Makingtrax Posted April 22, 2021 Share Posted April 22, 2021 Got a Fiamma F45 S and I attached a Kampa Air Awning by following the instructions on the Kampa site. Stupidly I should have realised that the weight of these air awnings is too much the Fiamma, despite the instruction video, and its strained it. So when I use the wind out awning without the Kampa attached it doesn't retract properly on the winding side. It's a little bit below and won't catch to fully go home. However, if I reach up and lift it slightly it goes home OK on the last part of the wind in. Does anyone know if I can make an adjustment to get it back as it was? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gman Posted April 22, 2021 Share Posted April 22, 2021 Our Kampa awning has the same effect but at the other end, I don't think there is any adjustment tho', all we do is wifey lifts it with the support pole as I wind it in. One thing I did'nt consider, was, is the awning gear box strong enough for repeated use? Suppose we could try to wind it in when the awning is being inflated. Steve. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Makingtrax Posted April 22, 2021 Author Share Posted April 22, 2021 Gman - 2021-04-22 4:09 PM Our Kampa awning has the same effect but at the other end, I don't think there is any adjustment tho', all we do is wifey lifts it with the support pole as I wind it in. One thing I did'nt consider, was, is the awning gear box strong enough for repeated use? Suppose we could try to wind it in when the awning is being inflated. Steve. Thanks Steve. I've made the mistake once but never again. I've bought a step so that from now on I'll thread it through while the Fiamma is closed. Might need arms like a gorilla but at least I won't strain the Fiamma any more. Was hoping there'd be just something I could tighten up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mickt Posted April 22, 2021 Share Posted April 22, 2021 Do a Google for Fiamma awning adjustments, it shows video,s of how to do it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Kirby Posted April 22, 2021 Share Posted April 22, 2021 Makingtrax - 2021-04-22 2:15 PM Got a Fiamma F45 S and I attached a Kampa Air Awning by following the instructions on the Kampa site. Stupidly I should have realised that the weight of these air awnings is too much the Fiamma, despite the instruction video, and its strained it. So when I use the wind out awning without the Kampa attached it doesn't retract properly on the winding side. It's a little bit below and won't catch to fully go home. However, if I reach up and lift it slightly it goes home OK on the last part of the wind in. Does anyone know if I can make an adjustment to get it back as it was? Not familiar with Fiamma, ours have all been Omnistor/Thule. However, my impression is that they are very similar products, so I would expect the awning rafters to be levelled in a similar way. There is a back plate to the awning (doubtless called something different in the manual!), which attaches the whole awning to the side of your van, and which also carries the awning roll plus the two pivots for the inboard ends of the rafters. If you look closely at those pivots with the awning extended by about 300-500mm, you will find that, if you gently lift the awning lead rail at one end, by hand, the rafters are free to pivot vertically by a restricted amount, as well as horizontally. If you then examine that vertically pivoting "hinge" you should find a bolt, or similar, plus locknut, which passes through the pivot to bear on the back-plate behind. That bolt or (whatever Fiamma use) provides the adjustment for the amount by which the awning rafters drop as the awning is extended. This will have been set at the factory, and possibly adjusted when the waning was fitted to the van. It seems one end has now dropped beyond its tolerances, causing it to catch on something before the lead rail closes fully onto the blind box. The question is why? This suggests something has bent/slipped (possibly as a result of attachment of the Kampa Air Awning), so allowing the affected rafter to "droop" to a greater than intended amount. If there is no apparent distortion around that rafter pivot by comparison with the other, you may need to get a Fiamma supplier/fitter to check it for damage that is not readily apparent. An alternative possibility, which can prevent an awning fully retracting at one end, is if the waning fabric has skewed as it is would back, possibly as a result of tension on one end of the fabric causing it to roll "tighter" at that end compared to the other end. A similar problem can be caused if something had fallen onto the awning at one end (leaves, seeds, twigs, etc.) that has effectively increased the diameter of the roll at that end, causing that end to take in more fabric than the other end so that it closes before the other end is properly aligned. So, first things first, because it is simple and fairly obvious, wind out the awning to its full extent (i.e. so that the fabric is loose and the winder will not turn further), and then see if anything is stuck to, or lying on, the fabric. If so, clean/remove whatever, and then wind the awning back while keeping the fabric as tight as possible until the rafter springs begin to take over the tensioning, and then wind in normally and fully to see if it now closes evenly at both ends. