Yob2kanobe
2017 Unity U24MB LL+
Never deployed, Im leaving my carefree awning on just for the LED lights!
Help..2014 unity TB ,Carefree awning troubles
- Thread starter CCH
- Start date
Sunbeam
Member
Originally I wasn't going to bother to post my problem I had with the Carefree awning on my 2016 Unity IB but after spending hours resolving the problem the second time around I figured let sit down with the iPad and a cold beer and tell my story. The story starts last year upon taking delivery. Purchased the unit from Wagon Trail here in Vegas, no complaints with them, matter of fact they have been wonderful. Also one of the best built units I have ever owned.
The first time I used the awning the aft arm would hang up on the housing when extending. So after the shake down cruise back to the dealer it went. Adjustments were made in the shop then the rig was brought out front to demonstrate and guess what, it hung up. A quick tweek on the rear arm and all is fine. Until the 2nd time I went to extend it, same problem. This time I'm tackling the job myself. First adjustment was made by loosening the mount (1 bolt) and moving it forward approximately 1/8". That helped but not fully, I ended up replacing both of the M8 button screws with slightly longer bolts to raise both arms up a little. That solved everything, I hope. But I also noticed that both of the black plastic "latches", one on each end, that lock the awning to its housing were loose. Some blue thread locker on the treads should solve this issue.
The first time I used the awning the aft arm would hang up on the housing when extending. So after the shake down cruise back to the dealer it went. Adjustments were made in the shop then the rig was brought out front to demonstrate and guess what, it hung up. A quick tweek on the rear arm and all is fine. Until the 2nd time I went to extend it, same problem. This time I'm tackling the job myself. First adjustment was made by loosening the mount (1 bolt) and moving it forward approximately 1/8". That helped but not fully, I ended up replacing both of the M8 button screws with slightly longer bolts to raise both arms up a little. That solved everything, I hope. But I also noticed that both of the black plastic "latches", one on each end, that lock the awning to its housing were loose. Some blue thread locker on the treads should solve this issue.
I sent a list of issues with our 2015.5 Unity MB to Darrell Heide at LTV. One of the issues not addressed via email was the malfunctioning Freedom WM Carefree of Colorado awning. When I broke the first orange flipper Cory Klenk sent a replacement and two spares. Doesn’t give me much confidence, but there are no cast aluminum replacement parts available for this poor design.
The awning does hang up and must be bumped with a broom handle to open. I did find the black plastic lead rail ramps had a burr or worn area which, when filed off, helped with the awning opening on its own.
I put ¼" wood blocks under the M8 button screws, which seemed to help, but I'm not convinced. I see Sunbeam used longer bolts, now that’s smart. I will try that too.
I have not tried lubricating the arm knuckles with a 3 in 1 oil or dry silicone lubricant. Owner's manual says I can.
When trying to understand why the lead rail was hanging up I did discover that the arms seat against two sticky back felt pads when closed. The felt on the forward arm was turned back and the spring arm was sticking on the adhesive. It took needle nose pliers to reposition the felt and lacquer thinner to clean the adhesive off the casing and the arm. Thought I was good to go.
After a couple successful ins and outs the awning is now hanging up while going out. It runs and hangs up, breaks loose, hangs up and so on. It sounds like it is putting a load on the motor. Once fully extended it just went click and did not come back in. Following the owner's manual I used the manual override with a 3/8" socket drive to retract it.
I too would like them to come get this POC and but I am convinced the replacement would just be a repeat.
I will be contacting Cory again this week. The warranty runs out soon. I am open to any suggestions on how to work with Carefree of Colorado and how to get some meaningful support or compensation.
The awning does hang up and must be bumped with a broom handle to open. I did find the black plastic lead rail ramps had a burr or worn area which, when filed off, helped with the awning opening on its own.
I put ¼" wood blocks under the M8 button screws, which seemed to help, but I'm not convinced. I see Sunbeam used longer bolts, now that’s smart. I will try that too.
I have not tried lubricating the arm knuckles with a 3 in 1 oil or dry silicone lubricant. Owner's manual says I can.
When trying to understand why the lead rail was hanging up I did discover that the arms seat against two sticky back felt pads when closed. The felt on the forward arm was turned back and the spring arm was sticking on the adhesive. It took needle nose pliers to reposition the felt and lacquer thinner to clean the adhesive off the casing and the arm. Thought I was good to go.
After a couple successful ins and outs the awning is now hanging up while going out. It runs and hangs up, breaks loose, hangs up and so on. It sounds like it is putting a load on the motor. Once fully extended it just went click and did not come back in. Following the owner's manual I used the manual override with a 3/8" socket drive to retract it.
I too would like them to come get this POC and but I am convinced the replacement would just be a repeat.
I will be contacting Cory again this week. The warranty runs out soon. I am open to any suggestions on how to work with Carefree of Colorado and how to get some meaningful support or compensation.
