Torn RV Awning With A Failed Motor Gets Removed And Replaced 

Darren, I wanted to drop you a line to thank you for your video about R&R of the torn awning with a failed motor. I assisted my son-in-law replace his awning motor today and after watching your video it only took us about 45 minutes total. He tried getting quotes from local RV technicians and they could not be bothered to answer his request. Your video saved him about $1000. Your video's are very information and detailed. Thanks again

This is one BEST videos , this help me change my awning and motor in 2hrs (with my wife). thankyou very much . Your level to detail is what makes this video great.

Thank you for the video. I was able to tension my spring properly. Awning works awesome now. 👍🏻

Once again you have taught me something I had no idea that the awning worked an operated that particular way . Thanks

You were not kidding about the gas struts!!! I way under estimated. Almost threw me off the ladder. Great vid. Very educational.

Great video, thank you. the last couple of minutes actually helped me solve my awning being centered properly. It was not opening on one side without some help.

Great job at explaining things. Made it all so clear. 👍👍👍

Wow ... Outstanding video and high energy too ... What a hoot ... the off the cuff remark on the coat hanger use ... Enjoyable and entertaining and educational... Also love the 100% family business model... Non scripted ...one take action ... Shoot 2 show !!! Thanks and keep on keeping on...

Right on. Thanks for the clarification. I missed that part.

Wow, that is a super difficult way to do it. I don't remove the mounting brackets; just fully slide the new awning into the gutter (use a thin piece of flashing sheet-metal to make it easier to slide over the mounting arm and prevent the fabric from being ripped), with the roller removed and disassembled on the motor end, slide the roller in, roll it up and re-attach the roller. I mark the motor end cap location before taking it out. I also do not release the spring tension, just keep it locked all the way till the end. I have changed a 20ft awning several times all by myself several times, yes it was a challenge but doable; it really helps to have another person to help.

S.O.L.I.D. Video! I have a tracking issue and now I have a good Idea where to start my FIX!! Thank You!

Amazing tutorial, thank you! We studied this and were all ready to do the replacement & install but decided to improvise which made it easier for us. Here's what we did: 1) with the awning fully extended, we put a pin in the non-motor side, as instructed, to maintain the tension, and we decided we would leave it under tension for the whole repair (a bbq skewer worked great.. was strong enough and went through to the other side to be held in place) 2) removed the single bolts on each side that attached the awning roller bar to the arms, starting at the non-motor side. Decided to leave the arms on to save us a bunch of time and fuss. 3) unhooked the motor power connector and drilled out the rivets, as instructed. Marked F and M for flap and main :) 4) took out the bad motor. Tension still held on the non-motor side. 5) took an exacto knife and sliced the old awning in half, lengthwise to make removal easier. Unscrewed the one screw at top of trailer on the right side, as instructed, and removed that gutter rail spout. Pulled the awning off the trailer. Then removed the other half from the awning roller bar as well. 6) fed the awning on to the trailer 1st. We felt this would be easier than having to hold the roller bar as we fed it on to the trailer. Then, fed the awning on to the roller bar (or rather, fed the bar on to the awning.. it went on from the left). 7) threw on the motor, riveted it back on and plugged it back in. 8) tested it and checked for stair stepping. Rescrewed in the gutter rail spout and screw that holds the awning at the trailer. We felt this was way easier than having to remove the arms. No zip ties, no wire cutting/rewiring, no new breaches to silicone up, etc. Felt like it was half the work of the vid. However, still a great video and we thank you guys for the education so that we could get this done! Otherwise we would have been lost :)

Little Giant ladders are the best. I have a 3 step Little Giant with hand rail/tool tray and it's foldable. Something you may want to look into. I have a Four Wheel Camper that has a "gutter" over the back door. I always wondered what that was for. I'll have to look for a small awning for it.

I have an awning just like this one, now I know how to work on it. Thanks.!

Well done, Thank You for the information! Buying 18" Tie Wraps right now...

Wow... now that was a heck of way to replace that awning fabric 😮 I just changed mine out, and I done the job alone. I didn't remove the awning arms as you did. Wish I had of done video showing how I done it. It was a real easy job. Now nevertheless you done a great job at replacing the fabric.

Great video. Thanks! 😀

VERY VALUABLE TO KNOW JUST IN CASE 😊 THANK YOU

Another GREAT video! Thanks!

real good video, thanks. hope will will do one for solar installation :)

great video! thank you!

This is my next job on our rv, thank you for showing us this.

Great video. I had a similar problem. I replaced my awning fabric by myself without unwinding and disassembly of the springs but a second camera wasnt working that i thought was, and another went dead but didnt miss too much. If you get a chance to watch it, let me know if you have any tips or tricks that might make it easier than it already was.

You sir are sure doing this the hard hard hard way! Just cut the awning at the rail, slide out that piece then remove the tube and the spring tension.... take the fabric off the tube.... then reverse the process No fighting the gas tube

Quick tip! Save the old fabric, works great for a heavy duty table cloth ,

Great video

Very helpful.

