Awning fabric damage

[Traildad]

While I was up on the roof work8ng on the AC I also noticed damage to the awning fabric between the roll and end that attaches to the trailer. Is this normal? Am I in need of a new awning?

[HABBERDABBER]

At 9 years of age, and depending on storage conditions, this may not be out of the ordinary if your rig has been exposed to the weather and not under some sort of cover.

[huskersteffy]

I applied 4" wide, white gorilla tape along the entire length of the awning where it attaches to the shell. Fold over at each end to create "shield" of sorts.

https://www.escapeforum.org/forums/f...ing-17596.html

It's been 3 years now and the gorilla tape has held up very well. Does not detach and protects awning.

[Traildad]

Originally Posted by HABBERDABBER

At 9 years of age, and depending on storage conditions, this may not be out of the ordinary if your rig has been exposed to the weather and not under some sort of cover.

I recently inherited it from my parents. It was stored in their backyard.

[Traildad]

Originally Posted by huskersteffy

I applied 4" wide, white gorilla tape along the entire length of the awning where it attaches to the shell. Fold over at each end to create "shield" of sorts.

https://www.escapeforum.org/forums/f...ing-17596.html

It's been 3 years now and the gorilla tape has held up very well. Does not detach and protects awning.

That sounds like a good hack and something I can get done before our trip. Thanks.

[HABBERDABBER]

Big box & RV supply stores also sell an awning repair tape. I've not used any, but it's an alternative.

Do a word search for awning repair tape. There's lots of offerings.

[land’SCAPE]

That does sound like a good hack. Our 2016 5.0 lives outside and I’ve just been lathering the top, exposed area, of the awning regularly with ArmorAll UV Protection. Seems to be working quite well so far. I’ll add the tape after checking “the awning repair tape” tip, for the best type.

[HABBERDABBER]

Clean the surface very, very thoroughly with rubbing alcohol (IPA, aka isopropyl alcohol) before applying the adhesive tape. It may still not bond well. Some of those UV protection sprays utilize silicone, and things don't stick well to that chemical film.

[land’SCAPE]

Good advice. Indeed, the cleaning will need to be done very carefully for the tape to stick. Temperature will likely be a factor too, so I think I’ll wait a little bit. Thanks again!

[Ron in BC]

Originally Posted by land’SCAPE

and I’ve just been lathering the top, exposed area, of the awning regularly with ArmorAll UV Protection.

We protect it as well as we can with 303 but also put a cover over it for extended storage. That exposed fabric is definitely a weak link.

The cover was made from scraps of Sunbrella.

Ron

[land’SCAPE]

That’s great Ron,I’ll give that a try too. Sunbrella has performed exceptionally well for us on our outdoor furniture. Richard.

[Ian G]

Same deterioration was happening to the awning on our 2014 19'. I cleaned the area extremely well then applied two strip of this 6" wide vinyl tape with a butyl rubber adhesive, has held up very well for the past 4 years.
Make sure you line it up before the adhesive touches, one it touches anything it is stuck. https://www.findtape.com/Pro-Tapes-P.../?idx=11&tid=7

[AnJ]

Our 2018 had the same thing at 2-3 years old and it was covered half the year here on the West Coast. Perhaps hail contributed to the pinholes in ours. So far the tape has extended the life of the awning well.

[GregColdewey]

Originally Posted by huskersteffy

I applied 4" wide, white gorilla tape along the entire length of the awning where it attaches to the shell. Fold over at each end to create "shield" of sorts.

https://www.escapeforum.org/forums/f...ing-17596.html

It's been 3 years now and the gorilla tape has held up very well. Does not detach and protects awning.

Thanks for this tip...I did this to mine this week.