Awning 101

Hello Campers!

Awnings create a shady area for you to relax on your patio while RV'ing, they can also prevent unwanted items to get on the top of your slide out and get stuck inside or between the slide out area. They are a true luxury and sometimes a necessary item to protect you from the sun while you are relaxing on your camping trip.

We are talking Awning 101 in this blog to discuss tips, tricks and how to resolve issues that you may have with your RV's awning.

How to clean an RV Awning:

Knowing how to properly and efficiently clean an RV awning is just the start to proper maintenance on this part of your RV. Keeping the awning material mold and damage free is necessary in preventing problems for your RV's maintenance in the future. We recommend using a soft towel around a broom, mop or long scrub brush and to keep harsh cleaning materials off the fabric. We recommend using a proper RV cleaning solution to clean the bottom of the awning material. Always make sure to let the awning fully dry before rolling it up, you can also use a dry cloth to run over the material to ensure it is dry before storing, if the material is still wet it can cause deep stains or cause mold on the interior of the unit.

What To Do When an Awning Won't Go In:

Electric Awnings: If your RV's awning has an electric motor and won't retract, listen for if the motor is making any sort of noise, if it is silent, the motor may be failing or the switch may be out, You can get a 12 volt source & disconnect the wire leads to the motor and test to see if it operates, if it does, its the wiring or switch, if not, its the motor! If all else fails, always be sure to check your owners manual on how to manually bring the awning back in.

Manual Awnings: If your manual awning won't retract, the fabric may not be rolling up properly causing an alignment issue on the arms. Make sure the fabric is lined up properly on both sides of the inner tube and not shifted onto one side. If it is, unroll the awning and adjust the material into the middle of the inner tube and try retracting. If you are having other problems with your manual awning, leave a comment below and we will get back to you with an answer from our certified technicians,

Why Are Slide Toppers Important?

Slide Toppers may be a necessity depending on the location that you live or are traveling in your RV, high winds can cause debris and unwanted items to gather on the top of the RV slide, it is important to remove large items such as twigs or patches of leaves or pine needles before bringing in the slide to prevent these items coming into the interior of the RV. Slide toppers can also be beneficial for keeping heat off of the top of the slide during hot summer months and keeping your RV cool.

Why Slide Toppers Sag:

If the slide topper on your RV appears to be sagging, there may be multiple reasons, the first is that the fabric is stretching, that there is a weak tension spring or that there is an improper tension setting. For a quick fix, you can try to re-tension the spring, if this does not help, you may need to fully replace the spring or get new slide topper fabric.

Do you have a question about your Awning or Slide Topper? Comment below and we will get your questions answered in a timely manner by one of our certified RV Technicians!

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