Dear Dave,
After 6 years of use and hot desert, my awning has issues. I noticed this tear recently in the middle of the awning. Someone suggested putting tape on it to keep it from tearing more and getting a little more time out of it. I Googled tape for awnings and got many different types. What tape would you suggest? Best way to put on? Also, top and bottom? Front to back? —Alan, 2018 Winnebago 29VE
Dear Alan,
Most awning manufacturers recommend cleaning and conditioning the fabric of the awning annually. It looks like your fabric dried out and started to separate, as you have suggested. Check out the article I posted about a leaking awning here.
This is not uncommon, as most RV owners may clean their awning but few actually condition the fabric. I have used a few different products over the years. Some lasted a long time and others failed miserably.
Flex Seal
Flex Seal comes in a tape, liquid, or spray, and from the ads on TV, you would believe the product can save anything! I have used Flex Seal Tape on a small portion of a slide room awning that had a tear from a garden hose pressing against it while the owner was washing the roof. We used the white tape, which matched the color of the awning fabric, and double-sided it. It stuck for two years. The unit was sold, so I have no track record after that.
We also used black Flex Tape on the 2016 Thor Challenger that had a similar issue as yours. It went almost the length of the 26’ awning. It also matched the fabric. However, it did start to discolor, become brittle, and peel after year two. The awning arm broke, so the owner replaced the entire awning after that.
I have talked with several owners who have used the product and had good results. But it seems if your awning will be exposed to harsh sunlight and high temperatures, it likely will not last long.
However, according to Flex Seal’s website, they think it will. Here is a quote from Flexsealproducts.com:
If you find a rip or tear in your fabric cover, don’t throw it away – fix it with Flex Tape! Our strong, rubberized waterproof tape can help extend the life of ATV, motorcycle, or snowmobile covers, RV awnings, convertible tops, and more.
I would not recommend the liquid or spray as the movement and heat would be very harsh on it. I have tried the spray on Styrofoam and it literally ate the Styrofoam!
EternaBond
EternaBond tape has been around for years, and the majority of RV forums are “sold” on the product. It is advertised as a prominent brand known for its innovative adhesive products, particularly in the realm of waterproofing and sealing solutions. The microsealant tape creates a watertight seal on several materials such as metal, fiberglass, plastic, and rubber membranes such as EPDM and TPO. I could not find anything on the website regarding fabrics or vinyl, which is what most of the awning material is made of.
Dustin Simpson, of California RV Specialists, posted an article on why not to use EternaBond here.
Most of the information was pertaining to using EternaBond to seal the roof or seams, and that it is not designed to be flexible and will shrink. However, since you are just looking to extend the useful life of your awning and it may not be exposed to the sun that often, it too might work for a short period of time.
Gorilla Tape
According to the website, this product is 3X stronger than traditional duct tape and sticks to just about anything, including vinyl. It has a rugged, weather-resistant shell and withstands moisture, UV rays, and temperature changes—all issues that a tape would encounter on the top of an awning!
I have talked with several RV owners at my seminars that have used the product. They all love it and I have not gotten a negative review yet. Several forums have postings from owners that have used it and it worked. It is available in white, black, silver, and clear—so it should match your awning color.
It looks like the best tape to use is the Gorilla Waterproof Patch & Seal Tape, available on Amazon here.
Other options
There are several companies that have an awning or fabric material repair and patch kit such as Camco, Life Safe, Breliter and others. I also found several posts that owners used a sailboat sail repair kit with great success.
The important issue is the resistance to UV rays, temperature changes especially high heat, humidity, and flexibility. Some products applied to an awning that will be exposed to extreme temperatures, such as California and Arizona, might not perform as well as units in the Midwest, where the sun only shines a few days a year. Well, maybe more than that. I think that your tear or separation is very minor. The Gorilla Tape and even the Flex Tape should help extend the life of your awning.
What have you used?
What tape or other material have you used to repair a tear or separation in your RV’s awning? Did it work? Do you recommend it? Please leave a comment below and share your experience. Thank you!
You might also enjoy this from Dave
My RV’s awning has a few small holes. Can I use Flex Seal tape to patch it?
Dear Dave,
My RV awning on the top edge where it attaches to the gutter is starting to get small holes and cracks from sun deterioration. I’m wondering if I could use seam tape or Flex Seal tape or something else to repair it to make it last longer? It is only the first 2-3 inches that is exposed to the sun when retracted. —Michael, 2018 Winnebago FE32
Dave Solberg is a leading expert in the RV industry and the author of the “RV Handbook.”
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We had a tree limb fall on our awning when camping that put a small tear (about 3″ long). We put the clear gorilla tape on it. It was still holding well when we traded the camper in over 3 years later.
Had a tear near the wall end side edge on our awning. This is one of the highest stress points. Gorilla tape held up fairly well for nearly two years under Texas sun – I did use one of those plastic awning groove mounted light string holders in the awning track and extended the tape to go around the light holder to take up some of the stress. Ultimately, even Gorilla tape started to delaminate. We then replaced the entire fabric portion of the awning.
Did learn a lesson. Don’t use tie downs on an awning mechanism designed to flex in the wind or automatically dump rain water. When you do, it transfers the stress to the back or front edge of the material.
We used Camco awning tape on ours
Its clear and good stuff
Has been 5 years on the awning.
I have used Flex Tape on awnings…it doesn’t look so nifty but does the job if applied correct.
Thank you, Dave! 🙂 We did have a small tear and used Gorilla tape. We have since traded the RV and don’t know how it is doing. It worked while we still owned it. Thanks again, have a great day, safe travels, and safe stays! 🙂