I too have had the awning on our 2014TB malfunction. However; your problems seem more involved. Our awning would not extend unless I repeatedly worked the switch or manually assisted the awning to extend. I found our problem was that I was not positioning the support arms far enough into the storage sleeve when retracting the awning. If not pushed far enough into the sleeve the end of the support arm would bind in the end cap. Since I now push the arm in at least 6" I have had no problems.
I had same issue of the awning would not extend only about 8 inches and then hang up on the housing as the folded extending arm was coming out. ( Extending arm closest to the front of the van ). I added several pieces of felt material inside the case where the folding leg rests in the stored position, and that has helped the extending arm slid up and out of the storage cavity.
Note: I used the "Loop" side of the 3M Hook & Loop Velcro, with its adhesive backing as the source of the felt material.
Shouldn’t the support arms retract without any help?
Hmmmm ................ 28 comments and no real solutions ............... Here's my story; and my solution.
I own a 2014 UTB with a Freedom Wall Mount Awning; and for the most part I love her. However I absolutely HATE the Carefree awning. I have had problems with the awning from day one! Here's thumbnail of my saga:
- At the one year of ownership I contacted a Carefree certified tech located in San Diego, CA. He came to my house, observed the operation, made adjustments, called Carefree tech support, and then simply threw up his hands and said he couldn't fix it. He didn't charge me a cent for two plus hours of his time.
- Shortly thereafter I had the motor replaced by my local RV mechanic thinking that might fix the problem. $900 later the problem remained. I did not blame the mechanic. He had simply done what I asked.
- At about the 3rd year ownership I found that Carefree had developed a fix - two small "bumpers" that fit into the case and assisted the awning in the initial phase of opening - which was almost always my point of failure. I ordered them, installed them, noted some improvement, but for the most part problems with opening remained.
- Thereafter I grudging determined to just live with it and perhaps someone would come up with a solution.
Fast forward to January 2021. I got the bright idea of just shit-canning the motor and downgrading to a manual crank and gear mechanism. I took a look at the schematic, determined the part numbers of the three parts needed and ordered them through the Carefree web site. Two parts were shipped immediately; but the third was on back order for more than two months!!!
Once all parts were in hand, installation was simple and took about 30 minutes:
- Snip and cap the power cable to the motor; then remove the motor
- Install the spacer, gear box and end cap
When everything was complete I took a deep breath and gave the hand crank a turn. To my utter surprise the awning dropped easily out of its enclosure and unrolled quite easily ! Cranking it in progressed just as smoothly. In and out several times with no hiccups gave me confidence that I just may have solved my Carefree problem.
Only time will tell if this is truly a good fix to what I consider to be sub-par design, engineering and customer service on the part of Carefree of Colorado.
I have attached a copy of the Carefree Freedom Wall Mount Service Manual for reference. Look at the schematics located on pages 20-22. The three parts needed are:
-Item 2 - PN - R001619XXX - Nomenclature - Gear Assy, Manual Crank
-Item 7 - PN - R001622 - Nomenclature - Roller Tube Endplug, LH
-Item 18 - PN - R001546-RP - Nomenclature - Crank, Telescoping
Please don't just order these parts if you have a different LTV year or model; or a different Carefree awning. Check your specific schematic.
Good Luck.
I own a 2014 UTB with a Freedom Wall Mount Awning; and for the most part I love her. However I absolutely HATE the Carefree awning. I have had problems with the awning from day one! Here's thumbnail of my saga:
- At the one year of ownership I contacted a Carefree certified tech located in San Diego, CA. He came to my house, observed the operation, made adjustments, called Carefree tech support, and then simply threw up his hands and said he couldn't fix it. He didn't charge me a cent for two plus hours of his time.
- Shortly thereafter I had the motor replaced by my local RV mechanic thinking that might fix the problem. $900 later the problem remained. I did not blame the mechanic. He had simply done what I asked.
- At about the 3rd year ownership I found that Carefree had developed a fix - two small "bumpers" that fit into the case and assisted the awning in the initial phase of opening - which was almost always my point of failure. I ordered them, installed them, noted some improvement, but for the most part problems with opening remained.
- Thereafter I grudging determined to just live with it and perhaps someone would come up with a solution.
Fast forward to January 2021. I got the bright idea of just shit-canning the motor and downgrading to a manual crank and gear mechanism. I took a look at the schematic, determined the part numbers of the three parts needed and ordered them through the Carefree web site. Two parts were shipped immediately; but the third was on back order for more than two months!!!
Once all parts were in hand, installation was simple and took about 30 minutes:
- Snip and cap the power cable to the motor; then remove the motor
- Install the spacer, gear box and end cap
When everything was complete I took a deep breath and gave the hand crank a turn. To my utter surprise the awning dropped easily out of its enclosure and unrolled quite easily ! Cranking it in progressed just as smoothly. In and out several times with no hiccups gave me confidence that I just may have solved my Carefree problem.
