Can I make these?

[hitchikerman]

What do you guys think can these be made with some thin wall PVC pipinghttp://awningpro-tech.com

[pinn]

I lost an awning a few years ago from winter weather.I think that may be just the ticket for me for storage in our eastern Canadian winter. Probably a visit to home depot will do the trick.,,,,,,thanks for the heads up

[Halibutman214]

Great idea but I seriously doubt your going to find PVC that size with thin enough walls to be able to put it around the awning. If you do let us know what you got.

[fireidiot]

I saw something in the 10 minute tech book about this. Take some pvc guttering and cut the ends off and then snap in place over the rolled up awning. I don't think it was for driving with them on, just for storage. I'll look tomorrow and see if I can find the page again.

[Mighty Ming]

Great idea. Hopefully someone can find the right material and post for the rest of us to copy-cat!!!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[closesquarters]

Looks like a great product. Just wish specialty products like this weren't so darn spendy! Hoping for a DIY product that will work the same.

[azlee56]

I am wondering if they are good in super hot weather, like here in Tucson. The one post on the cover for a RV made me a believer that our temps are way to hot to do that, so I am wondering about these.

[craiglud]

I read somewhere else that you could use a 4" sewer pipe from home depot and split it down the middle for the same effect. It is much thinner than regular PVC and should work. I have some extra but have not tried it yet as I use a cover on my 26' and I live in Phoenix, so yes it gets super hot and I see all the other awnings in storage with this rot issue.

[fla-gypsy]

Check this mod out. Plastic gutter to accomplish the same thing and much cheaper.

http://forums.trailerlife.com/Index.cfm/fuseaction/thread/tid/26107826.cfm

[azlee56]

I read somewhere else that you could use a 4" sewer pipe from home depot and split it down the middle for the same effect. It is much thinner than regular PVC and should work. I have some extra but have not tried it yet as I use a cover on my 26' and I live in Phoenix, so yes it gets super hot and I see all the other awnings in storage with this rot issue.


Will you let me know what you find out. I want to protect but as you know, our sun is unmerciful and the heat even more.

[fireidiot]

Check this mod out. Plastic gutter to accomplish the same thing and much cheaper.

http://forums.trailerlife.com/Index.cfm/fuseaction/thread/tid/26107826.cfm

I cannot locate my 10 minute tech book, but that thread was essentially the same thing.

[azlee56]

I'll search! :-)

[hankaye]

fireidiot, Howdy;

Thanks for that link ... can the awning still be used with the
'cover' installed or does it need to be removed first ?????

Had to ask. :o

hankaye

[fireidiot]

fireidiot, Howdy;

Thanks for that link ... can the awning still be used with the
'cover' installed or does it need to be removed first ?????

Had to ask. :o

hankaye

I can't take credit for the link, that was from fla-gypsy. I think the covers are only for storage. I have wanted to take a piece of pvc and open it up and then attach the bottom of it to the top of the tt near the awning. This would allow the awning to roll up and be somewhat protected, and you would leave it in place so you you drive with it. I just haven't found a good way to do it.

We used to take pvc, split it down the middle and then heat it up to form it for holding SCBA tanks in fire trucks, so that isn't the issue, the attachment point is. There isn't a clean way to do it without a bunch of brackets, so I guess the pvc guttering is the next best thing.

About two years ago, I had to replace the awning due to cracking (dry rot) at the top where it's rolled up all the time. I don't want to do that again, so maybe I need to start working on something again. My current awnings (and TT) is new this year, so I need to do something.

[azlee56]

Is there conditioner of some sort for awnings to keep them in better shape?

[wgb1]

I did something similar with black corrugated drain pipe. It was easy to split lengthwise with a box cutter. I then cut out a portion of each end in order to go all the way over the ends of the rolled up awning at the supports to keep rainwater from penetrating the ends. It's a bit of a pain to open it up and put it over the awning, but I don't mind. I want to protect my awning when in storage.

[fireidiot]

Is there conditioner of some sort for awnings to keep them in better shape?

I was told from Dometic a mixture of bleach and water (though I don't remember how much). I use a Magic Eraser and then wash it with Dawn soap afterwards. I always let it dry thoroughly but I always saw mold on it when I opened it up. I think rain gets into it when it's parked.

