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  1. #1
    Left The Driveway
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    Two days old and already an annoying awning issue

    Just brought our Imagine 2400BH home to pack for our maiden voyage and noticed this:

    Click image for larger version. 

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    Did they even try to hit an aluminum stud? I just hope the warranty repair will look good.

    I'll add this to the he list of things to fix at the end of the season. ☹️
    Last edited by ptavares; 08-20-2020 at 08:21 PM.

  2. #2
    Site Sponsor Skiddy's Avatar
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    No, because hitting the stud is completely optional. GDRV used to build a quality product, not so sure in the last few years. They seemed to have joined the turn ‘em out quick and ship a POS if you must “family” of RV manufacturers.
    Judy & Larry
    Ty and Ali the St Bernard drool machines
    Delta, British Columbia, GWN
    2019 Imagine 2150RB - lovingly christened “IM-A-GENE” towed by Dusty via Andersen 3350.
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  3. #3
    Site Team WhittleBurner's Avatar
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    You might request from GD to send you Molly Rivits. Your dealer will just use a larger screw and it will pull away again. If you search the forum you'll find there is a history of awning pulling away in the early days of production.
    Marcy & Gary
    2014 Grand Design - Reflection 303RLS
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  4. #4
    Site Sponsor Skiddy's Avatar
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    Any awning over 18’ needs a centre support IMO to prevent sag and more importantly bounce while in transit. The support bracket should be located as close to the center as possible where there is suitable backing to hold screws, or as some manufacturers suggest, install a backing plate to the coach wall using moly rivets. I suggest the GDRV installer probably eye balled the mid point and just drove screws into the side of the coach. GDRV should have engineered the location to ensure the support mounting screws have adequate backing support such as an aluminium wall stud, like the OP asked, or have a backing plate, either surface mounted on the outside of the coach or in the wall, like a TV backer plate.
    I defer to @WhittleBurner with his experience, if I understand his suggestion a couple of moly rivets might not be adequate.
    The right way to do this is to find support, move the bracket to the left or right screw it in place and repair the hole. The alternative is to attach a backing plate to the outside of the coach, using four or more moly rivets, then screw into that backing plate.
    Judy & Larry
    Ty and Ali the St Bernard drool machines
    Delta, British Columbia, GWN
    2019 Imagine 2150RB - lovingly christened “IM-A-GENE” towed by Dusty via Andersen 3350.
    2018 F150 SCREW 3.5 EcoBoost Lariat - respectfully christened “Dusty”.

  5. #5
    Site Team traveldawg's Avatar
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    My last RV had the awning lag bolts pull out at the top. I just drilled through the wall and put a bolt and some washers on to take the load.

    But I think Marcy has the right idea - Molly bolts (or in Marcy's case.... 'March bolts')....
    Larry KE4DMG
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  6. #6
    Left The Driveway
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    Thanks all for the replies. @traveldawg I like your solution. I think it would provide the most holding strength. The molly rivets sound interesting but I'm concerned about them mushrooming inside the wall, against the outer luan layer(s) and laminate and causing future issues vs sandwiching the entire wall between washers. My only concern is that I may have to also drill through a cabinet to install this. Do you have any pictures of your installed solution?

  7. #7
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    Make sure the pivot shoe (curved portion on top of bracket) holding the awning up pivots easily. It looks like the awning tube hung up on that shoe.

    I would probably get some plusnuts to do the repair properly and possibly add another bolt or two in the bracket. Look up my post on "bowed awning repair" for information on the plusnuts.
    2018 Reflection 150 Series 220RK 5th wheel with 6K axle upgrade. B&W 25K OEM Companion, Steadyfast system, 2022 F350 SRW 6.7 King Ranch 8' bed, Trailer reverse lights, rear spare tire holder, storage tube, sumo springs, Victron MultiPlus 12/120/3000, and Solar

  8. #8
    Site Team traveldawg's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by ptavares View Post
    Thanks all for the replies. @traveldawg I like your solution. I think it would provide the most holding strength. The molly rivets sound interesting but I'm concerned about them mushrooming inside the wall, against the outer luan layer(s) and laminate and causing future issues vs sandwiching the entire wall between washers. My only concern is that I may have to also drill through a cabinet to install this. Do you have any pictures of your installed solution?
    This is what I had to deal with. The lag bolt simply came loose because it was not into any framing structure (it should have been). After I found one side of the awning loose I checked the other side and had the same thing about to happen.
    Click image for larger version. 

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    This is the front anchor point. I got lucky in that it was in the cavity where the room came in and out so it was not visible from inside unless you had a flashlight and knew where to look. Looking at this now, it looks like I used some metal plate as a backing washer, not sure why, probably couldn't fit a round washer in the space. And it looks like I painted it black to help disguise it even more.
    Click image for larger version. 

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    This anchor point was inside the cabinet above a sink in our bedroom. So you could see it if you opened the cabinet. I got lucky here too since it was pretty much out of sight.
    Click image for larger version. 

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    I don't have any outside photos. I used threaded bolts through the walls. I used the existing holes on the top of the awning bars. Of course, I did a lot of measuring before I did any drilling. Had the front awning been 2 or 3" more toward the front I would have had both inside points inside a cabinet.
    Larry KE4DMG
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    2019 310GK-R - Sailuns; MorRyde IS; Disc Brakes; 20K Reese Goosebox
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  9. #9
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    I would not wait to repair this saddle. It would not be good for the awing or the end supports. I have a 2019 2500RL that had this happen exactly like yours. I feel the factory mounted these a little too high and when the awning is pulled in or out bears too much weight on it. The top screw then has very little structural capability. They are only designed to support the awing to not bounce in transit. I investigated repairing this. I moved it over about 2 inch and lowered it about 1 inch. I looked at the Plus-nuts, the molly rivets and additional plates. Most need special tools and were for thinner panels. Our panels are about 1.25 thick ,sandwiched with fiberglass, then foam, and then wood or aluminum. I reviewed other designs on other trailers and everything on the net. Yours should be like mine and that if you drill through the wall it would go into a cavity above the microwave. Not necessary to bother with inside though. There are horizontal and vertical struts that go in this area for the microwave support and back of the cabinet to the TV. I used a simple stud finder and tapping to verify the locations. I pre-drilled, then used 1.5 in screws. This fixed it and works like it should. Fill the old holes.

  10. #10
    Big Traveler Wicked ace's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by ptavares View Post
    Just brought our Imagine 2400BH home to pack for our maiden voyage and noticed this:

    Click image for larger version. 

Name:	IMG_20200820_185636.jpg 
Views:	208 
Size:	94.7 KB 
ID:	28902

    Did they even try to hit an aluminum stud? I just hope the warranty repair will look good.

    I'll add this to the he list of things to fix at the end of the season. ☹️
    This one is just plain negligence on their part as they didn't install the plate that reinforces the bracket. I just got one on these myself to install because I was concerned with the sag caused by the unsupported length of the awning. here are the Carefree instruction to illustrate.Click image for larger version. 

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    2018 F150 XLT 301a, Screw, 4x4, HDPP, Max tow, Andersen Ultimate w/ Curt Double Lock hitch.
    2019 Grand Design Reflection 150 series 260RD.... SOLD!!!!.

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