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Brady,

Those awnings do not have the best record for reliability. Having said that however the least expensive way to deal with the problem is to learn the system, learn how to maintain it, learn how to fix it, and above all keep moisture from the dedicated air system.

There are several guys on here that can give you the pertinent poop on making those work.

However, a little more expensive approach, but requiring a little more work on your part to deploy would be to revert back to the manual style ZipDee awnings we all used before the powered awnings became available. With practice you can open and close the manual awnings easily and quickly, and you can literally go decades before you need to perform any service as long as they are not abused.

I won’t even think of recommending the roof top awnings for the following reasons. First and most important they require structural mounting and unless they are installed before the Liberty ceiling is installed it is going to be very expensve to drop the ceiling down and then add the required structural work to handle the cantilevered awning.

Additionally you will need to modify the front and rear caps to provide a fairing to blend in with the awning box. And since the awning is mechanical there is a possibility you may not get away from mechanical issues.

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Brady, Sorry to hear about your Zip Dee awning problem. I have the manual ones and I’ve never had any trouble with
them. Although mine are not as fancy as the motor driven ones, there are some
advantages to an “older” coach generally speaking because most of the systems are less complicated and that means less frustrating as well. I like simple. I hope some one can jump in here
and get you the answers you need but I’d definitely switch it out for a
manual awning if that’s at all possible.

Fred

[tom]

I vote for the manual awnings! I still work and not yet retired so don’t have extra time to fight these type problems especially when trying to enjoy a trip without worrying if it will work or not. Have had a problem last three times out and only had the coach a month so pretty clear they are unreliable…

[Ed]

One of the most common reasons for the ZipDee AutoAwn to fail to completely close is a breaker that pops in the controller cabinet.

Usually, as the batteries get weak, and as the awning gets closer to the closed position it starts to draw increasing amps due to the voltage drop.

There is a resettable breaker that kind of looks like a red button on top of the awning controller. I would check to see if it has popped. If that is the case, try replacing the batteries which are readily available at Radio Shack.

Also, Zip Dee may recommend an upgraded breaker to reduce the annoyance of having this problem on a routine basis. Mine was eventually changed to a 6 amp breaker. Not difficult to do but the space is a bit cramped.

Jimmy at Zip Dee is your go-to guy if you have questions or need technical assistance.

Good luck, and I hope it’s a simple fix…

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Breaker was fine but suspect battery drain could be the culprit. Worse yet, these were new batteries hence the reason to go to manual as all I will need is extra Advil, which is readily on board…

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There are also lubricating holes on the arms that must be lubricated on a regular basis,I think that the owners manual has a schedule and pictures of the holes.

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I have manual ZipDees, so I can’t comment on your wiring. However, given the power issue raised by a few and knowing I had exactly the same issue with my CareFree awning on my last coach I might guess that ZipDee, like CareFree, may have been too conservative of their stated power draw. On my Carefree I ran new wires of a much larger gauge from the main DC panel and ground and the problem went away. I can’t say this is your issue, so I’m only raising this as a possibility. Here’s an easy test. Check the voltage drop between the DC feed going to the motor at the controller when the awning is not being moved and when it is being drawn back to the coach. If the voltage remains at 12V or better then wiring is probably not you problem.

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Gil:

thanks as could be the issue….

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I feel your pain Brady… I’ve only had mine 6 months and it has worked with no problems, but only after replacing the motor, 2 arms and the batteries. Water is the enemy for the arms, you have to keep that compressor tank drained.

This is my first Zip Dee that isn’t manual, so I’m a fan of the old style. I had Colorado electrics on 3 different plastic motorhomes years ago and they were junk. If I have a bunch of trouble, I would lean towards going back to manual.

Paul has his black belt in Zip Dee air/electric awnings, so he’s our go to guy…

[Paul]

Tom:

Life is too short to be troubled with this system all the time. And this is after a PDI delivery from Liberty so just think after a year of ownership…. when i opened the control box and saw the vast amount of wires, controllers, lights, air connections, etc. i thought to myself it is either a good science project or an attempt to make an exposive type device. Now i know and will do my absolute best to have all removed and install a manual system…. too many other complicated systems on our buses that matter. Who cares if the awning is automatic or i have to pull it down, as long as it does its job providing shade and comfort.

Two weeks ago i was in the booney’s at Lake Ouachita in Arkansas and it acted up but finally closed. Today i wasn’t so lucky but had a WalMart a mile away so obtaining the wire and clips to make a long jumper were no problem…

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I am glad that I have girards, was going to replace them with Zip Dee on both sides, Millineum was going to do the work, but decided against it glad I did, worked great for going on four years since I bought the coach, hope it continues to work good ! gary

[Ed]

The mechanical ZipDee’s are really not a problem, once you learn a couple tricks , learn to keep them lubbed and also to adjust the tension. If you do go to the mechanical setup, make sure you get the ZipDee “special” arm for opening/closing , it has a dandy tip that really holds the arms without slipping. Good luck

[Roger]

Rodger I have that special arm and for the life of me I can’t figure it out. At least I was told it’s a ZipDee special tool when I bought the coach. What’s the trick?

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It’s kinda cool to watch the Zip Dee AutoAwn deploy and, when its working, it is a really good awning that is quite wind resistant. In theory, it is an impressive design.

However, had I known then what I know now, I would have replaced it with a manual Zip Dee awning at the first time it hiccuped. Not only would I have saved thousands of dollars, but the entire experience of owning and maintaining our Liberty would have been considerably less stressful.

The good news was that Zip Dee stood behind their product and more than once they replaced parts if I could arrange to be at an FMCA rally that they were attending. Otherwise, I was on my own.

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Gil.

If you have the ZipDee tool with the little hook on one end and a “saddle” on the other end you can deploy and retract the manual awnings very easy with little effort.

First, the hook is too small so I used the rod with a longer hook, but I have seen others make that short hook work for them. The problem is the awning strap can get loose real quick with the short hook and then is rolls up quickly and bangs in place.

But that aside the “saddle ” end of the tool has a slot in it. I won’t explain how to unroll the awning but once it is unrolled the next step is to swing the stay arms up into the slots at the top. Slide the saddle between the big round head of the spring loaded arm lock on the stay arm and tilt the tool slightly. What that does is release the lock and now, using the tool you can extend the arm, raise it and drop the hook end into the slot. Then release the tool and the spring loaded lock can be engaged.

I don’t have my coach with manual awnings otherwise I would take a series of photos which would be way better than words.

To retract the awning, use the tool the same way to slide under the head of the lock on the stay arms to release the lock, lift the arm out of the slot and with the tool still in place slide the arm to its shorter length.

How about someone with manual Zip Dee awnings posting some photos?