Awning Drivehead Replacement

[Trouble]

Well second trip out this past weekend and went to retract the awning, which is a manual crank and the gears stripped and had to get a ladder to roll up and tie wrap it to the camper. I have ordered a replacement which should be here Friday. My question is, I have watched a couple for videos to replace and is it as easy as they show and just remove two screws and replace. I was thinking this is spring loaded just the way it zipped back out when the gears failed. Should i be pinned the spring in some manner?

Sorry if this has been discussed maybe I did not search well enough

TT is a 2019 Springdale Mini

[JRTJH]

Most (not all) manual awnings are spring loaded and work very much like the old window shades that you pull down and they roll up with a slight pull down to unlock the mechanism....

So, which brand awning do you have and is it a "true manual RV awning" or a "wind up/wind down" like the awnings on some store fronts?

[Trouble]

Originally Posted by JRTJH

Most (not all) manual awnings are spring loaded and work very much like the old window shades that you pull down and they roll up with a slight pull down to unlock the mechanism....

So, which brand awning do you have and is it a "true manual RV awning" or a "wind up/wind down" like the awnings on some store fronts?

This is a Solera Hybrid, and its a manual crack and not a pull down

[chuckster57]

If I’m looking at the right part on Etrailer, I’m thinking any tension spring will be in the idler side ( other side).

look at the cap on the end of the roller tube, if you see a small hole for a pin, then it wouldn’t hurt to put one in.

[Trouble]

Originally Posted by JRTJH

Most (not all) manual awnings are spring loaded and work very much like the old window shades that you pull down and they roll up with a slight pull down to unlock the mechanism....

So, which brand awning do you have and is it a "true manual RV awning" or a "wind up/wind down" like the awnings on some store fronts?

Originally Posted by chuckster57

If I’m looking at the right part on Etrailer, I’m thinking any tension spring will be in the idler side ( other side).

look at the cap on the end of the roller tube, if you see a small hole for a pin, then it wouldn’t hurt to put one in.

I have a new drive head coming in Friday and I was watching the etrailer video and the roller was never pinned. I will cut the zip ties when I get the new head and look for that small hole on the idler side

Thanks

[JRTJH]

From what I can tell, your awning is a "manual crank out/in" awning. The tension is applied by the gas struts on the two vertical arms and there is no spring tension inside the roller tube.

I'd suspect that the "zipped back out when the gear failed" was caused by the tension created by the gas struts.

You can download all of the installation, repair/maintenance, parts and technical reference material here: https://support.lci1.com/solera-hybrid-awning

I do not see a "spring tensioned roller tube" anywhere in the parts manual, assuming this is the correct awning from LCI.

So, no, I don't believe your awning has a spring tensioned roller tube.