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Old 06-16-2018, 06:51 PM   #1
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RV Awning Travel Lock

I have been using a couple of bungee cords to secure the arms of the manual Carefree awing to the brackets mounted to the trailer. Looking online I was about to purchase a couple of the Camco velcro straps when I came across this: Save Your RV Awning with an RV Awning Travel Lock!

I always thought securing the arms would prevent the awning from unfurling going down the road. But according this gentleman and a couple of other RV websites, it is the cylinder that can rotate unfurling the awning. So… is there anything that I’m missing? The straps are under $10.00 versus $45.00 for the travel lock, but I don’t know if the straps would keep the awning cylinder from rotating and having the pawls break in a big gust of wind. Thanks, Scott

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Old 06-16-2018, 07:54 PM   #2
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Mine became unfurled, with the awning straps attached on way home from Osoyoos in 2015, the limo you mention would have prevented this.....
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Old 06-16-2018, 08:32 PM   #3
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I think if you keep the strap for opening the awning well away from the Open/Close lever and use a Velcro strap, you'll be fine. I suspect that incidents of the awning unfurling are because the opening strap was flapping around in the wind ( from driving ) and that it moved the lever to Open.
And you can buy rolls of Velcro at Lowes, Home Depot etc.

You'll have to make your own "RV Awning Lock" label though.
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Old 06-16-2018, 08:52 PM   #4
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Quote:
Originally Posted by cpaharley2008 View Post
Mine became unfurled, with the awning straps attached on way home from Osoyoos in 2015, the limo you mention would have prevented this.....
I'm curious, did the open/close direction lever somehow get flipped, or what?
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Old 06-16-2018, 09:00 PM   #5
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Looking at the last photo, it appears the lever is in the open position (assuming the lever wasn't touched before the photo was taken). I guess this could make the awning rotate slightly allowing the wind to grab the awning.
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Old 06-16-2018, 09:48 PM   #6
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I just turn the power supply off to mine and all is good.

Boy, I sure am glad I don't have the old style awning now.

*this post made totally tongue in cheek in reference to those who knock the new awning. Both are great units in their own right.*
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Old 06-16-2018, 10:37 PM   #7
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Couldn't possibly be operator error, could it?
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Old 06-17-2018, 06:35 AM   #8
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As someone mentioned, it was locked when we left Osoyoos, with the black awning strap nearby. I always slide it towards the front when retracting, mistake! When we pulled into Montana this was the result.
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Old 06-17-2018, 09:04 AM   #9
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I like my manual awning even though I rarely deploy it. On a recent trip walk-around I noticed the bolt holding the cap to the arm was missing. This unfurling issue sure gets my attention. Murphy's Law applies--It definitely pays to keep watch with both door side mirrors when on the road.
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Old 06-17-2018, 12:22 PM   #10
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After giving it some thought, I ended up ordering the Model A for the Carefree manual awning. Thinking it will be a safer, more robust solution than just using bungees/velcro wraps around the awning cylinder. Now, I just need to make sure that the pin is locked on our pre-departure checklist. Scott
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Old 06-22-2018, 10:20 PM   #11
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Okay, received the travel lock in the mail promptly, it is quite robust and very well built. The directions are well written and very concise, but… I don’t see how it can work on our trailers. There is a 3” gap on the back of the awning arm, so no way to mount the lock. Waiting to hear back from the owner to see if there is anything that I’m missing. Scott

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Old 06-23-2018, 04:19 PM   #12
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Old Skool:

Let me know what you found out. I also ordered one and am scratching my head trying to figure out how it will work on our "classic" 21 with the manual carefree awning.

Thanks!
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Old 06-23-2018, 06:06 PM   #13
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Old Skool:

Let me know what you found out. I also ordered one and am scratching my head trying to figure out how it will work on our "classic" 21 with the manual carefree awning.

Thanks!
Yeah, sorry about that. Just went out and took a closer look and I figured out why the lock will not work on a Escape. The bracket attaching the awning arms to the trailer occupies that space. More of a “stand off” type of attachment due the slight curve of the classic design. Looking closer at images of installs on the website, it looks like flat walled RV’s have more of a flush mount at the top without the need of the bracket at the top.

Looking through the random images it seems that hardly anyone uses straps for security. Am I overthinking this? Scott


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Old 06-24-2018, 03:31 PM   #14
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Talked to the inventor / owner today. I think we have a solution which involves mounting the lock on the outside of the main awning support. I will post pics when I "get-r'-done"... given the heat and my general laziness it may not be for a week or so.
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Old 06-24-2018, 05:09 PM   #15
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Keith has been great to work with. My concern with the side mount option is that we are going to have to use a pretty short screw due to the side arm that has to slide past the lock mount. Scott



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Old 06-24-2018, 06:30 PM   #16
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Keith suggested mounting it on the front of the main support instead of the side. I think this will work since there are two pieces of metal to screw into and the slider (seen in your pic) has a good 1/8" gap. I think I will get shorter screws or nip off the ones that came with the lock.
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Old 05-10-2019, 09:49 AM   #17
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We have just returned from a 8000+km trip to Utah, and once again hit heavy cross winds. Manual awning totally blew off. Locked when we left, had been rarely deployed, double checked. This is the second time for us, so need a solution that works. Any help appreciated!
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Old 05-10-2019, 10:30 AM   #18
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RV Awning Travel Lock

Pat this is what we use and have traveled in some pretty high winds with no problems. They are attached at the top of the awning arms holding them together thus not allowing the awning to open.

Camco 42503 RV 12" Awning Straps https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B000EDOSSI/..._DIz1CbCDZTS7D
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Old 05-10-2019, 10:35 AM   #19
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Which RV Awning Travel Lock Do I Need?
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Old 05-10-2019, 10:40 AM   #20
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Quote:
Originally Posted by PGDriver View Post
Pat this is what we use and have traveled in some pretty high winds with no problems. They are attached at the top of the awning arms holding them together thus not allowing the awning to open.

Camco 42503 RV 12" Awning Straps https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B000EDOSSI/..._DIz1CbCDZTS7D
These do not work, look at my pictures, these straps are still attached and mine came unfurled...
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