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Zip dee attachment to bus failure
this evening my zip dee awning ripped free from the roof.
It was quite fun (not really) as we had a huge sail blowing around with a aluminum cover at the end.
Needless s to say we have released it to a point that it is laying on a picnic table and we have released the interior stabilizer arms from the mechanism.
Of course now we have to decide how to get it off the bus and trailer it back to the shop seperatly OR reattach the stabilizer ms and strap it to the roof.
The good news news is I am only 12 miles from my home base and shop wheee I can get it taken care of.
Anyone ever have this happen or seen it? The awning is held to the roof with a canvas material into the groove and bead type attachment point.
Anyone know now if it. An removed without a spring loaded issue ? There are warning signs (even though there is no evidenece the power type is in fact spring loaded.)
thanks for any assistance and recommendations!
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6 Replies
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We had an awning ripped from the coach. It pulled the bolts that held the arms right out of the side of the coach.
We got it rolled up as good as we could and with wire hangars secured it to the roof. We went from Colorado Springs to Chicago to the Zip Dee factory where they salvaged what they could and reinstalled it. If your arms are still on the coach it sounds like you may have to unbolt them. I did not have that problem because the sudden wind gust took care of that for us.
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I have seen too many people have a problem and take out the kitchen knife and cut the cloth away from the coach …DON’T.
The cloth portion, as Mike stated, slides into a shaped channel and is held in place by 2 small sheet metal screws. One on each end about 6-8 inches from the end. Remove them and it just slides out. Some well meaning mechanics also hit the end of the aluminum channel with a hammer to bend the end in case the screws fall out? Just open the end back up by bending or filing and out the cloth comes.
If all else fails, I have only two words … Duct Tape.
Wishing you a speedy repair.
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Mike, I second triple F, I know you are in damage control since last night, do not do more damage to the awnings you cannot remove safely, roll it back, tie it to the roof /side of the coach, drive slow to you storage where you will be able to repair.
Don’t let this ruin your day, it’s just lessons learned…Happy Easter to you and yours… -
All,
Thanks for the responses. I have extended my stay here a few days as I am close to home. I was able to Rollup the awning and duct tape it closed. Removed the two spring loaded a struts that stabilize it and laid the awning on a picnic table – still attached by the front and rear lower arms.
It is nice and comfy in its position and the other stabilizers are hanging freely from the top of the bus.
(Not. Moving around at all)tomorrow i I will call zipdee and see iif I can purchase (and NDA) the canvas part that Attaches it to the bus. Luckily for me I have a team of guys and big ladders that can assist me pivoting it back in place and replacing the dry rotted parts.
in the end it was the best risk reward option I had. Certainly cheaper to stay another day or two! Lol
of course I just took a huge drop on “coolest rig in the park”
Dorel – are we still meeting up at niagra in August?
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Mike: You mention dry rot. What was dry rotted?
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Dick, the roller assembly is attached to the bus with a piece of Canvas. That piece of canvas creates two pockets on both the awning side and the bus side. A stainless or aluminum rod is Inserted the length of the pocket into a aluminum c channel locking the canvas into place , and thereby securing the roller mechanism to the bus.
The canvas deteriorated and ripped. @ 17 years old this piece , unlike the awning material itself, looks to take the majority of wear and tear as the arms mounted to the bus are spring loaded – and constantly putting tension on the “attachment” canvas.
Jon- this is certainly another item to put on the ol’ zero out list 😉
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