Awning coming off:Reflection 337 RLS

We've had no awning issues so far, but I'll be keeping a very close eye on it as we head out for Yellowstone next week.
 
Well, I have only pulled my Reflection a total of 100 miles, camped in it once, back in April. So far awning is holding up just fine, but that could change as I am going on a multi-stop trip where the awning will be deployed numerous times and pulled down the road for over 3000 miles. Will let you know how it faired once that trip is complete, middle of August.
 
We've used ours quite a bit in the month we have had it and no issues so far. Will be keeping a close eye on it and will quiz the dealer next week as to their experience. In the mean time, I will make sure to release the switch as soon as the awning roll makes contact during retraction to try and keep the rail from absorbing the motor's full torque.
 
No issues with ours. We have used it every weekend except two since May 10th. If it gets too windy I do retract it but it's holding up fine. I don't over torque it when retracting.
 
Well you can add our Reflection 303 to the list of the awning pulling away from the trailer. On our unit on the leading edge I can actually see daylight between the trailer and the awning rail. We have trips planned through October so we will not take it to a dealer until after our last trip. I am hoping that GD will have figured this out and come up with a permanent fix by then. I as all of you just don't like the idea of more fasteners/hole. I agree with the fact that there is a bigger underlying issue.
 
Repair is done!! The hardest thing was to find the correct rivets. Ace hardware, napa, Fastenal, Granger, local rv store, none of them had them. Stopped at a body shop and he had the correct rivets. $4.95 each!!! I bought 12. I followed JD from GRand Designs instructions. Repair was pretty easy to do. The Molly rivets really seemed to bite well. They pulled the rail in tight to the wall. I think it's going to hold just fine. Time will tell. I pulled on the awning when I was done and it didn't budge. I attached some before, during, and after the reparpir pics. I can't fit all the pics so I will follow with another post.
 

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Here's some more awning repair pics
 

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Mine has come loose at the bottom edge but the screws are holding. I think this needs to be a recall item. What happens when your awing flies off on the interstate.
 
Repair is done!! The hardest thing was to find the correct rivets. Ace hardware, napa, Fastenal, Granger, local rv store, none of them had them. Stopped at a body shop and he had the correct rivets. $4.95 each!!! I bought 12. I followed JD from GRand Designs instructions. Repair was pretty easy to do. The Molly rivets really seemed to bite well. They pulled the rail in tight to the wall. I think it's going to hold just fine. Time will tell. I pulled on the awning when I was done and it didn't budge. I attached some before, during, and after the reparpir pics. I can't fit all the pics so I will follow with another post.

Paul,
So, when can we all make an appointment for your new business of repairing awnings???? lol Seriously though, this is great news and really appreciate your posts and pics of the repair. Great job!!! I have one question for you, did these molly rivets require a special rivet gun, or do the normal ones work?

Thanks again!!!
 
Thanks ,Paul. image.jpgWorking with JD as well. I have 2 problems. Awning rail pulled away on one end and fabric coming out of tube on other end. JD's been great. My repairs are on the schedule for next week or so. In meantime, the canopy has been a life saver.
 
Mine has come loose at the bottom edge but the screws are holding. I think this needs to be a recall item. What happens when your awing flies off on the interstate.


With this many units being affected, I have to agree. I would like the fix before I have the problem, not after.
 
Great pictures! Did the body shop say where he gets them? How many inches is it between each rivet? What size where those molly rivets. Did some searching and some people say there also called Oscar and trifold rivets?
This could be the answer to solve this problem. Looked up molly rivets and it shows how wide they spread inside the wall. We Pick up our new 303 up in the morning I will check the awning rail first thing
 
I got a call from my dealer today and the inspected my awning again and I have some good news to report. The rivets that they repaired it with the last time held and what I was seeing was some caulking that was coming loose and also the cord that holds the fabric in the groove had shifted toward the rear of the camper. They took care of both of these items and encouraged me to us the awning every time I camp to make sure that there will not be any more problems. General RV in Huntley, IL has a great group of people to deal with. I hope the repair continues to hold.

Jim
 
Mr. Lucky. I don't know the name of the supplier the body shop gets its fasteners from. I will ask next time I'm in the area. They were listed as 3/16" x1" but I had to drill a 1/4 " hole in order to get the rivet in. I used the existing holes I didn't measure the distance between. But I did add an extra rivet on the ends for good measure. I did have to purchase a larger rivet gun because the rivet stems are bigger than the standard rivet guns can accommodate .
 
The dealer added many rivets to the awning rail and said that that is what the factory recommends as a repair. The rivets are not holding any better than the screws. I am getting confused by the conflicting information.

Janice, is there a backer plate the full length of the awning? Do you have a PDF file from Lippert on the installation of the awning that you can send to me please.

Thanks,
Jim

Hi Jim (@campinfool),

The EGS backer is 3" wide, and 197" long on the Reflection 337 RLS. It is fairly easy to detect and confirm the location of EGS with a strong magnet.

Best regards,
~ Janice
 
I don't know who J D is from Grand Design is but he or she told my dealer to use Molly rivets in the awning rail in place of the screws as I said in my previous post. Janice said to use larger screws. Hmmmm who is right. I'm leaning towards the rivet repair. As of now I haven't be able to find the Molly rivets at any local hardware stores. I'm going to check at Fastenal tomorrow.

Hi Paul & Debbie (@Pjs2500hd),

We apologize for all the confusion... We just recently modified our awning rail installation process to incorporate the use of rivets (see attached photo). We are installing 2 rivets on each end (one rivet is 1" from the fabric edge, and one rivet is located at the end of the rail). Adding larger screws was the temporary fix until you or your dealer could install rivets. If you are having problems locating the correct size rivets, let us know via private message (PM) and we can ship them to you. We will need your 17-digit VIN, name, shipping address and phone number.

Best regards,
~ Janice
 

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Pjs2500hd :Thank's for giving all that good information. I will probably get some and have them ready in case I need to use them
 

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