Awning questions-04 290 EFS

[dennybgood]

Hi everyone. New to the forum and RVing but have been diligently reading and searching this forum to find answers for my inexperience.

I recently purchased a 5ver ( picked that terminology up here) it is an 04 Cougar 290EFS and am going to start using it in mid Jan. in Florida. One of the first things I will need to do is install a new power awning. The old one was a mess and was not even attached to the rig when I purchased it. Needless to say it got left behind as I had no way to haul it and it wasn't worth the effort.

The old mechanical awning was a 19 footer and I want to get a new Dometic 9100 Powered awning to replace it. I am apprehensive about whether that length will be a problem as to bowing in the middle and life expectancy of the motor. I could go with a 17 'er if it would be advantageous.

I am also confused as to the hardware selection. On Camping world site it says

"Standard: 6-10 inches from top of your door to where awning rail will be installed

Tall: 11 inches or greater from top of your door to where awning rail will be installed".

The camper is stored in Florida and I am in KY. but the pics I have looks like the awning rail is 6" or so above the doorway...suggesting "standard" would be correct....but at the RV Parts Country site (where I will probably make my purchase) it offers hardware in "standard" or "basement" configurations. My Cougar has the pass thru storage. Would that be considered a basement?

Which awning length would be best and which hardware choice would be the correct configuration for my rig ?

Thanks for any and all advice and sorry for being so wordy.

[chuckster57]

Welcome to the forum :wlcm:

Its difficult at best in my opinion to recommend an awning while looking at a computer monitor. You really need to physically measure the coach, the installed rail and such. Long awnings on fivers may require different length arms due to the basement. The basement is the pass through compartment at the front.

Measuring for the hardware is again best done on the actual trailer. Nothing worse than guessing wrong, and having to pay $$ for return shipping. When you measure, your measuring from the rail to the base of the exterior wall. Overall length is from centers of the arms.

[dennybgood]

Welcome to the forum :wlcm:

Its difficult at best in my opinion to recommend an awning while looking at a computer monitor. You really need to physically measure the coach, the installed rail and such. Long awnings on fivers may require different length arms due to the basement. The basement is the pass through compartment at the front.

Measuring for the hardware is again best done on the actual trailer. Nothing worse than guessing wrong, and having to pay $$ for return shipping. When you measure, your measuring from the rail to the base of the exterior wall. Overall length is from centers of the arms.

Thanks for the welcome chuckster57 glad to be here.

I will be camping in it before I order the awning and hdw. I do know the centerline distance is 19' and if I use that size then the front arm will need to be installed between the passthru compartment and the LP storage compartment. That would be inline with the old hardware installed at floor level for the old manual awning. the rear arm would be between the kitchen (it's a rear kitchen) window and another window also where the old hdw is installed....so no problem with anything interfering there either.

What I am most concerned with is a 19' awning going to give me trouble vs say a 17' awning ? I also need help as to which set of arms I need to order.....basement or standard ?

[dennybgood]

Found some info as to which hardware to choose (I am such a newb) !! Here is a copy/paste that describes the differences between the standard and basement hardware choices.

How to Measure:

Standard hardware requires the measurement to be 7 inches above the door, basement hardware requires 12 inches. Please note that if the door is at or near the center of the awning, you will need to add to two inches to this measurement. Both hardware sets have 3″ wide arms that will be mounted to the side of the RV.

If the measurement from the top of the door to the awning rail is 12 inches or more, you have the option of either standard or basement. At this point you can decide which one you would prefer as there are a few differences between the two. The arms on standard hardware are 65 1/2 inches tall while the basement hardware is 62 1/4 inches. The standard hardware has a downward angle of 13 degrees and the basement hardware has a downward angle of 20 degrees. When the awning is extended, the standard hardware makes the awning roller tube about 18 inches below the awning rail mounted on the coach. This measurement is 36 inches with basement hardware.

So in my case the standard hardware would be the best for me. Still would like input from knowledgeable folks as to whether 19' long awning will be subject to excessive bending in the middle and/or cause enough drag on the motor to make it die before it's time

[chuckster57]

Looks like you found a good explanation of the differences. As far as length, the motor will roll/unroll both. The roller tube will not bend but may sag some on either 17 or 19 feet length. Your biggest enemy is going to be wind. Electric awnings have different arms than the manual ones, making it pretty much impossible to add any bracing like anti flap straps, and staking in the ground.
If you can fit a 19' awning, then I say go for it.

[dennybgood]

Thanks chuckster57. I suppose I will go with 19' since that was the original center distance and hope that the powered awning is beefy enough to span that distance without causing problems. I am probably over thinking it anyway....I have a tendency to do that in my older years !!!

[Festus2]

If you are concerned about center sag and support, you might want to have a look at this:

www.hitchcorner.com/awning_rafters_supports.htm

This center support may, however, be more of a nuisance than a help since it creates an "obstruction" in the center of your awning when extended and just one more thing for you to bump into.

[chuckster57]

www.hitchcorner.com/awning_rafters_support.htm
.

I get the dreaded 404 error :eek:

And as I was editing to say the link worked..... the site went silent.

[mcsearch1]

I had a Coachman Futura 2000 last year that had a 19 foot manual awning that was original to the RV. Sagging was never an issue. The warnings about taking care in the wind are good to heed. In the wind the awning turns into a big kite that can be damaged. Plus, it's no fun fumbling around at 2am in the wind and rain to secure an awning.

[dennybgood]

Thanks everyone for the kind responses. It sure is great to be able to come to such a knowledgeable community and get answers from experienced folks. Many thanks to all who responded

[dmar]

If you are concerned about center sag and support, you might want to have a look at this:

www.hitchcorner.com/awning_rafters_supports.htm

This center support may, however, be more of a nuisance than a help since it creates an "obstruction" in the center of your awning when extended and just one more thing for you to bump into.

My car hauler has a 20' manual awning and came with a center rafter support. Without the rafter deployed and the "foot" extended, there is definitely a little sagging. It is in the way a little when walking around, but it's not a real problem. The rafter device I have also supports it when the awning is rolled up. I haven't watched it while on the road but I'd guess there could be some significant flexing without the center support. I don't know if any of this applies to the automatic awnings though. Don