Cleaning Electric Awnings ?
Submitted: Wednesday, Jun 07, 2017 at 22:10
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Lost and Frowned
We've just taken the step to part with our old faithful AT Coolibah system for a new Dometic electric system fitted by BT. For short stays it's great but for longer stays where you need to peg it down and fit antiflap kits, rafters, annex sides, etc I have not found any advantage. But overall the short stay benifit is well worth it.
What I want to know is how you clean the darn thing?
The plasticised material of the awning itself is easier to clean than the old canvas but you can't get it to a vertical or even 45 deg slope to access it like the old AT Coolibah which you could drop vertically hose and scrub.
We recently parked under a tree for 2 weeks. The tree was inhabited by half the bird species in QLD from Lorikeets, to Scrub Turkeys and even Fruit Bats. On decamping I could only scrape off some of the thick layer of very tacky deposits by shuffling along on a ladder while the "navigator" pressed the retract button and rolled the awning in half a turn at at time. Took forever with limited results!
The awning can only be lowered a small amount while extended . It it stopped by a limit block rivited inside the lower control arm of the awning support.
Has anybody had the same problem?
I am thinking of drilling out the rivet and replacing it with a removable bolt ( and nut) so I can temorarily remove the limit block and fully depress the awning for cleaning.
I would appreciate any thoughts others may have?
No I don't want to refit the old Coolibah awning.
Thanks, Nigel, (Lost & Frowned)
Reply By: Grumpy - Saturday, Jun 10, 2017 at 10:47
Saturday, Jun 10, 2017 at 10:47
Noticed you have had no replies, so this is what we do for what's it worth. We have had our BT with electric awning for 2.5 years now and regard it as one of the best options we included when purchasing.
We find that the section that gets most dirty is the top and underneath at the van end. To clean this top area we roll out about one to two rolls and use a gentle scrubbing brush and ladder. For the remaining topside areas we roll out and lock down as far as will allow and use an extendable broom with water attachment. For cleaning underneath use the broom as above.
We find that we only have to give the awning a clean after extended trips which include much unsealed travel and this seems to keep the awning looking like new.
Haven't really had the need to look at anything beyond this.
AnswerID:
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Follow Up By: Lost and Frowned - Saturday, Jun 10, 2017 at 21:14
Saturday, Jun 10, 2017 at 21:14
Thanks Grumpy, It sounds a bit cheeky calling you Grumpy.
Yes I agree the overall ease of use for short stops makes the electric awning a good choice.
Yes I've tried all the usual ladders and brooms and things and that's probably OK for "normal" deposits but this occasion was an unbelievable mess of 2 weeks of hundreds of birds.
I will experiment with some modifications to see if I can depress the awning all the way down by temporarily removing the stop.
I was interested to see if anybody had done it before I go and play around with it.
If it's successful I will let you know.
Last time I was cleaning the BT from a ladder I managed to fall off an had to have a shoulder repair job. I'm a bit more wary now.
Thanks for you help.
Cheers, Nigel.
FollowupID:
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Reply By: Ned 03 - Tuesday, Jun 13, 2017 at 20:42
Tuesday, Jun 13, 2017 at 20:42
Nigel,
Have just found your question and "Grumpys" reply. We have had our electric awning since Dec 13 and have no probs whatsoever. Even cleaning which is undertaken the same way Grumpy explained. Exactly and we haven't colluded at all.
Good luck with the clean and any mods.
NED
AnswerID:
611881
