I was looking at a 2013 Newell that is for sale. The pictures of the awnings show an awning I have never seen. It appears they are Girard awnings that come out to cover the slides and then drop down at an angle for shade. Never seen these before. Looks like a great idea. Went to Girard web site, but didn't see them. Any one seen these?
Steve, I've seen those.... The problem is newer newells don't have slide covers and all kinds of crap and moisture comes inside. Unless you climb up top and clean and dry before bringing them in....Or you can't leave in the rain???? I cleaned them often or should I say every time we moved....Full awning would have been nice...even one over the front entrance......
Matt,
Since I've never seen this style in person, I'm not sure how they work. Can you pull in the shade awning without bringing in the slide awning? My Girard says that they are not designed for use in the rain. Are these two stage awnings ok to use in the rain? Or at least leave the slide part out?
Thanks for any info...................
Only time I've seen them (at newell) and they were out.... didn't ask...knew I would never own one! I would think thats how and why they were designed. To protect slides....
Also Steve, are you doing work at the Huff house?
The new Girard is articulated to go out over the passenger side slides and then angle downward to give better shade. The older one extends 9' and this one extends over 11'. I forget the model #'s.
It looks like a great product. It definitely angles downward at a much steeper angle which will provide more shade--especially on a tall coach where the awnings are mounted at roof level.
I was parked beside a Newell in Tucson this summer with that awning setup. There were two on the passenger side, those I could see, and I think one or two on the driver's side as well. The couple left for the day and left the awnings out. A surprise storm arrived and I tried to get into their coach to retract the awnings, but it was locked. When it looked like it was going to have a bad ending the rear awning retracted half way, leaving the slideout covered, and the front awning retraced entirely before any damage was done. The owner was very concerned when they arrived later that evening and vowed never to leave them out while they were away again.
Reviving this thread as I am getting tired of fighting our slides and worrying constantly about water getting inside due to the slides being uncovered. I called Newell and they said they could add the short slide covers but did not recommend because people forgot about the awning when pulling in the slide and rolled up the awning into the slide bladder destroying it. Also some people would forgot to unlatch the awning before putting out the slide and rip the awning off the roof... There has to be a decent answer to this problem. The articulating awnings shown look very complicated (read: breakable) and are more than what I want/need.
We were thinking of something closer to duct tape, baling wire and canvas...
All of that is true Adrian, plus they will flap in the wind. Not bad in the front but can be a bit noisy in the bedroom.
One thing though if you forget to unlatch the awning you'll probably damage the siding on the coach and possibly break the awning arm.
If you're still getting water intrusion at the top of the slide when it is open try this: at night shine a light from inside above the valence and see if you can see light outside. There is a hanger bar in the middle of the slide on the inside behind the valence that may not be engaging. When the slide extends just before fully extended you should see the valence rise up slightly. If it does then the hanger bar is engaging properly. If not, then Newell can adjust it.
Thanks Forest! Did not know that about the middle section hanger - if I remove the valance can I see it better? I thought about pulling off the valance and running the slide in/out to see if it was drooping...