PM   #7
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Oh yeah, I'm fine. I just meant a knick on the leg... a band-aid took care of that.


Quote:
Originally Posted by pdonoghu View Post
...I suspect that if you had the floor mounts locked in, it still would have ripped loose.
I'm not so sure. The brackets on the wall held firm, and the feet of the arms stayed locked in them... which is what bent the arms all to hell. I'm convinced that if I had had those legs locked into the ramp floor... so that the arms, instead of extending up AND backwards, would have only extended upwards (since at full extension, they couldn't have traveled backwards to the extent where the canopy went vertical)... that, while there may have been some damage, the entire unit wouldn't have been ripped off of the rig.
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Old 04-05-2016, 02:18 AM   #8
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I just learned something, thanks. Extended the rear awning for the first time a few days ago, and didn't find the stabilizer brackets on the rear door frame as was on my previous other brand TH. Never thought to look on the ramp door......
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Old 04-05-2016, 06:49 AM   #9
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Hell, we used ours the first season without knowing there were arms on the awning. Saw a post on here about it. We dodged a bullet...
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Old 04-05-2016, 09:52 PM   #10
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Wow, didn't know there were any arms, I'm going to take a look, when I open her back up.....
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Old 04-05-2016, 10:29 PM   #11
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Did I miss that you submitted a claim to your insurance?
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Old 04-05-2016, 11:38 PM   #12
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The arms are in the end of the awning that extends. Will need a step stool to slide them out to the outside and then orient to the attachment point. The manual may be helpful as it was not intuitive the first time and you know the story about men and instructions......
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Old 04-05-2016, 11:41 PM   #13
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Denviola View Post
The arms are in the end of the awning that extends. Will need a step stool to slide them out to the outside and then orient to the attachment point. The manual may be helpful as it was not intuitive the first time and you know the story about men and instructions......
LOL! You said instructions...hahaha. Dutchmen provides instructions?
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Old 04-06-2016, 12:10 AM   #14
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Honestly, I don't know if there is an awning manual in the Dutchmen pouch, didn't look for one. I'm an old computer guy from way back so I know to read and reread the manuals. There were manuals in my previous TH although the manual didn't say much about the awning arms. I had to ask about the attaching brackets through email to the dealer as they were 2 hours away. The only nice thing about the rear awning in the old TH is that is was electric.
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Old 04-06-2016, 01:32 AM   #15
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Product manual for the patio awning. It's called a Freedom Wall Mount. Did you know they also come motorized... and, you can order an upgrade kit if desired?

https://www.e-carefree.com/documenta...s%20Manual.pdf
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Old 04-06-2016, 01:35 AM   #16
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Originally Posted by azdryheat View Post
Did I miss that you submitted a claim to your insurance?
No, I've been debating that...

Don't really want my rates to go up... especially when replacent parts to repair are around $500, and I've got a $250 deductable.

Now, if I just want a whole new unit, they retail for about $1,400... and that would be worth filing a claim for.
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Old 04-06-2016, 11:56 AM   #17
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Denviola View Post
I just learned something, thanks. Extended the rear awning for the first time a few days ago, and didn't find the stabilizer brackets on the rear door frame as was on my previous other brand TH. Never thought to look on the ramp door......
LOL .. i was just thinking the same ! lol. the dealer is shipping me the brackets... maybe there on the door.

thanks for posting that tom, i would have mounted them that way.
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Old 04-06-2016, 05:55 PM   #18
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just went over to the camper today... looked on the door and don't have any hardware. how bout you denny ? surely the legs don't hook to the railing...? can't get the door all the way down
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Old 04-06-2016, 06:01 PM   #19
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Brackets if you have them will be mounted on the ramp door. Quite a few folks here with Voltages didn't have brackets on theirs.
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Old 04-07-2016, 01:10 AM   #20
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Quote:
Originally Posted by hopkins44 View Post
just went over to the camper today... looked on the door and don't have any hardware. how bout you denny ? surely the legs don't hook to the railing...? can't get the door all the way down
Funny thing - I took the TH back to CW today for the roof rafter campaign. I opened the ramp door for the first time last week at home, and a service cover that covers the springs in the MorRyde ramp door frame just fell off. Both attaching screws were broken. Opened the ramp door while at CW to show the service adviser what I was talking about, and forgot all about the awning brackets. Funny thing - he was looking at the back door for a minute before he realized he needed the key to open it. Told me he never saw the MorRyde door before. He went to close the door, and he was surprised when I asked him to wait until I opened the side rear door first to let air pressure out when closing the ramp. He understood when I told him why.
Guess I'll call and ask about the awning brackets.
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