location of Girard Awning anchor points

[Rick Daniels]

I have a 1999 Marquis Jasper.  I need to access the awning motor (G2000) end of the awning and in order to do so I must loosen the awning from the coach a few inches in order to access the screws to remove the end plate.  I have read most all post regarding this task on coach assist but could not find out where the other two anchor points appear inside the coach.  I believe the motor end anchor point is above the stairs behind the coach monitors but have no idea where the rest are.  Any help would be appreciated.

[Fred Brooks]

   Rick,
If you look inside the passenger overhead cabinets you will see where beaver build cover boxes over each of the attachment points. You should be able to remove all the forward bolts to extend the box outward enough to shim to hold to remove the motor. If you are going to remove the awning, you will have to remove the refer to get to those bolts.
Fred.

[Rick Daniels]

Thanks Fred, I just want to access the end of the motor as I believe it needs repair or replacement.  The Black box type end of the motor now turns with the awning motor therefore the manual crank receiver turns with it. Now the manual crank receiver doesn't hank down but points to the side prohibiting insertion of the crank.  Removing the refer is not yet an option.  Any tricks on pulling the motor end out.  I have pushed on the loosened bolts inside, nothing.

[Fred Brooks]

   Rick,
The folks at Girard are pretty helpful. 800-382-8442, Give them a call and have them email the repair manual. Caution: the arms are spring loaded. The awning will toss you off the ladder if you are in the line of fire. Extend the awning 12 inches. Ty wrap the arms so they can't extend. The motor comes out the forward end. Be careful, Fred

[Carl Boger]

Rick,

I believe that I had to loosen but not remove the first 3 bolts in the and then pry the end out with a screwdriver.  I put a wedge of wood behind it which was enough to get the screws out of the cover plate and then get the motor out.  You will probably want at least 2 people, 3 is recommended from Girard. 

Hopefully this is helpful.

[Gilbert Styles]

Awning housing GLUED and bolted to the coach! On My 2002 Beaver Patriot Ticonderoga I have a Girard 2000 with burned out retract windings on the motor. I am in Phoenix and called a local company recommended by Girard. When their workers came and looked at my awning they said they couldn't access the motor to pull it out because my awning is recessed into the side of the motor home and they couldn't get to the mounting bolts. They said all the other Girards they had  repaired were mounted on the RV surface. They would have to talk to their company owner. After they left I looked up information on  the forum and found posts that talked about the bolts being accessible on the inside of the coach and being able to loosen them and pry the awning out far enough to do the repair. I found the covers and the bolts inside mine and took photo's and sent the info to the repair company owner. They came back yesterday with the owner, loosened the bolts, and tried to pull the end of the awning out but could not pull it out at all. The owner said that on my coach the awning was also glued in place with adhesive. They cut off the end cap of the awning housing to try to pry it out but it didn't work. The owner says that the only thing he can think of is to completely remove all the components from the housing so that only  the empty housing is still glued to the motor home. He would plan to then pry it off but he says that he may bend and warp it if he does and that it will probably not work correctly after that. Does anyone have any ideas or info that would help?
 

[Fred Brooks]

  I think they have overlooked some mounting bolts. I ran into that on the first motor I replaced 20 years ago. As I can recall there is another set above the passenger seat? There is absolutely no reason to glue the awning that is already trapped inside a box. Sorry for the difficulty. Fred

[Gilbert Styles]

Fred, Thank you for your help. I reviewed the Girard installation manual and am confident all of the nuts were loosened. I doubt the awning itself was glued to the motor home, but apparently the awning mounting brackets were. The owner of The RV Awning Company, Chester Douglas, said they couldn't get it loose and, as I said THEY CUT OFF the end of the housing without asking me first. Then they told me they could try coming back ( by this time it was starting to get dark) with more people, ladders etc. They would try  removing the guts of the awning, and remove it, but that it would probably get deformed and would never work right again. That would cost about $2200. He said instead I should file a claim with my insurance company telling them that the awning had been wind damaged. He said this was perfectly normal, he had done this before, and was what insurance was for. He said he would work with the adjusters to have the entire awning removed and replaced including body work and paint, and that it would cost $18,000. This company will never work on my motorhome again. The website of The RV Awning company says they are a certified  Girard Service company and they were referred to me by Girard Tech support.

Now the front of the awning is gone, and when it rains water pours out right onto my door seal. I have called Trailer Supply, a local location of a national company that does in house service work. They say they have fixed Girard awnings before. I will have to take the motor home to them and leave it. My appointment is for March and since I am a full timer I will  have to find a place to stay while they work on it. I would appreciate any further advice and I want Beaver owners to know NOT to use the RV Awning Company of Gilbert Arizona.

[Fred Brooks]

   Gilbert, I will go to my coach tomorrow and take some pictures. I will show you where it is sealed where the awning assembly is recessed into the cavity box installed by the factory. Fred

[Fred Brooks]

  Enclosed are the pictures that indicate with arrows where you have to take a utility razor knife and cut thru the silecone seal around the perimeter of the awning box where it is installed in the recessed cavity box. Fred

[Gilbert Styles]

Fred, thanks for all your work. I'm attaching 2 pictures of the end they cut off. Maybe they were trying to pry it out at the wrong place?

[Fred Brooks]

   Gilbert,
  Ouch, apparently, they did not know it was in a recessed cavity. Beaver coach engineers thought that was a good idea for aerodynamics but not so friendly to technicians. I would go back on the company that destroyed the end and have them make it right. If not, I would contact Girard and see if the parts are still available. I am not sure about the insurance angle that this repair facility has suggested. Sorry you are going thru all this. Fred

[Gilbert Styles]

I'm really confused.  They did know it was recessed and were trying to pry the end out far enough to remove the motor. I had given them copies of posts from this forum that described doing that.  Apparently when they couldn't they decided to cut the end off I  guess  _ they didn't tell me they were going to. While I would love to have the company PAY to have someone else fix this,  I wont let them do it.  I don't understand what Girard parts I would ask for. Do you mean a whole new awning? This awning still functions in that it will extend OK but will not retract. I think a new end piece could be fabricated by a body shop. 

[Fred Brooks]

   What is the model number? Fred

[David T. Richelderfer]

I cannot see a recessed cavity behind my three automatic Girard awnings.  All my other awnings are Carefree of Colorado topper awnings... and they do not appear to have recessed cavities either.  Two model years apart and our Beavers seem to have significant engineering changes... at least having to do with the Girard awnings' method of installation.