Only time will tell if this is truly a good fix to what I consider to be sub-par design, engineering and customer service on the part of Carefree of Colorado.
I have attached a copy of the Carefree Freedom Wall Mount Service Manual for reference. Look at the schematics located on pages 20-22. The three parts needed are:
-Item 2 - PN - R001619XXX - Nomenclature - Gear Assy, Manual Crank
-Item 7 - PN - R001622 - Nomenclature - Roller Tube Endplug, LH
-Item 18 - PN - R001546-RP - Nomenclature - Crank, Telescoping
Please don't just order these parts if you have a different LTV year or model; or a different Carefree awning. Check your specific schematic.
Good Luck.
SSTraveler
2014 LTV Unity Murphy Bed
What a great solution! Using the awning manually is a great option. I always hate having to open the passenger door to operate the switch anyway. It lets the air conditioner cool air out and the bugs in. I have a 2014 UMB but I hardly ever use my awning so if I do encounter motor problems I certainly will go this route. Thanks for the installation details and part #s, but could I ask how much the 3 parts cost direct from Carefree?
harrysalit
2019 Wonder FTB
I have a 2019 Wonder FTB, Carefree WM awning has been used a lot and always worked. Two weeks ago, it would go out only about 5 feet, but would retract ok. Tried that a number of times, same thing. Next day it would go out only 2 feet, retract ok. Used it every day for last 2 weeks, still comes out only 2 feet.
Contacted Carefree, said I need to adjust the motor limits. Say 3 turns for 2” of adjustment. I calculate I will need 126 turns!
Will try adjustment, as soon as I get out of this west coast heat blast.
Any ideas why it would go this far out of adjustment? In one day! Did not hit anything.
Any other thoughts?
Contacted Carefree, said I need to adjust the motor limits. Say 3 turns for 2” of adjustment. I calculate I will need 126 turns!
Will try adjustment, as soon as I get out of this west coast heat blast.
Any ideas why it would go this far out of adjustment? In one day! Did not hit anything.
Any other thoughts?
Sandy,
Here are the prices from the invoice. Figure $15-$20 for shipping (UPS GND)
R001619GRY Freedom Wall Mount - Gear Assembly, Manual Crank $137.36
R001546-RP Freedom Wall Mount - Telescoping Crank $61.60
R001622 Freedom Wall Mount - Roller Tube Endplug, LH $15.86
Note: Any Awning crank with the oddly shaped hook at the end; and, that is relatively short will work. In hindsight I would have purchased a crank another source to save a few bucks.
Ditto on the issues, adjustments and multiple emails with Cory Klenk at Carefree. The one thing I found was that the top side of the awning was actually sticky. Cleaning and scrubbing with soap and water eliminated about 90% of the hesitation and need for poking the housing to get the awning to extend. And those under-designed orange flippers? They sent me a couple spares to get me to quiet down.
harrysalit
2019 Wonder FTB
Sawdoff, are you happy with the manual operation?
No complaints?
My motor is bad, according to Cory, I think I may try your fix. Probably more difficult to install the motor then change to manual.
harry salit
not logged in
2018 Unity TB
Sawdoff,
What was the shipping time? (Looks like my motor has failed.)
Thanks
—Larry
What was the shipping time? (Looks like my motor has failed.)
Thanks
—Larry
harrysalit
2019 Wonder FTB
larry,
check motor price with LTV, they quoted $299+shipping. In Canadian!
talk to Don in parts.
check motor price with LTV, they quoted $299+shipping. In Canadian!
talk to Don in parts.
not logged in
2018 Unity TB
Thanks, Harry, but I’m planning on replacing with a manual crank a la Sawdoff. I’m a firm believer it keeping it simple and minimizing moving parts (no slideouts, macerator, levelers, etc.).
SSTraveler
2014 LTV Unity Murphy Bed
I tried looking for the gear assembly R001619GRY and End Plug R001622 from other sellers, they are shown as a Special Order parts. I don't know if Carefree has them in stock but it appears it is best to get them directly from Carefree. You'll have to call Carefree directly to see how fast you can get the parts. I found the Telescopic crank on other sites for as low as $39 but I didn't check their shipping costs. Amazon and Ebay aee $59. It appears ordering all 3 parts from Carefree is the way to go.
Two parts (the wand and the gear assembly) shipped immediately. The third part (the spacer) was on back order for two months. Give them a call and see what their shipping times are today.
YES ! Hand cranking the awning in and out is easy and reliable. Typically takes me 12-15 seconds. The best part of the modification is that the operator can "feel" through his hands how the awning is moving; and if there is any binding or sticking, stop the process and clear the problem. No more guessing why that frigin' motor is sitting there and just churning !!!