Faulkner awning install

[brians1969]

Sent: 5/27/2007

I just got a Faulkner awning off a camper that was being scrapped and have a few questions.
1. Does anyone have a copy of the owners manual or know where I can find one? (I did look for a while on the Internet)

2. How many turns do I wind the spring? Do I figure so many turns for every wrap of the fabric on the roller?

thanks
brian

[Slantsixness]

Sent: 5/27/2007

Brian,
I don't have an install manual, however...

I have a Coleman Faulkner awning.

The installation is pretty straightforward, which I'm sure you can figure out. If not, I can go through that here too, if necessary.

Two things about adjustments, specific to CF awnings (they are NOT like A&E or Carefree) :

The awning spring side must be mounted at the front of the coach (this is obvious, but if you take it completely apart, very easy to get it backwards) The forward awning top has an arrow on it, and the arrow points AWAY from the sidewall (again, obvious).

Winding the awning. There is nothing more than a "feel" to it. the procedure is as follows: install the rolled up awning on the rails. Leave the front (adjustment) end unbolted, but in the rail.
Unroll the awning about a foot. (Do this on a ladder... do not pull the awning out completely, you'll never get it right.
Lift the Awning roll mounting collar (the gray aluminum piece with the arrow on it) out of the rail channel and turn it in the direction of the arrow. it should "click" like a bike pedal would, if it doesn't, the release pawl is in the wrong position, just pull it downwards if that's the case. Mine in particular took about 10 full turns from "completely unwound", but that's from memory so no guarantee here... you can "feel" it get tighter though.
wind until you feel tension in your hand trying to wind it. put it back in the awning rail. release the release pawl, and see if the awning retracts itself. if not, try the release pawl again, or continue and repeat the procedure until it does. This is NOT a huge retraction like a murphy bed, or a pull down bunk, so it should not be wound tight enough to yank itself out of your hands, but you can tighten it up too much, and it will do just that (this is what is referred to as awning "slap", and is bad for the awning, arms, the winnie and your sanity. I'm sure you've heard it before at a campground, followed by curse words...). The downside here is excessively tightened awning springs will break, and quickly. Wind just enough that it pulls the awning away from your hand lightly. You can experiment with it, a little tighter or looser depending on how comfortable you are with it. Just keep in mind, when you release the pawl, it MUST BE IN THE MOUNTING ARM, or all of your winding efforts will unravel, quite literally with a huge "sproing-ing-ing-ing!!!" clock spring sound.. If you did wind it too tight, you might have to release it to start again... when you do, hold the awning tube firmly, and remove the mount from the rail and hit the release pawl.
Remember to never leave the front side of the awning without bolting the front side adjusment mount back on. If you don't, the first time you unroll it, you'll surely know, or the first bump you hit on the road!
Be careful, and wind it with the pawl in the Locked position. It is a one man job, but be careful... this is one BIG spring.

If nothing seems to work, it's likely that your spring has broken or become detached inside the tube. That's a whole different story...

Once you get the awning working at the 1 foot out level, pull it all the way down, set it up like normal (pull the slide arms to the top, where they lock in, and retighten  the adjustment knobs for the side rails, then raise the awning to the height you want it at. Keep in mind that the Rail levers on the main arms ARE NOT Weight bearing. What I mean is they are just convenient handles that release the lock pins...they aren't meant to raise the rails with... use your hands for that, or they'll break faster than you can say "aw, Shoot".

If you don't know how to setup and stow an awning, let me know here and I'll give you a crash course post. (don't feel bad about it, there's a lot of people here who don't know how at first...)

After you've set it up, take it down, and it works... you're done. You can experiment with tighter or looser settings, and get a feel for it, but that's all there is to it.

Play it safe: Have a friend around to help, or just watch.

Tom

[brians1969]

Sent: 5/27/2007

Wow, thanks for the detailed information! I'll let you know how the install goes. I'm new to awnings, so the crash course would definitely be helpful. I understand wind and awnings don't mix.....does anyone have replacement parts if we ever need them?

thanks
brian

[Slantsixness]

Sent: 5/27/2007

All replacement parts for all year Faulkner awnings are still readily available.
As a matter of fact, they are the factory awnings that Winnebago uses, at least up until like 2004, last I checked... most commonly on Minnie Winnies from the factory.

www.Go-RV.com 's parts book has CF parts in the catalog and part #cross references in the back... also... Winnebago itself has the CF parts listed in the parts manuals for most of the listed models. If you know the year of the Camper it came from, lookup a manual for a same year winnie, look in the last few accessories pages, and you'll see the parts breakdowns for the CF awnings.