I have been looking for a video on the Dometic 9100 awning Thank you.

I opened awning, took only motor side out and slide new fabric in while it is attached to the RV by myself. 17ft awning in. Didn't touched the other end or to arms at all. This video made it looks so complicated and extra non necessary work.

great vid

My motor is making the same clicking sound. I have to twist the FRTA to get it started in either direction. I'll be testing with a separate power source today.

Excellent how to...great camera person Thanks for you for sharing ❤️👍

Good video I have the same motergetting ready.ro replaces I rolled mine back up by hand mot easy dident take it.a.part took out the other bolt and rolled it back up

Great video. Thank you for the education. I'm in the process of placing an order for a new awning fabric. my current fabric is vinyl. looks like I have the same arms & motor set-up as your video. Can I upgrade my fabric with a Marine fabric or will I expect other issues going that route?

I have your exact sense of humor! You’re hilarious!’

I watched the whole video luvd have the same awning I think the motors suck on those domestic so ty for helping me so much I’m finna convert it to manual f dat motor draining my light lol

Nice video!! We had our fabric rip. "Technicians" at a dealership replaced it. They failed to tension the spring correctly. Less than a year later the motor failed. So now I am replacing the motor and tensioning the spring myself and want to do it properly. I suspect the spring has little or no tension on it. Is 7 turns typical? This is a 17" awning dometic (Looks exactly like what is in your video.) Thanks again!! Eric

Thanks, my awning when rolling in n out makes a clunk noice like ever couple of rotates. Could the motor be loose or something else.

The video was great. Did the old awning have lights? If not. How did you wire them to stay on?

Thanks for this video. Answered a lot of my questions. I was pulling out of a tight space and mangled my awning arm and broke the motor bracket that goes into the awning arm. Demotic doesn't sell that part seperatly. Do you know of an RV junkiyard that may sell that peice? I'm looking around. Found a place that sells the arm, Panther RV.

dometic says on a 9100 awning, to remove star screw and install an awning strap to manually retract the awning, then take it to a R.V. Dealer, when you return home, what will the R.V. dealer need to do, are they going to have to change the motor? even if it was'nt a motor problem? can you remove the star screw to move it out also?

I have this exact awning motor (Dometic 9100) that retracted slowly on our last camping trip. We had to give the awning arms some assistance to get it to retract. The motor was running but it seemed slow and weak. Is my tension off? Motor failing? Poor connection? Someone I know suggested lubricating my motor with silicone but where would you do this? The motor is inside the awning tube so, ?? Also, when I got home, it did not want to extend.

When retracting wouldn't a person on the ground with an awning strap to help you walk it in work better than chasing it toward the RV from ladder to ladder?

is there limit switches to prevent over opening it ?

Thank you.. two questions. My fabric split completely off from snow. Arms are out and motor still turns roller but would not retract the arms with no fabric. I took the roller off and of course the roller spun. Can I still use this video to attach new fabric, re-spin the spring, lock it down, run other end of fabric at the camper.. then roll the fabric back out to the arms and put the bolts in? Will it work that way or do I have to take the extended arms off like you did and try to manually close them and tie wrap down?

Do you have a recommendation for which fabric to use? Also, is there a source for how many turns on the spring, I disassembled mine before seeing this video and the spring as unwound! Its a Dometic 16' awning.

I have replaced my fabric before by leaving the support arms attached. The spring and motor end are disconnected as you did. Then the fabric is pulled out of the gutter track. The new fabric is pulled into the track (after the track is opened a little and sprayed with silicone). The fabric goes right in, and once in and hanging down, centered, the awning aluminum tube is then slid on to the fabric ( this is first sprayed with silicone too). Then fabric is wound up on the tube (two guys needed here) and once at the top of the rv, spring is tensioned and pined and attachment bolts are reconnected. It wasn't that bad...

Great

Great 👍🏻

Excellent sharing of information. Could you leave the arms in place and remove the awning spool & awning and accomplish the same thing? Also, do you advise on lubricating the spring with garage door spring lube to keep it from binding and increase the lifespan of the spring? I do all my own work, but would not hesitate to enlist your services if you were local.

my Dometic AE patio awning user manal says to just take out the large phillips screw and it will roll up on it's own without taking anything apart. One person unscrews the large screw and another on the ground controls the retracting awning with the strap and walks it in as it heads in to the coach. Then the phillips screw is replaced and that's it. Why didn't you just do that?

Thanks, I need to change out manual Dometic awning 8500 and two slide toppers for a Winnebago. All are Dometic, and the question is do you know of any other manufacturers who make good awning fabric? I know the OEM is always best but we are talking about shedding rain and providing shade. I'll be writing under separate cover how I can pay for advice when I have questions on a new RV repair business as I've repaired homes and appliances for decades and even RV's for a few years so my intentions when I am faced with new requests that I can get Darren et al to video or otherwise connect for your fees of course. I am a Patreon member to you and about a month away from publishing my website.

