Girard Awning Maintenance Tips

[Tom and Doreen]

Girard uses #3 Phillips screws to secure the end caps to the awning, over time these screws can oxidize and become difficult to remove which may result in cam-out of the screws. Additionally the location of the bottom end cap screw closest to the hull prevents a normal sized screwdriver from positively engaging the screw head due to its proximity to hull roof.  To aide in removing the screws a short right-angle screw driver or a #3 Phillips bit with a 1/4" socket wrench allows sufficient force to be applied and clearance to break the screws loose.  Once out a coating of anti-seize on the screws will prevent future problems.  

My awning has only a single limit adjustment screw which is quite different than the illustration included in my Girard manual. I'll include a picture for reference.  

A little prevention goes a long way when your batteries in the remote go dead or the remote fails and you have no other choice than to pull the end cap off the awning and manually retract the awning.  

Notes: 

• The limit screw requires a 4mm Allen wrench ( 1/4 turn = 1" of travel )
• The retraction bolt requires a 13mm wrench
   

Edited September 13 by Tom and Doreen

[Olive2Roam]

Ironically, I just went through this when our awning began to jam because of a piece of debris. I was really annoyed that the bottom end cap screw was inaccessible and went hunting for a right angle screw driver. But even with that the screws were pretty locked up and took an effort to remove. I ended up replacing the bottom end cap screw with a hex cap screw so I could (next time) remove it with a wrench or socket. 

You won't realize how good @Tom and Doreen tips above are until you need them. 🙂