RV Awnings - Yuck

[Mike8560]

June I have  center my tops with tie. But when lacing I like it drum
tight and really pull the cord.
Mojo nobody has let
me try the recacrill yet. Perhaps on e I get a new boat I'll try it myself. But a dock has to come first before I'll
be boat shopping. 

[Darren Henry]

I've only been at the RV dealership since May; but I've yet to see a spring break. It must be all that moist salt air down there corroding them.

Our techs like to use a piece of wire coat hanger to "pin" the springs. Once the free ends are bend over it cannot fall out.

I make a lot of 8 foot wide awnings out of 60 inch material that Western Fabrics call "barracuda" , J Ennis fabrics used to carry it as "weather master", it's like a lighter weight of Top gun. Once I have the two pieces sewn together , I run a small bead of 504 latex glue (as commonly used to apply gimp) inside the salvage and run it out with my finger like I'm caulking something, then I top sew the seam. transfer tape will also seal the seam and you don't need as many staples to keep things in alignment.[think 18 or twenty foot seam, "catch table" behind machine is only as wide as the sewing machine table, and everybody else is over in the big shop . Staples are my best friend  :-* ]

[Mike8560]

Hey Darren fill me in new shop at a RV dealor? I must have been sleeping or it was when i was busy moving house.

[stitcher_guy]

Alright, Chris. Picture this. I'm about 275 pounds and about as graceful as a drunken Rhino. Most that I mess with around here are 20 foot or so. I've had a few with no help on the day I was installing (slide ons). Soooo, I back my 1988 Ram Charger truck up to the end of the RV, hoist the awning up on top of the Ram Charger. It's just about the same height. Then I put my ladder under the end of the slide. Pull it on a bit, start it down the track. Then climb up on top of the Ram hoping I don't collapse the roof and lift the awning and ease it down the track. Works great for a few inches, and then it hits a snag (usually there are screws through the track at various lengthsh to hold it steady once in place). Off the truck, up the ladder, wiggle it free and move it an inch. Then down the ladder, back on the truck, and keep sliding.

Yeah, it's not fun.

The RV's I get around here are the old, beat up, clapboard junk. The awnings are old and have ripped along that 4-5" exposed length right up at the wall. So i take it down, cut it short and resew a new loop for the core. Then reinstall, because they don't want to spring for a whole new awning. And WOW is that noise ever loud when the spring blows it's tension. I don't get the manufacturers recommented rate. I get the thing in place, then start preloading it (same number of turns on both ends). I just put it up and down a few times and see if it's tight enough to close completely. Nuff said. lol.

[Darren Henry]

Hey Darren fill me in new shop at a RV dealor?

I'd been looking for a "day job' since Bathfitter laid me off in January and there was nothing local and nothing in trade that paid as well as my unemployment;and I wasn't getting enough work to go back to full time. Then I caught wind of this upholstery job in Brandon Manitoba. it's about 6 hours away but I lived there in the 80's and it was a nice little city so I took it. I hated to give up my summer of leisure since i haven't had a chance to any fishing or diving in years but the chances of finding something paying $20/hr when my EI would have run out in Jan were pretty slim.It's a full service upholstery shop (residential/commercial/etc) kind of a satellite business to his RV dealership. I've got a stand alone shop all to myself, the owner is an upholsterer so knows whats what,and I'm only hour away from dad and 1 1/2 to my sister's place. The only bad is that rental property in Brandon is almost non existent.Between the university,the college,and the immigrants that Maple Leaf have brought in to work in their meat packing plant there is nothing affordable. What few do come up won't allow dogs or smokers. I've been looking since I got there in May and am still living in one of his rental campers. Another month and that could start being un-fun. we had 3 degrees of frost Sat morning in Kenora.