By Dustin Simpson
Has your awning or slide-out topper rail pulled loose from the wall? This piece of aluminum is mounted to an RV wall before the awning or slide-out topper fabric has been installed. There is a poly cord sewn into the awning fabric that fits a channel in the awning/slide-out topper rail to retain and support the fabric connection to the coach side wall.
These rails take a lot of abuse from travel, vibration, wind and rain.
Examples of loose railings
Here are a couple of examples of loose awning rails. As part of your regular preventive maintenance, make sure to add this to your inspection list. If the rail is loose, you risk having the awning parachute open while in travel.
How to repair a loose railing
If your awning rail has come loose, you’ll need to remove your insert molding in order to check and tighten the screws. Should the screw hole be stripped, then you will need to install a trim-fold rivet. If needed, you can pre-drill 3/16″ additional holes every 6 inches and add some additional fasteners in place.
These are the tools you’ll need for the repairs:
More from Dustin
Read more of Dustin’s articles here.
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RVDT2851
We were always taught to use closed end rivets coated with sealant when repairing exterior shelters similar to TT’s.
Interesting, thank you!