Awning release lever

[Ron & Dee]

My awning release lever is frozen and will not move in either direction for down or up.

Amy suggestions?

Thanks,

Ron

[trackman]

You will have to get up to it and manually turn the awning to release pressure so the lever will trip. Older models sometime bind when sitting for period of time. Lube the lever area with good lithium grease and should be okay

[beanjr]

Ditto on Trackman....Had the same problem this summer...Level would not move using the awning rod but once up there with hands on it only took a small of pressure to release it..

[Ron & Dee]

My problem was while the awning was down, the lever would not move to let the awning go back up.

Thanks,

Ron

[nightriderrv]

Twist the tube while moving the awning and have some one hold the strap too for safety

[beanjr]

Ditto Nightriderrv....Had that same problem once I extended the awning in my previous post...The DW held the strap while I extended the awning another fraction of an inch at the end where lever is located. While holding that tension with one hand I could flip the lever with the other..A little silicone spray solved the problem after that.

[Rick Long]

[Hikerdogs]

THis is very typical of the locking mechanisms of that era. We had the same thing happen several times when our motorhome was new. When ours was a few years old I dropped Dometic an e mail asking what could be done to eliminaate the problem. They said in about 2004 they changed the style of locking mechanism.

The earlier mechanism had a fine toothed gear on the shaft and a pointed latching mechanism that was supposed to slip between the gear teeth to hold the awning in place. Because the gear was made of aluminum and the latch was steel the latch actually dug into the gear. The newer mechanism uses a much coarser gear with a latchiung pawl that drops between the teeth.

At that time they sent us a new spring and latching mechanism for no charge. I installed myself in a couple hours and never had another problem. I doubt you'll still be able to get the mechanism at no charge, but it might be worth the effort to drop them a note.

[Ron & Dee]

Thanks for all of the replies.

This awning is 10 years old and in bad need of replacing, so I may just have to bite the bullet and get a new awning.

Ron

[nightriderrv]

If the roller and fabric is in good shape then you can replace the two springs

[born2travel]

A neighbor at a campground had his stuck while the awning was stowed. I used a strap wrench around the roller and relieved the pressure and the switch flipped easily.