(Coleman bought Faulkner, and are now called Coleman-Faulkner, or just Faulkner... its all the same stuff though, and compatible!)

CF has not changed much about the awnings for many years, and different models still use the same rails, tube ends, springs, handles and whatnot, so if it's a Faulkner part, and looks like what you have, your pretty assured its the same part. All Faulker parts have numbers on them, sometimes you have to disassemble the parts to see the numbers, but they're there... look them up in the cross reference and you'll know for sure! (so far, I don't think I've ever seen much break on a CF awning though, they're pretty stout.

Moderate wind, heavy rain, improper setup, can damage any awning. Fabric will rip, arms can bend, handles will break...etc... but with a little care and sommon sense, they'll last for the life of your rig.

ok... so now you need to know the crash course in Faulkner awnings. Give me a few minutes and let me see if I have an illustration, or even a pictorial aid, and I'll post it here.
It takes about 3 minutes to properly deploy the awning, and about 3 minutes to stow it properly. There are several "not to be missed" steps, and a few tips to extend the life of the awning too..

Back in a few,

Tom

[brians1969]

Sent: 5/30/2007

Unfortunately, I pulled it all the way out before you said " don't pull it all the way out or you'll never get it right".
So, what do I do now?

brian

[Slantsixness]

Sent: 5/30/2007

Brian,

That's not a problem at all. It's a problem when its all the way up on the rails and it comes crashing down and rips the awning fabric and renders the whole install essentially useless. just having it unrolled or letting it unroll is easy to fix, just remember that it only unwinds ONE WAY, which is clockwise from the front side.
And again, the front side has  the arrow on the roller mounting tab...

To be clearer, the awning ruffled edge at the fully extended condition will roll upside down on the roller, and the awning fabric will roll up properly with the tube turning COUNTERCLOCKWISE from the front side.

If nothing got buggered up, just release the lock lever, re-roll the awning by hand (it can be off the rig for this if you want to take it loose from the fabric rail too..)

Then just start the whole setup procedure again.

I promised you the crash course:

release the locking levers on both arms. (little tiny L catches on the side rails)
loosen the upper side rail lock knobs. Just loose enough for them to be "floppy"
grab the awning stick (buy one or find one if you didn't get one with it
release the lock/re-roll lever on the front roll end. (unless you spring is really loose, it won't come down and bang you in the head. it should Racthet down like you would expect a 3/8 ratchet to sound, perhaps a little louder.
take the nifty awning tool and put the "7" shaped end into the pull cord (yes, you need one of these. I think they even sell them at Wally Mart.. it slides into the groove at the bottom of the tube when fully extended (now you know what the curious black strap is for, it's not something left over from a big party, or a tie down strap...) Anyway... with the nifty tool inserted in the end of the Pull strap, pul the awning ALL THE WAY OUT. The tool is only usefull until you can grap the strap, so take it off when you have the strap in hand. At this point the awning is pretty funny looking, like a lean-to tent. but that's what it's supposed to look like for now.
Slide both upper side rails ALL the way to the roller. They will lock or snap into place (there's a release button or slide on the front of the main rails, at the roller on both sides when you roll it back up.) These arms have the black lock knobs on them you released in the first step. Don't forget to loosen them!
with the upper side rails in place, go to each side and pull out any slack in the awning by extending the upper side arms. Now Tighten the Black Knobs. The awning should be relatively smooth and not be sagging, or the arms aren't tight enough.
on the two main rails, start with one (doesn't matter which) use the handle to release the lock pin and grab the rail and slide the awning up to the preferred height. Once you are close to where you want it, release the lock pin handle and continue to pull up... it will lock in the next available hole.
Do the same thing on the other rail. If you are subject to heavy rain, it is essential to have a tight awning, and an "unlevel" awning (one side lower than the other to aid in draining water away from the rig).
Your awning is now set up. you can play with the height, angle, tightness of the side arms, to your liking. The main side arms can be detached from the body of the RV, and staked into the ground, but be sure to do one arm at a time, and keep the angle of the grounded arms parallel to the body of the rig, not at an angle, even though they're at an angle when they're left on the rig pivot mounts, it's too easy to have one pull out and collapse and would possibly rip the awning fabric.
Now take it down and stow it!

