Girard Awnings driver side

[Gary Carmichael]

Has anyone put girard awnings on the drivers side on a 2005 h3-45 Liberty, If so how much and where did you get work done? would you reccomend someone to do this work.

[Gary & Peggy Stevens]

Gary, I have never put any awnings on or worked on them, but a friend of mine just went thru the hassle of replacing a motor and motor mount in the Zip Dee Awnings he has on his 08 Regal Coach.

He did it himself, but had blocks and tackles set up in his bus barn to lift the complete awning package up and off the bus so he could replace the motor and mount that broke during the POG IX Rally. He was successful, but said the work isn't for the faint of heart and you better have a good place to work on them too.

I am sure you have checked Girards web site for a dealer where you are, RIGHT ? http://www.girardrvawnings.com/about_girard_rv_awnings.php

Just thought I would throw that out for you. :)

Gary S.

[Gary Carmichael]

Gary, I checked with a sponsor Excaliber, spoke with Doug and he gave me some particulars of the work, I would not attempt it myself. Just was trying to find out if any body had used some of our sponsers or others and cost, satisfaction etc.I will call coachworxs too like to give the work to a sponser if you know what I mean, Thanks Gary

[Loc]

Gary,

I thought Liberty like Millennium used Zip Dee awnings instead of the Girards. You might call the folks at Armadas (close to Suffolk, VA) about their ability/costs to make the upgrade.

Loc

[Orren Zook]

Tom Johnson is a dealer for Girard Awnings, or any Camping World if you have the nerve to try them....

[jack14r]

I asked Girard at the FMCA show in Charlotte a few years ago and they recomended Liberty in Florida.

[garyde]

Several years ago I spoke with Liberty about changing my side awnings to top lateral awnings by Zip Dee. Liberty will not do it. The Coach needs to be re inforced from the inside prior to the conversion before installing the awnings on the roof. Additionally, the wiring is 120 volt , 20 amp GFI.
All of this wiring needs to be installed to the roof locations.
Liberty was originally cautious about using the lateral awnings on the roof also because of the added top weight.
The lateral awnings can only withstand a 16 MPH wind before they auto retract as well.

[Gary Carmichael]

Thanks everyone for the info,sounds like the job would be something that could turn into problems if not done right, although the folks at excaliber said they had done several of these upgrades. Maybe they were not on Liberty's, I will ask. The passenger side is Girard, I have noticed that Zip Dee are smaller, and maybe weigh less?

[BenC]

The Girard versus Zip Dee lateral arm awnings weigh about the same. The major difference is the profile of the arm structure. The Zip Dee awnings are lower profile, but the box and support plates protrude inboard to a greater extent than the Girards, who's profile is taller, but shallower. To be completely honest, the two use the same motors, and until recently, also used the same control components. There are advantages to both, but due to the weight, both support bracket systems need backing plates on the inside, and thru-bolts when mounting the brackets. Self-tapping type screws simply are insufficient to support either awning when fully extended. The job to disassemble the ceiling treatment on a Liberty coach is probably one of the most extensive of the major converters. A total coach job, for 4 Girard awnings would be upwards of $44,000-46,000.00 expense, including painting the awnings to match the coach, and patching/painting over the old manual awning hardware holes left in the side. I have seen it done on one Liberty coach, which was a late model unit that warranted such an expense. The key to having this work performed, utilizing either awning, is to have the decorative caps NOT fiberglassed into the Prevost front and rear cap, thus allowing the cap to be removed and full access to changing the awning motor if ever required, without having to pull the awning off it's support plates/off the coach. A simple bracket to hold the caps (which can be obtained from both Zip Dee and Girard to match the profile of their respective awnings) and having them pop-rivetted on makes removal and reinstall simple. The cost is pretty close regardless of awning brand. Hope this helps.

Ben - Coach Worx LLC

[Ray Davis]

Would it be any easier, simpler or cheaper to install Girards on a Marathon XL2? My previous coach had Girards, and that was a key feature for me. Current coach has manual Zip Dee, so I would need the whole treatment.

Ray

[Jon Wehrenberg]

I'm not a big fan of powered awnings having had two unpowered ones come unrolled or torn from the coach, neither of which is fun. When a sudden wind comes up the retraction time on a powered awning just exposes the awning and coach to the risk of damage. But if I were to have an awning cantilevered off the side/top of the coach I would insist on having the structural support external. If an installation relies on internal backing plates or through bolts and there is no easy way to access that structure to retighten it or repair it I can envision some serious expenses potentially being incurred.

If Gary wants a retrofit, it seems a structure that goes across the entire roof would easily replace internal members located essentially at the top corner. That crosswise structure can be installed onto the coach roof support ribs and in lieu of sheet metal screws devices such as rivnuts can provide secure threaded fastening. It just requires someone to create the appropriate support framework. The decorative cover would keep the structural part out of sight. It bothers me when a converter does not consider future modifications and repairs and Ben is right about a Liberty ceiling. It would be cheaper to buy a new coach than to try to remove and replace one. I found that out while trying to jam a new refrigerator into an opening that was too small and the ceiling was secured to the top fascia. The fascia had to be cut in place, attached to the ceiling because there was no way of removing it short of removing the ceiling, something I was told I did not want to do.

[Gary Carmichael]

I think I have changed my mind about this! 46000 thats a new toad.

[garyde]

Gary. Does'nt your slide have a zip dee attached to cover the slides? If not, I would recommend those as they roll out when the slides roll out and then you can manually open them down to shade the windows. That's what I have and they are no trouble.

[Gary Carmichael]

Gary, yes that's how all this started over coffee one morning we were talking about the coach and how nice it was and well built, she asked "why does Liberty just put one 2 section power lateral arm awning on the coach?" As much as we pay for these things you would think they would be on both sides. I said well I don't know! but will see if an upgrade is possible, our old coach had them on both sides. so that's how we got here. Now I think I will replace just the canvas on drivers side, I'll get a quote from a couple sponsers Heck now I am afraid to ask Prevost for one!