If the tension is lost on the slave side how many turns does it take to reload it?

Dumb question for $200: how does one get a long tie wrap behind the awning arm to secure the awning for the ride home? I have a Dometic awning that I love to hate and there is no space between the wall piece and the awning arm. Does one loosen the wall mount bolts, tie wrap and then tighten the wall bolts?

There are no videos available regarding the replacement of the hydraulic cylinders on the 9100 Dometic awnings

Which side is which left/right the one he unbolted first is the ___ arm?

Thanks for the info. I'll be a Harbor Freight tomorrow! Even if they don't have it, I'm sure I'll find something I can't live without! Is it possible to just disconnect the gas strut on both sides? I'm an ex-telephone tech and we used those long (and even longer) tie wraps. I had some fail in the clip section that grabs the serrations.

Thank you so much, I have a dead motor and the fabrice is not torn the awning is in the retracted position. How could I change the motor while not unrolling? TIA

How about doing a repair on a Dometic 9100 awning hydraulic cylinders replacement

I am looking for a motor that doesnt work. The piece on the end of the motor that the assembly arm attaches to, broke. My motor works fine i just need that piece.do you know where i could get that at?

Darren, I need that exact motor for my auwning. Can you reply with the information on that motor? plz. Make, model, number and maybe where to buy it at. Thanks my friend.

Let me ask a question after seeing the videos. When the awning tube is next to the trailer you have seven turns of tension that is on the tube and when it is fully retracted it has way more than 7 turns? When the awning is normally extended it puts more tension by the rollout. Am I correct in this assessment? It's quite similar to the old-style window shades. If one lost its tension by unraveling one puts it back in by winding the shade and pulling slightly to get a little tension only to retract the shade. When extended the shade now has enough tension to retract via spring tension? Isn't that the dynamic of the awning setup in your video a minimum of 7 turns, lock it and slide it in the track?

Nice, thank you. Mine doesn't retract 2 to 3 inches from home, motor stops. Gun range is area??? Can't you just mark an arrow to re spring it?

👍👍

Is it the same for manual ones to.

What model is this? I have the same one but it's not labeled. Thank you. Great video.

I just want to change the electric motor, is there a video how to just change the motor?

What size are those Rivette

What size are the rivets? Instead of rivets, couldn't you use self tapping screws? Thank you.

great job the motor on mine gave up (YEP when rolled out ) my wife and i thru a rope over the rv i cut on top and rolled it manualy ,,, 2 of my belts and she was jury rigged ,,,,

I have a dead motor and the fabric is not torn and the awning is in the extended position. How could I change the motor while not having to manually re-rolling?

Why can’t you use a carpet knife to cut the old Awing and slide out the old bit attached to the rail.

Great video! Would you happen to have a video to change just the spring? My awning on my 2004 discovery tension spring broke so I don't know how many turns to give it for tension. The motor and fabric are fine and its an A&E brand awning.

How many turns for the spring?

Do all motor awnings have springs??

Is there away to change the gear for the motor? Motor is good but not the gear!

Any advice on how to square the fabric on the roller tube? Awning isn't retracting flush to walls of rv. I've straightened the fabric in channel at rv roof. But, there seems to be too much fabric on one end of roller tube and it's not rolling up straight and crinkling as it does roll up.

Never mind my dumb question below - just figured it out at the 12:00 minute mark of the video. I am stepping away from the keyboard until I watch the entire video...

i,m confused I see people replace the motor while the awning is in the up position ? and a pin in the other end after it was in the up position because of the spring ? I'm confused You know if it was stuck out you can put a strap in the middle and remove the 2 Bolts with a Allen wrench on the motor side and it will roll up so I was confused with your Video

Why did you need to release and remove the spring end? Couldn’t you just unroll and remove the awning and replace it with the spring wound tight?

I'm not sure as to why to remove the extending side rails why not just lift the whole top rail or Spring tension and motor off of it and remove just that

What do u do if the spring goes pruuufffjjhh lol

I would suggest you look at the video from RVGeeks their way seems a lot easier

Well done brother! WWG1WGA.

You charge extra for customer helping, right? ;)

Any chance the customer thought at some point he could of moved his car to give you more working space ?

Why take the legs off?

I don't get what the point of taking the whole assembly arms off the RV when you simply just pinned the roller and unbolted it

So why not just remove the allen screw on the top and let it roll up?

Couldn’t you just remove the bolt that holds the arms to the tube ends and just slide the tube and fabric out, without removing all the hardware from the side of the trailer?

Why didn't you move the car????

Business might be better in Arizona lol , sun or mold who knows

Can you replace the motor without taking the whole thing down. No disrespect...but without watching the whole video to find out. Lol. Ty

Talking to yourself in 3rd person is just creepy.