>My original awning was an A&E 5000. I damaged it while camping, the
>insurance co agreed to replace it with a 9000. Went to local vendor who
>installed it but the door drags because of the weight of the metal cover
>which covers the awning in the closed position. Vendor now says he can do
>nothing else to correct the problem. Talked with people at A&E. They say
>for me to go to Camping World to see if they can fix it. They did make
>appointment for me (some 35 miles away) at camping World.
>
>neely.butler
Neely - be careful about Camping World's installations. They don't
always have the brightest or best qualified workers in the back shop.
Several years ago I purchased a ZipDee awning at Camping World and
they installed it. They installed the rear support arm so that it
was impossible for me to open the propane compartment door. Also,
the door hit the bottom of the awning case just as you have
described. When I complained they said that was the only way they
could attach it to the GMC.
I ssked them for the installation instructions that came with the
awning, drove home and studied the instructions for a while and found
that they had put the front top support at the rear and the rear one
at the front. Since they were offset, that shifted the support arms
toward the front. When I corrected this, the support was back about
1" and cleared the propane door. As to the case being too low, the
installation instructions for the ZipDee clearly stated that the GMC
right rear clearance light had to be moved up about a inch before
installing the railing that holds the awning. Since they had
installed the awning rail too low, and I didn't want another set of
holes, I took off the clearance light at the rear and removed the
awning railing and turned the rail so that the groove for the awning
was at the top instead of at the bottom. This gave me the clearance
that I needed for the door. Its been that way for about 14 years now
and is working fine.
For those thinking of buying awnings, the ZipDee might be a little
more expensive but I think it fits the GMC much better. (I'll
probably get some dissension feedback from happy A&E owners).
Another unexpected problem I encountered was that when I screwed down
the rear clearance light I had it right next to the aluminum awning
railing. The next time I used the GMC I turned on the headlights
while on a trip and immediately blew out the fuse for the taillights,
dashlights, etc. I replaced the fuse and it blew out again. Several
hours of work later, I discovered that the metal case of the rear
clearance lights was hot and was grounding through the awning rail.
I had to remove the rear inside fiberglas cover from the back wall
and found that a GM assembly line worker had wired the hot line to
the ground wires and the ground line to the wires that went to the
center of the light bulbs. It was no problem until the awning
railing touched the outside base of the clearance lights because they
were mounted to the fiberglas roof.
Emery Stora
77 Kingsley
Santa Fe, NM
>insurance co agreed to replace it with a 9000. Went to local vendor who
>installed it but the door drags because of the weight of the metal cover
>which covers the awning in the closed position. Vendor now says he can do
>nothing else to correct the problem. Talked with people at A&E. They say
>for me to go to Camping World to see if they can fix it. They did make
>appointment for me (some 35 miles away) at camping World.
>
>neely.butler
Neely - be careful about Camping World's installations. They don't
always have the brightest or best qualified workers in the back shop.
Several years ago I purchased a ZipDee awning at Camping World and
they installed it. They installed the rear support arm so that it
was impossible for me to open the propane compartment door. Also,
the door hit the bottom of the awning case just as you have
described. When I complained they said that was the only way they
could attach it to the GMC.
I ssked them for the installation instructions that came with the
awning, drove home and studied the instructions for a while and found
that they had put the front top support at the rear and the rear one
at the front. Since they were offset, that shifted the support arms
toward the front. When I corrected this, the support was back about
1" and cleared the propane door. As to the case being too low, the
installation instructions for the ZipDee clearly stated that the GMC
right rear clearance light had to be moved up about a inch before
installing the railing that holds the awning. Since they had
installed the awning rail too low, and I didn't want another set of
holes, I took off the clearance light at the rear and removed the
awning railing and turned the rail so that the groove for the awning
was at the top instead of at the bottom. This gave me the clearance
that I needed for the door. Its been that way for about 14 years now
and is working fine.
For those thinking of buying awnings, the ZipDee might be a little
more expensive but I think it fits the GMC much better. (I'll
probably get some dissension feedback from happy A&E owners).
Another unexpected problem I encountered was that when I screwed down
the rear clearance light I had it right next to the aluminum awning
railing. The next time I used the GMC I turned on the headlights
while on a trip and immediately blew out the fuse for the taillights,
dashlights, etc. I replaced the fuse and it blew out again. Several
hours of work later, I discovered that the metal case of the rear
clearance lights was hot and was grounding through the awning rail.
I had to remove the rear inside fiberglas cover from the back wall
and found that a GM assembly line worker had wired the hot line to
the ground wires and the ground line to the wires that went to the
center of the light bulbs. It was no problem until the awning
railing touched the outside base of the clearance lights because they
were mounted to the fiberglas roof.
Emery Stora
77 Kingsley
Santa Fe, NM
wner-gmcmotorhome]On Behalf Of Emery L. Stora
