Carefree awning issue resolved

[Corcomi]

I was putting out the Carefree awning for the first time and as I was extending the arms to secure them to the trailer the orange clip that has tightens the are broke off.  Contacted Jason who immediately ordered me a new one at no expense even though the Carefree warranty doesn’t cover that part. Good outcome to a stupid issue 

 

 

[topgun2]

That is great that your problem was taken care of.  Certainly a good outcome to an issue that could have caused you a fair amount of annoyance.  Thanks for letting us know about the good stuff.

 

I think that this is a prime example of what most of us talk about when we say that Oliver stands behind its product and is a GREAT company to work with.  Yes, not everything goes as smoothly as some of us might like, but, in the end, Oliver stands behind its product and does whatever it can to make sure that we are treated like family.

 

Bill

[Overland]

Yeah, the first thing I said to Ritchie when he was showing me how that clip worked was ,'That won't last.'.  They'd be much more rugged and sturdy with a screw to lock them in place like Fiamma uses.  But the flip lock is how they get the pole to recess into the front rail, since it's flush when closed.  I have to imagine that there's a relatively simple hack to fix this if we put our minds to it.

 

Interesting that Carefree doesn't warranty the one part that's obviously going to fail.

 

So did Oliver replace the clip, or did they have to get you an entire leg assembly?  I took a look at their parts list and didn't see that you could just get the clip.  If you can, and it's easy to replace, then I might get a few clips to keep as spares.

 

edit - I found the part, it's #R001657, available here.  Looks like you need to carry a rivet gun to replace it.

 

At Big Bend last month, I tried bypassing the legs with poles of my own.  It's not too much trouble to set up that way, and far sturdier than using the Carefree legs.  You just have to drill some holes into the bottom of the front rail to accept the poles...

 

 

 

 

[DavidS]

Overland, That shade screen attached to your awning looks very nice. How does it attach, and where did you get it? Nice picture!

[Overland]

It's this one on Amazon.  It was just a bit cheaper than the Carefree version.  It slides into the accessory slot along the front of the awning.  Seems well made and was a cinch to attach with two people - one person feeding it into the slot and another pulling it through.  I'm sure one person could attach without too much effort.  My only complaint is that it seems a bit too dark, but of course that's subjective.  But I do wish I could have found one in a light grey rather than black.  But it does it's job and should help keep wind from getting under the awning as well.

[Try2Relax]

Overland, you need to have a sticker cut to fit in that upper fridge vent cutout, like your logo or name plate or welcome or something... That's a good shape/space just waiting for something in it..

[Overland]

Yeah, I need to do something with that spot.  It's got a fairly obvious dimple from the mould in the middle of it if you look close.  Oliver is doing the final polish on the trailer now - since I pried it away from them before they were finished - which is why there's no graphics on the trailer at all.

[Corcomi]

Overland

 

I haven't gotten the clip yet. Its supposed to arrive tomorrow and i think they are only sending the clip. Will keep you all posted> I obviously don't have a rivet gun so we shall see how i do the repair

[DavidS]

We were planning to visit Jordanelle State Park, near Park City for three nights.  The angle of the strong afternoon sun means limited shade protection under our awning, so we got the Tentproinc sun shade screen (the 6' X 14'3" size) that Overland recommended, and it worked well to increase our area of shade. We were worried that we would not like looking at the world through the mesh, but it was actually pleasant, even cooling, to look through it.

There can be gusty winds, and we always stow our awning when leaving camp or before bed. While it was not hard to attach or remove the shade screen from the track in the awning front bar, I did not want to have to do this once or twice each day. So I left the shade screen attached when I rolled in the awning. Unfortunately, the hanging shade screen creates one serious obstacle, at least if I want to open the trailer door. So I used these 10 inch mini bungee cords to attach the shade screen to the awning front bar. And, I can open the trailer door. 

Jordanelle State Park was really nice, and we will visit again! 

[Nan]

Just need to ask:  both Olivers seem to be Elite II so why are two sized screens listed as used..one being a 10' and one 14'?  Thanks.

[Overland]

The link I gave is just to the generic listing which defaults to the 10’. Mine is actually a 13’ - I think that the 14’ version was just a bit too long for my Carefree awning vs David’s Fiamma. If you plan to order one, I’d suggest that you measure your awning just to make sure. 

[Nan]

Thanks so much.

 

[BackofBeyond]

David - your pic's are just great - as usual. 

My clip broke- after only a few uses - Oliver replaced it - now I treat it with extreme care - it is fragile - should be a machined aluminum....

Thanks for the info on the screen - will have to get one on the way - great- another thing to keep up with,.....

 

[Ray and Susan Huff]

@Corcomi What year is your trailer?  Oliver specs say they are equipped with Dometic awnings (both manual and power option). 

We have the same Carefree awning on our motor home.  I'm not surprised Oliver switched to a different one; terrible awning.  We have not had the clips break, however we did order a pair of clips to have in case they broke.  We don't use the awning much because it is such a pain to deploy, the way the support arms are designed, and there is wind, more often than not, when we camp; we did experience one nightmare in Idaho when a sudden wind came up.  We were eating dinner outside and intended to retract the awning, but waited too long.  It was all the two of us could do to hold it down and the switch to retract was just out of reach.  Finally managed to hit the switch between gusts and got it in before damage occurred.  Haven't had it out since.  I have also heard numerous reports of it hanging up on the rail while attempting to deploy.

I certainly hope the Dometic awnings are better.  We are torn between getting the power awning option or sticking with the manual.  I understand the new manual awnings are self-supporting, which I like.  And one less motorized component.  Does anyone have experience with the wind-sensing Dometic power awning?

Edited June 9, 2020 by Susan Huff
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