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Slide out awning repair

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The left end cap on a right hand roller assembly of my bedroom slide out sheared the rivets which resulted in fatal damage to the end cap. I am looking to find a replacement end cap and repair it myself. Any help finding an end cap would be appreciated. I need to know how to safely remove the damaged end cap. Is the repair done with the slide in or out? Do I need to prevent the torsion bar from unwinding with cotter pins before disassembling the left side? The flange appears to be pinned to the roller bar, is it removable or do I have to drill it out and replace? Any other tips or tricks would be much appreciated. I would rather not spend $300+ for a new assembly. 

In return, I offer this bit of information. Oscar rivets are known outside the RV world as tri fold rivets. A pack of 6 from RV suppliers ranges from $10-15. A pack of 25 excluding tax and shipping is $15 from albanycountyfasteners.com.

Thank you

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Welcome to the FMCA Forum!

Need to start by gathering more information on the coach and topper. 

Make, Model and Year of the Coach, also any information on the topper. Like who made the roller / topper, maybe even the model number - roller diameter and a picture of the roller end cap. any info. on cap ID. The devil is in the details!

Rich.

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You might get some tips from watching some of the videos on Youtube like this one. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WkPvDiBU6Q0

The RV Geeks have several videos of changing different types of awnings.

If you type "replace rv slide topper" in the search feature you will find more.

I am not shure where to look for the end cap. I would try the manufacture first.

Bill

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Carefree of Colorado might have your end cap in stock.  Same with parts dept., of your coach/5'er/pull behind, manufacturer!  

Rich is correct, we need more info.

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If there is still tension in the awning use caution. There are specific methods used to 'unwind' things in a safe way to avoid injury. Do you have the manual for your awnings? If not, getting the manual from the company's website would be my first step, as it should have instructions for safely getting the tension off the thing.

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2008 Tiffin Allegro 34 TGA. Dometic awning model #86103FJ-0901. No pictures at this time. I was able to find the installation manual and the part number 522. I understand the tension aspect, was wondering since the torsion bar is on the right do I have to release the tension to replace the left end cap? In the past, finding parts for older models through the original manufacturer is onerous and usually not helpful. I will give Dometic and Tiffin a call. 

Appreciate the responses. Let me know if you have any further suggestions. I will report back with results, may take a while.

Thank you.

Robert

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Not sure about which side (or sides) carry the tension on your awning - manual hopefully will tell you.

If you are unsuccessful finding the part through the manufacturer(s), you might have luck with one of the RV salvage yards.

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There is a special 2 prong tool, used to take the tension off of awning...Generic!  In another post, about 18 months ago, there is a video link.   In the top right corner of this page you will find a "Search" box...Bill mentioned it.

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I've seen some of the RVGeek videos, all were installing a new roller and or fabric. Will look further for roller torsion bar replacement. I called Dometic on my lunch hour and they were out to lunch. They are on my list for Monday. Spoke to Tiffin parts department and they have an entire unit with fabric for $175 plus tax and shipping, best price I have found. If replacement of the end cap does not work out I will go with their replacement. I wondered if the failure was due to something wrong with the torsion bar?

Time to enjoy a long Easter weekend.

Robert

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Happy Easter!

If you find a end cap, drill a small hole in it & cover, use fishing line and clip!  Works.

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I got an end cap from Carefree....$38 plus shipping.  If you need the spindle and bearing ascent assembly inside the end cap, that's another $26.

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