Release the side rail pins and guide the  roll down to the lowest position (if you did have the awning rails staked to the ground, re-install them on the rig mounts first)
loosen the upper rail lock knobs. and unlock the side rails from the roll. let them slide all the way to the end of the main side rails (they won't smash into the rig, they'll stop before that)
position the awning strap in a convenient, relatively centered position (this will insure that it's there the next time!)
Gab the awning strap firmly, and release the lock / re-roll lever. The Awning will try to pull away from you. Put the awning stick back in the strap hole, and guide the awning smoothly back into it's stowed position (don't just let it go, or shove it or ty to help it along here, it can damage itself or break the spring.
ensure that the side rails are all the way against the upper brackets. Some times a little hand whack is necessary here to seat them properly.
Tighten the upper Side arm lock knobs NOW!
flip the little L shaped locks back around to cover the upper siderail. if rail isn't flush with the outer rail, it's not seated on the upper bracket(s)
Don't forget to remove the Awning stick!
Inspect the rolled up awning for sagging and being straight with repect to the roofline. If it's not tight, or crooked, set it back up and determine where the problem is, for example the spring went bad, or you rolled the awning lights up (mistakenly) when you took it down. (It has happened more than once)
Re-check the lock levers and lock knobs before you get on the road, just to be sure. And...you're done!
Practice, setting it up and taking it down. There could come a day when you have to take it down in 2 seconds to avoid a storm. It'll still be more than 2 seconds, but you can have one completely and properly stowed in under a minute, with practice (mind you that in an emergency, you don't bother with the awning strap ont the Awning stick, just get the awning out of harms way.

Tom

[brians1969]

Sent: 5/31/2007

Hi Tom
I put a few pictures of the awning up on my page. Does this look like yours? There are some things you mention that I don't think I have!
Brian

[Slantsixness]

Sent: 5/31/2007

What you have is a much older Faulkner, however, the pin knobs are the same as the outer rail handles I described, and the lock re/roll lever is that lever on the side of the roll end. tightening it is still the same though, remove the 7/16" bolt and pull the assembly out of the front rail.

Your lower rail clamps should be mounted to the trim line on the winnie. remove the acorn headed screw and the rails will shorten enough to get there. The reason is: the lower skirt/ valence panel on the Winnie wont hold any weight, and when attached to the trim, it ends up bolted to the floor of the winnie. The crews are roughly 4" long and go straight  through the trim.

If the object is to never unroll the awning with the rails on the lower mounts, it wouldn't matter.

There's a couple of pictures in my album that show where the lower brackets go, but look and you can get an idea where and why they're mounted there, theres a lot of weight on the rails when setup like this..

but it's easier to fix it now than fix a crushed lower section later!

Your awning came off of a Travel trailer,  and the floor is technically "lower" to the ground that the winnie, which is why the rails didn't just bolt on like you would expect. If the rails are too long to reach up to the floor mounting area, by all means, cut the rails, there will still be plenty of rail to adjust when setting the awning, but if you have to do that, I'll try to get some really specific instruction as to where and how to cut them.

Tom 

[brians1969]

Sent: 6/2/2007

Hey Tom
I was just outside examining what's involved in moving the lower brackets up to floor level. The outer (and maybe inner) rails are going to have be shortened. The real problem is now I'll be cutting off the spring loaded knob and have to remount it.

Can't I reinforce the back of the existing mounts with plywood or 1/8 aluminum?

thanks
brian

[Slantsixness]

Sent: 6/2/2007

Nope!

Only the floor line is going to be secure enough to support the side rails when left attached to the rig, and even if you don't leave the rails attached, you will still have that weight on the lower mounting brackets when you go to stow the awning. I suppose you could make a support bracket with steel or 2X4's, but it's so much less complicated just to cut the rails.

