Girard awning remote

[Steph and Dud B]

Has anyone else been frustrated by the poor design and execution of the Girard awning remote control? From the start, I was annoyed by the dim display that can't be read outdoors. What's the point of having a battery powered awning remote if you can't use it outside?

Then, one of the magnets in the mounting plate came unglued and fell out. Those little magnets can be dangerous to a child or pet that finds them on the floor and eats them. So, I replaced the magnet mount with Velcro.

Last fall, I took the remote apart to remove the batteries for storage (why does it have three big button batteries??). No instructions anywhere on how to disassemble it. Turns out you just force the back plate off around 4 little plastic tabs on the face plate. This thing does not feel like it will survive too many of those operations.

The worst was trying to put it back together after replacing the batteries today. The soldered battery clips are sloppy, so the batteries just kind of slide around. BUT, the three batteries all have to fit into very tight little ridges on the back cover. To add to the fun, there are little magnets on the back cover that love to grab the batteries and move them out of position right as you try to wrestle the cover into place.

At one point, I managed to get everything aligned just right and the cover almost closed. No such luck!  One of the little magnets had come loose, literally jumped across the cover plate, and stuck itself to one of its peers, preventing the cover from latching on. At this point I pried ALL of the magnets off the inside so I could go back to wrestling with the cover magnet-free. I must have spent half an hour trying to put that back cover back on before I succeeded

And, no, it's no brighter with the new batteries. 🙄 

[OREGONOLLIE]

Same issue = LED display unreadable from the factory in December 2021.  Of course we didn't use the awnings until late January on the return trip to Oregon - and that was only once just to see if they worked.

No resolution from Oliver - told to contact Girard.   Haven't done that yet - getting ready for spring travel season and will contact Girard for other minor issues as well.

[Jim and Frances]

Our lessons learned with Girard remotes....

1. We purchased a back-up controller (one is none philosophy) and after multiple calls with Girard Support we still can't get two remotes to simultaneously work with the motor controller.  So, we keep it as a spare to pair with the controller should the other fail.

2. Battery life - is not very good (even using good quality batteries).

3. We had a motion control module un-pair and was not working right (root cause was likely me fiddling around with lesson 1!).  Re-pairing the module with the controller requires the infamous "P2" button on the remote.  Our remote, like yours, has no P2 button.  SECRET - press the "IN" and "STOP" buttons simultaneously whenever the instructions call for the "P2" button to be used.  This is not shown in any of the Girard manuals (included in our Oliver manuals or on the Girard website) that we've seen.

4. One does need owl eyes to see the remote displays.

5. Blow off / clean off before retracting - having a small ladder and blower is nice for cleaning sticks/leaves off awning before retracting.  I am sure this helps the life of the awning fabric and motor parts.  The times we failed to do this, many of the leaves end up sticking to the bottom of the awning when it is extended.

Overall we very much like the Girard awnings.

[Steve and Cindy]

Our Girard remote batteries died this weekend while camping.  We had to manually shake the awnings to activate the wind sensor in order to retract.  For removing the backplate, we found online somewhere that there is a tiny groove in one corner under the word "OPEN" that you can slip a screwdriver into and twist.  From there it was pretty simple to pop the plate off working our way around the edges.  The 2430 batteries seemed fairly secure and not slipping around, so that may be some variability between units.   The 2450 is an equivalent battery that is a bit thicker, so it might be an option if the mounting slot is too loose.  Replacement 2430s were actually pretty hard to find and not stocked at most locations locally.  Got the last three at a Walgreens.   Surprisingly, the display was actually bright with the new batteries.    

[Dave and Kimberly]

   I'm only chiming in here  because I also DESPISE that POS awning remote!   (there... got that off my chest!)   It is indicative however, of the problems Oliver faces when trying to build a world class travel trailer while having to contend with suppliers who make components for the industry as a whole.   When you only build 7 or 8 Olivers a week (and purchase only 7 or 8 sets of parts a week from any given supplier) its impossible to have "influence" on those suppliers with that low volume... when the others brands purchase hundreds and thousands.  This is the world Oliver has to contend with on all components that are outsourced.   The best they can do is choose supplier produced components as carefully as possible. 

  That said... Hats off too Steve and Cindy for ingeniously thinking to shake their awning to get it to retract on it's own.   

   My wife had the idea of creating a "remote center" high on the left wall, just inside the door for the (chintzy Girard) awning remote and the awesome Max Air fan remote.  All with velcro strips.   We also have two hooks for the wad of trailer keys and truck keys... in their own spot.

[John E Davies]

The world is awash with counterfeit batteries! Only buy from a reputable local seller like a big box store or Batteries Plus Bulbs. The fakes are so bad that half of them can fail right away. This may be contributing to the low performance of the remote.

https://ul.org/news/what-makes-counterfeit-batteries-unsafe

John Davies

Spokane WA

[John E Davies]

1 hour ago, Dave and Kimberly said:

  My wife had the idea of creating a "remote center" high on the left wall, just inside the door for the (chintzy Girard) awning remote and the awesome Max Air fan remote.  All with velcro strips.   We also have two hooks for the wad of trailer keys and truck keys... in their own spot.

The remotes will be fine, but it is very unwise to leave all your keys exposed to the outside world there. Put them inside the closet door or safely hidden away in one of the “safe” compartments. Otherwise somebody could snatch them.

John Davies

Spokane WA

[jpk323]

On 10/10/2023 at 7:55 AM, Jim and Frances said:

Our lessons learned with Girard remotes....

1. We purchased a back-up controller (one is none philosophy) and after multiple calls with Girard Support we still can't get two remotes to simultaneously work with the motor controller.  So, we keep it as a spare to pair with the controller should the other fail.

2. Battery life - is not very good (even using good quality batteries).

3. We had a motion control module un-pair and was not working right (root cause was likely me fiddling around with lesson 1!).  Re-pairing the module with the controller requires the infamous "P2" button on the remote.  Our remote, like yours, has no P2 button.  SECRET - press the "IN" and "STOP" buttons simultaneously whenever the instructions call for the "P2" button to be used.  This is not shown in any of the Girard manuals (included in our Oliver manuals or on the Girard website) that we've seen.

4. One does need owl eyes to see the remote displays.

5. Blow off / clean off before retracting - having a small ladder and blower is nice for cleaning sticks/leaves off awning before retracting.  I am sure this helps the life of the awning fabric and motor parts.  The times we failed to do this, many of the leaves end up sticking to the bottom of the awning when it is extended.

Overall we very much like the Girard awnings.

From whom did you purchase your second remote?  I've been looking everywhere on line for one.  Thanks for the P2 solution as well.