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Makingtrax Posted April 22, 2021 Author Share Posted April 22, 2021 Brian Kirby - 2021-04-22 6:34 PM Makingtrax - 2021-04-22 2:15 PM Got a Fiamma F45 S and I attached a Kampa Air Awning by following the instructions on the Kampa site. Stupidly I should have realised that the weight of these air awnings is too much the Fiamma, despite the instruction video, and its strained it. So when I use the wind out awning without the Kampa attached it doesn't retract properly on the winding side. It's a little bit below and won't catch to fully go home. However, if I reach up and lift it slightly it goes home OK on the last part of the wind in. Does anyone know if I can make an adjustment to get it back as it was? Not familiar with Fiamma, ours have all been Omnistor/Thule. However, my impression is that they are very similar products, so I would expect the awning rafters to be levelled in a similar way. There is a back plate to the awning (doubtless called something different in the manual!), which attaches the whole awning to the side of your van, and which also carries the awning roll plus the two pivots for the inboard ends of the rafters. If you look closely at those pivots with the awning extended by about 300-500mm, you will find that, if you gently lift the awning lead rail at one end, by hand, the rafters are free to pivot vertically by a restricted amount, as well as horizontally. If you then examine that vertically pivoting "hinge" you should find a bolt, or similar, plus locknut, which passes through the pivot to bear on the back-plate behind. That bolt or (whatever Fiamma use) provides the adjustment for the amount by which the awning rafters drop as the awning is extended. This will have been set at the factory, and possibly adjusted when the waning was fitted to the van. It seems one end has now dropped beyond its tolerances, causing it to catch on something before the lead rail closes fully onto the blind box. The question is why? This suggests something has bent/slipped (possibly as a result of attachment of the Kampa Air Awning), so allowing the affected rafter to "droop" to a greater than intended amount. If there is no apparent distortion around that rafter pivot by comparison with the other, you may need to get a Fiamma supplier/fitter to check it for damage that is not readily apparent. An alternative possibility, which can prevent an awning fully retracting at one end, is if the waning fabric has skewed as it is would back, possibly as a result of tension on one end of the fabric causing it to roll "tighter" at that end compared to the other end. A similar problem can be caused if something had fallen onto the awning at one end (leaves, seeds, twigs, etc.) that has effectively increased the diameter of the roll at that end, causing that end to take in more fabric than the other end so that it closes before the other end is properly aligned. So, first things first, because it is simple and fairly obvious, wind out the awning to its full extent (i.e. so that the fabric is loose and the winder will not turn further), and then see if anything is stuck to, or lying on, the fabric. If so, clean/remove whatever, and then wind the awning back while keeping the fabric as tight as possible until the rafter springs begin to take over the tensioning, and then wind in normally and fully to see if it now closes evenly at both ends. Brian, you're a genius. We've just opened it fully all the way out and cleaned the fabric. We couldn't see anything obvious stuck or lying on the fabric, but its wound back in as normal. I'm wondering if the fabric had skewed slightly and opening it fully has caused it to reset evenly. I was so sure something had strained because of the weight that I hadn't considered that possibility. Many thanks. Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevec176 Posted April 22, 2021 Share Posted April 22, 2021 Fiammas are adjustable, page 9 on following link. I've adjusted my F45. https://www.bade.biz/Plugins/Intakt.FileExpansion/Uploads/EN_F45%20-Maintenance%20and%20repairs_19455803.pdf (Link replaced with later version from Steve - Keithl) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Kirby Posted April 23, 2021 Share Posted April 23, 2021 Makingtrax - 2021-04-22 7:00 PM.........................................Brian, you're a genius. We've just opened it fully all the way out and cleaned the fabric. We couldn't see anything obvious stuck or lying on the fabric, but its wound back in as normal. I'm wondering if the fabric had skewed slightly and opening it fully has caused it to reset evenly. I was so sure something had strained because of the weight that I hadn't considered that possibility. Many thanks. Steve Excellent. Glad it was the simple answer! Funny things, roll-out awnings, aren't they? :-D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.