Remove the awning pins. Cut the rails. Use the original awning mounting holes as a size and geometric template and drill the 3 new holes in the rail, in a location that's convenient to get to (not higher than shoulder level, and not lower than waist level as you stand beside the rig), and make sure the inner rail and outer rail will still have proper adjustment.

What I mean is: The outer rail is cut from the bottom, and if you need to cut the inner rail, it must be cut from the top, or the locking pin holes will not line up for proper adjustment and setup. (Typically, the inner rail only has holes in the lower 2/3 to 1/2 of the rail.
However, if you need to, the inner rail can be drilled anywhere along the surface for additional adjustment points. It's just a 1/4" hole (later model awnings have square holes that require you to use a square greenlee punch, but I'm 99% sure yu have round adjustment holes on yours) that lines up with the locking pins.
Just be sure before you cut the rails, that they are indeed going to be long enough. The outer rail should be no less than 2" shorter than the height between the upper and lower mounting clamps. In some cases, the inner rail clamp and lower mounting surface takes up more than 2", so its possible that it could need to be more than 2", but that's pretty rare.

Bob Weaver, (Weavebago) has an extremely similar awning on his Winnie, and it is properly installed (I've seen it in person) He might have a picture or two that will show the proper install and rail height. As a matter of fact, he might even be willing to measure the rails for you, and give you an exact length.. Hey Bob, are you around?

If you have to re-drill the locking pin holes in the outer rail, and adjustment holes in the inner rail, be sure to duplicate the holes on both rails as closely as possible, even if it doesn't seem like you would ever use a particular hole on the other rail. The reason is, that the awning is installed where the rig is sitting "right now", but the required geometry changes depending on the lay of the spot the rig is in. There might come a camping spot one day that requires the awning to drain from the front, or be setup higher or lower to avoid a natural obstacle (like a tree, or another camper). The more adjustment points you have, the more options you have.

Tom

[ClydesdaleKevin]

Sent: 6/10/2007

Tom has all the details about your awning in hand, so I'll let him help you with the install and the adjustments.

Just a note about your question about wind, however...You'll have to keep the wind in mind, or else all your hard work and retrofitting will be for naught.

Awnings are EXTREMELY vulnerable to the wind...we fulltime it, so our awning is out almost all the time...and hauling it in and out is a pain, albeit a minor one.  You can minimize how often you have to haul it in for the wind with a few simple steps.

First, whenever possible, swing the legs out FROM your RV, and stake them to the ground with 4 long stakes...don't leave your bottom brackets attached whenever it is possible to swing the legs out and stake them down.  This makes the awning MUCH more wind-stable, stronger, and prevents damage to your RIG in the event of an unexpected heavy gust.

Second, use as many awning "deflapper" devices as you can afford!  These are little straps with alligator type rubber teeth that grab the fabric and hold it tight to the upper side rails.  They are available at Walmart and RV stores.  You should have at LEAST a pair, and the more the merrier.  You can also get those tarp tie down clamps, which are a lot cheaper, and use those.  You'll have to either bungee them to the upper arms, or tie them with rope.  Patti and I use a combination of BOTH on our awning when we are parked for long periods of time.

Finally, they have awning straps that go over the whole awning, and then are staked to the ground.  We have never had to use them, but friends of ours swear by them.

In the end, if you KNOW a big storm is coming, bring in the awning.  All the straps and deflappers are for is to prevent damage from unexpected gusts.

Kev

[Seann]

Hi,
Would like to ask "slantsixness" about him mentioning "getting it backwards" installing a Faulkner awning. I've just renewed fabric on my '94 Itasca Sunrise 17' and after re-installing everything my tension is backwards. You have to force it to go up, and there is spring tension bringing it down, exactly the opposite of what it should be. I put 14 turns counterclockwise on the front spring, same only clockwise on the rear. Can you tell me what I've done wrong?
Thanks,
Seann

[Oz]

He covers the whole process in his posts above.

[TerryH]

Based on experience sounds as if you have clockwise and counterclockwise reversed.
Direction of turn is based on you facing the end cap of the  awning tube. Forward end and rearward end.