Any recommendations?

ZipDee is the only way to go on the awning. My Dometic refrigerator died at the tender age of 8 years, and a new coil was required; if I hadn't replaced it myself cost would have been unreasonable, so I'm trying something else next time it quits.

The Dometic in my SOB was very sensitive to inclines - nose-up was fine, but even 1/2 degree nose-down made it stop. The Norcold in StaRV II has no such sensitivity.

With respect to Gunner and Rusty, I am extremely happy with both my AE awning and my Dometic fridge. The awning works flawlessly and I always do it by myself. I've heard some stories about them coming open on the highway but I can't see how this could happen if you stow it properly before hitting the road. I also wrap a ziptie around the legs as high as I can reach just for a little added peace of mind.

Thanks Danny. Great info. I like the enclosure too. Good idea. Nice Barth you have! Since yours is the same length as my '84 Regal (28'), how long is your awning and what does something like that (including the enclosure) cost? The name of the company is AE Awnings correct? Yeah, the Dometic 1303 I have sprung the ammonia leak as well, with parts hard to come by. Do you know if Dometic has an updated replacement that has the same three way Automatic Energy System (AC/DC/LP) with the same dimensions?

Ken

quote:

With respect to Gunner and Rusty, I am extremely happy with both my AE awning and my Dometic fridge. The awning works flawlessly and I always do it by myself.

I am also happy with A&E awnings. I recently replaced my old one with a new metal-wrapped Acrylan one. The lever latch mechanism feels more positive than my previous ones. Over the decades, I have had all brands, even can awnings, and A&E is a good one. The only problem I ever had was the threads on the arm locking knob froze, but I am not going to hate them for not using bronze thread inserts. Now I use MC chain lube on the threads every year or two. I recommend all A&E owners go out and do that before theirs lock up.

One thing I liked about a Zip Dee was they gave us two nice chairs of matching material.
quote:
I've heard some stories about them coming open on the highway but I can't see how this could happen if you stow it properly before hitting the road. I also wrap a ziptie around the legs as high as I can reach just for a little added peace of mind.


You have heard true stories. We camp in the desert and foothill canyons, and see a lot of wind damage. Your awning can catch wind underneath it and unfurl while you are driving. I have seen it. My last SOB did it to the new owners. I have also seen super high winds or a dust devil do it to a rolled-up awning on a stationary RV. That happened to a window awning on ours last year, but that is fairly common, as they have no latch.

The roller must be mechanically prevented from unrolling. The lever latch at the front is supposed to do the job, but is not reliable. Securing the arms will not help.

There are several devices on the market. There is at least one commercial device that is good. http://www.awningsaver.com/

Or you can make one out of a door latch or a hook and spring. The hook and spring requires drilling only one hole. Here's how I made a roller lock for my A&E:

Drill a 1/4" hole at 3 o'clock on the outside of the aft end drum. Bend a 3/16" rod with a hook at one end to go in the hole and an eye at the other end. The rod should be long enough for you to reach the hole from the ground. #9 wire works, too. Attach a metal spring (or even a strong bungee) between the eye in the rod and the hole in the base of the arm, using a small chain or cable and an S hook. In use, the hooked end of the rod goes in the hole, the other end of the rod is permanently attached to the spring or bungee, and the spring or bungee is attached to the hole in the base of the arm by means of the cable and “S” hook.

Additionally, an O ring can be slipped over the factory raise/lower lever to provide additional friction to keep it in the "raise" position when traveling.







Here is another way to do it: It relies on the roller to line up with the sliding bolt every time you roll it up.





As far as fridges, we have had both brands. The newer ones are less sensitive to tilt than the old ones. None of them are as good as a house fridge. Green bags help with produce. We are presently using a 9 year Norcold, and it is better than the others, but I suspect that is because it is newer.

I am not enamored with A&E's customer service.

Wondering how and why billh edited my post, effectively wiping out half my text, and all of it regarding fridges, and the link to my picture of the patio room, but apparently you got to see it before he did the edit. The patio room system is a compilation of a starter kit and additional panels to produce the size you need for your awning. Mine is about 17'6" by 8' and cost a tad over 4 bills.[No floor] I've never regretted it for a second. Thanks for the kind words re the Euro. It's not the most beautiful coach but we love her just the same!

Danny, I sent you an e mail and a private message attempting to explain and apologize.