If you find a conditioner or a better way to clean/keep the mold off I'm all ears.

[wgb1]

Even rolled up, an awning will get rainwater that seeps in from the rolled edges. I have read that one way to reduce this water infiltration is to take 2 plastic 1 liter cola bottles and cut off the top. Make a slit down one side to the bottom and then cut a round hole (approximately 1 - 1 1/2" in diameter) out of the center of the bottom. These bottles can then be slipped over the ends of the awning when rolled (one on each end) to cover the ends and keep out rainwater. It seems there is not a good way to TOTALLY keep water out if storing outdoors, but this may help.

[azlee56]

I don't live in the rain like a lot of you do, but here in Tucson after it rains I go dutifully roll them out and let them dry and then roll them back in (the slides too).

[david201207]

I am wondering if they are good in super hot weather, like here in Tucson. The one post on the cover for a RV made me a believer that our temps are way to hot to do that, so I am wondering about these.

Sure enough,PVC can't stand the high temperature.It can be crumbled at 158 degree.And it will transform from solid to liquid at 176 above.

[volvosweetie]

There is a product called aerospace 303 that has a uv protectant. I think some one on this forum recommended it for awnings you can google it. It works on the vynil awnings and I think that they make one for fabric too. I have not tried it but they say you can even use it on your ac shroud and the vent covers to help keep them from dry rotting, also they said even the side walls of your tires.
That is according to their web site.

[azlee56]

Sure enough,PVC can't stand the high temperature.It can be crumbled at 158 degree.And it will transform from solid to liquid at 176 above.



Wow! At first I was wondering how they can use if for plumbing but I guess a person wouldn't have your hot water that high either. I learned something new today. Thanks.

[richf28]

Thanks for the info Volvosweetie. I see Napa handles it. I'm going to the local store today and see if they have any.

[volvosweetie]

Your welcome, I hope to get some to try on our side wall of our tires, it says it is dust repellant, We will see.:confused: oh and :wlcm: to the forum.

[TDF5G]

I have an 18' awning on my Cougar. I got my idea from seeing the Awning Pro video on their website last fall.

2 weeks ago I went to Lowes and bought 2 10' lengths of 4" thin wall sewer pipe. I split it lengthwise using a Skilsaw with a fine tooth blade installed backwards (it makes a smoother cut) and also cut off the bell ends. I laid it on the garage floor and kept it from rolling around with some 70lb sand bags. It was difficult to cut it exactly straight, if I were to do it again I would cut it in 5' lengths first so it would be easier to handle. It wanted to roll from the vibration of the saw. I would also do it outside instead of in the garage, the plastic dust makes a mess.

After splitting it lengthwise, the pipe wants to curl in on itself overlapping where the cut was made about and 1 1/2" or so. So I just cut off the overlapping part using the original cut as a guide. This left a gap of about 1/2" or so similar to the Awning Pro stuff.

It was too hard to handle and slip on the awning as a 10' length so I cut them down into 5' sections as seen in the video (I think the Awning Pro stuff might be in 4' sections maybe). Then it slipped on great, overlapping each section a few inches, I pushed each end against the awning arms, hoping this may keep water from getting inside the rolled up portion of the awning. :thumbsup:
With it installed on my camper it looks just like it does in the video. I should have done this last fall when I first got the idea. :banghead:

I live in the Midwest and don't travel too far from home, so I think it will hold up under the sun here. And considerable savings over the Awning Pro stuff.

If I had seen the photos of the vinyl gutter I would probably have considered doing that instead possibly, looks like it might be easy to install on a shorter awning than mine though. Just saw that today.

I owned my last camper 12 years, stored outdoors. The awning started to rot through along the mounting rail after about 9-10 years, and kept getting worse of course. It got to where you needed an umbrella even if you were under the awning. I patched it with duct tape on one trip, the tape blew off on the way home but it worked for the weekend.:)

[Andymon]

I'm going to make the same thing. I had a small length of gutter and used it to test fit and it's perfect.

Check this mod out. Plastic gutter to accomplish the same thing and much cheaper.

http://forums.trailerlife.com/Index.cfm/fuseaction/thread/tid/26107826.cfm