I have asked Dave to disable by ability to edit posts. He has neither complied nor replied.

quote:

Originally posted by Danny Z:
Wondering how and why billh edited my post, effectively wiping out half my text, and all of it regarding fridges, and the link to my picture of the patio room, but apparently you got to see it before he did the edit.

Dave did this to me once... It seems like the moderators hit the "Edit/Delete Button" instead of the "Reply With Quote Button". Once that happens they edit the post instead of responding to it. It's a slight oversight from the moderators trying to respond while using your text in a quote.

quote:

Originally posted by Bill N.Y.:
Dave did this to me once... It seems like the moderators hit the Edit button instead of the reply with quote button. Once that happens they edit the post instead of responding to it. A slight oversight from someone trying to respond while using your text in a quote.

Bill NY, you hit the nail on the head. My hands are no longer steady enough to be trusted with a ball mouse if things are close together. A touch pad is even worse.

bill and everyone, No harm, no foul! Honest mistake and I knew it was since the edited material was in no way offensive or controversial. I simply claimed that I liked my Dometic that I installed in 03 to replace the 81 that worked fine until that time, and posted this pic of the Patty-o Room somewhat decorated at Talledega.
http://barthmobile.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/6341087061/m/6841086502
Also thanks to bill for the info about AE and how to secure it even better.

Okay, now the apologies & the mea culpas are over, would someone please tell me how to undo the screwup I made the other day when I tried to update my Barth For Sale post, ended up with 2 oversize pictures, got locked out from editing my own post, & did something that changed the format of the thread.

On to awnings, etc. ZipDees are extremely low tech, also extremely well-made, and used to be (I don't know about now) pricier than the competition. As far as I know, most Barths came with them as original equipment. They have an accessory lock that consists of a loop fastened to the side of the coach, & a swiveling hook that is bolted to the metal awning cover, to be hooked & unhooked with the awning wand.

We just had a new dometic 2852 8 cubic ft. 2 year warrenty,(i think.) replaced a 3807 same brand about 1993 vintage. installed at camping world a week and a half ago. wife is asleep and she put the info somewhere so i can't look for sure but iirc it still calls for being fairly level. it is a 2 way g/e. the old one was 3 way with 12 volt. the only benefit we ever got from the 12 volt was to run the battery down once.
AE awnings all around, here. i'm happy with them but did have the big one try and turn us into a sailing vessel once when it unfurled going down the interstate. my fault i think. don't know about the zip dee or norcold but in my readings they are at least as good. i think you will find occasional prolems with any brand.

quote:

Originally posted by ironsides:
the only benefit we ever got from the 12 volt was to run the battery down once.

Being safety conscious, we do not run our fridge on propane while driving. We find that the 12 volt function is quite useful as long as it is not left on with the engine off for very long. On short weekend trips, it is not of great conceern, but the longer your food stays in the fridge, the more important it is to have cooling while you drive. We just returned from a week in the desert, and moved campsites several times. Since I did not bother to parallel the batteries, this involved driving with no power to the fridge. My Bad. We noticed the difference. Susan says if I would stop asking for cold drinks while on the road, our fridge would stay cooler, but that is another story. I cannot drive on a hot day without a big travel mug of ice-cold soda water with half a lime in it.

Mike, your post has made me consider using an SPDT switch that would switch the fridge’s DC power between the coach batteries and a relay-controlled ignition bus. That way, when switched to alternator power, it would cool with the engine running, but would not receive any power when the engine was shut off, preventing battery drain. Unfortunately, the alarm beep would also be disabled when the engine shut off, so I will need to devise something to remind me to throw the switch to coach battery power. Perhaps a relay and a Sonalert. The Sonalert power circuit would be held open by the relay when the fridge was energized by the alternator, but would be completed when the relay was de-energized. If I used a DPDT relay for both power and alert, it could be an all in one installation, but I would lose the maintainability of a pair of Bosch relays.

Does anyone have an opinion on this pipe-dream?

quote:

Originally posted by olroy:
would someone please tell me how to undo the screwup I made the other day when I tried to update my Barth For Sale post, ended up with 2 oversize pictures, got locked out from editing my own post, & did something that changed the format of the thread.

Roy, I wonder if deleting the post and starting over might be the simplest solution. So many digital things benefit from a wipeout and reboot.

Believe it or not, we ended up doing that with sophisticated navigation software on MD11s, and 777s, at the encouragement of the factory reps. Not confidence building, at all.