| Oops on the Zip Dee Awning [message #255586] |
Wed, 16 July 2014 11:26  |
Bob S.
Messages: 143
Registered: October 2012
Location: Rapid City, SD
Karma: 2
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Senior Member |
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I recently finished the interior remodel on my 78 Royale and took it on it's first trip. We took a 5 day excursion to music festival and everything worked perfectly. However at the end our stay I was getting ready to head home and started to put down the awning. As the awning came down I heard a gasp from the crowd of people watching me and then a very recognizable sound of fabric tearing. Evidently I was in the middle of a "Dumb A--" attack and forgot to shut the entry door before proceeding with the task at hand. Now I have a nice "L" shaped tear in the middle of my vintage awning and a huge hole in my pride.
When I got home I discovered that there is not a Zip Dee awning dealer in my home town so I called the factory to get a replacement fabric ordered. I spoke with a lady that seemed to have many years of experience in dealing with similar situations and told me what measurements I would need. She asked how soon I needed to use the awning. When I responded that I needed it in two weeks she said that she would send me patch and told me to adhere it to the awning with silicone caulk and it would hold until I get the new fabric installed. At that point she asked me if there is a Mrs. Schilling. When I responded yes, she promptly gave me the next set of instructions. This is a quote from the customer service rep "Well then don't do anything until you ask the Mrs. which side of the awning she wants the patch on, because if you don't ask her, you'll do it wrong". After a good chuckle she got my address and would not take my credit card for payment. She said this was on the house and asked me if I would like any fabric swatches to look at. She then told me that after I placed my order, I should have my new awning fabric in 7 to 10 days. WOW
The only point to my story is that the quality of friendly customer service I received from Zip Dee has been exceptional, and she made my expensive, stupid mistake almost enjoyable. I am beginning to believe that this type of customer service is common among the folks that help us take care of our GMC's. Kudos to Zip Dee
Bob and Pam Schilling
Rapid City, SD
"78 Royale
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| Re: Oops on the Zip Dee Awning [message #255593 is a reply to message #255586] |
Wed, 16 July 2014 12:25  |
roy1
Messages: 2126
Registered: July 2004
Location: Minden nevada
Karma: 6
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Senior Member |
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Bob you should have a roller mounted at the top outside corner of the door so the rather thin end of the door doesn't contact the awning fabric??
Roy Keen
Minden,NV
76 X Glenbrook
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| Re: [GMCnet] Oops on the Zip Dee Awning [message #255621 is a reply to message #255586] |
Wed, 16 July 2014 15:45 |
emerystora
Messages: 4442
Registered: January 2004
Karma: 13
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Senior Member |
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If you take it to a local awning shop they will be able to patch it and also put a piece of fabric on the inside in an arc where the corner of the door would open. Then put an awning protector roomer on the corner of the door. This will protect the awning and allow the door to open even if the awning is a little low.
Years ago I removed the aluminum strip that holds tha awning to the roof and reversed it do that the groove for the awning is higher than the screw holes. This gave more clearance. The screws fit fine and I didn't have to drill any more.
Emery Stora
> On Jul 16, 2014, at 10:26 AM, Bob Schilling wrote:
>
> I recently finished the interior remodel on my 78 Royale and took it on it's first trip. We took a 5 day excursion to music festival and everything
> worked perfectly. However at the end our stay I was getting ready to head home and started to put down the awning. As the awning came down I heard a
> gasp from the crowd of people watching me and then a very recognizable sound of fabric tearing. Evidently I was in the middle of a "Dumb A--" attack
> and forgot to shut the entry door before proceeding with the task at hand. Now I have a nice "L" shaped tear in the middle of my vintage awning and a
> huge hole in my pride.
>
> When I got home I discovered that there is not a Zip Dee awning dealer in my home town so I called the factory to get a replacement fabric ordered. I
> spoke with a lady that seemed to have many years of experience in dealing with similar situations and told me what measurements I would need. She
> asked how soon I needed to use the awning. When I responded that I needed it in two weeks she said that she would send me patch and told me to adhere
> it to the awning with silicone caulk and it would hold until I get the new fabric installed. At that point she asked me if there is a Mrs. Schilling.
> When I responded yes, she promptly gave me the next set of instructions. This is a quote from the customer service rep "Well then don't do anything
> until you ask the Mrs. which side of the awning she wants the patch on, because if you don't ask her, you'll do it wrong". After a good chuckle she
> got my address and would not take my credit card for payment. She said this was on the house and asked me if I would like any fabric swatches to look
> at. She then told me that after I placed my order, I should have my new awning fabric in 7 to 10 days. WOW
>
> The only point to my story is that the quality of friendly customer service I received from Zip Dee has been exceptional, and she made my expensive,
> stupid mistake almost enjoyable. I am beginning to believe that this type of customer service is common among the folks that help us take care of our
> GMC's. Kudos to Zip Dee
> --
> Bob and Pam Schilling
> Rapid City, SD
> "78 Royale
>
> _______________________________________________
> GMCnet mailing list
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| Re: [GMCnet] Oops on the Zip Dee Awning [message #255626 is a reply to message #255621] |
Wed, 16 July 2014 16:13 |
glenn2726
Messages: 234
Registered: June 2014
Location: Topeka, Kansas
Karma: 2
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Senior Member |
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Sounds like very nice company to do business with. My coach came with a new awning in the box that hadn't been installed by the PO...like a lot of other parts..lol..had an experience once where the wife came out the door of my Class C as I was rolling out the awning and caught it just barely with the sharp corner of the door...didn't puncture but scratched it.. could have been worse, I then put one of the rollers on the corner of the door not wanting a repeat of that...Good Luck, Glenn
Glenn W
Topeka, KS
1974 GMC 26 ft. Color:Camel Interior:Canyon Land
Side Bath, Rear Sitting Area
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| Re: [GMCnet] Oops on the Zip Dee Awning [message #255627 is a reply to message #255626] |
Wed, 16 July 2014 16:18 |
midlf
Messages: 2212
Registered: July 2007
Location: SE Wisc. (Palmyra)
Karma: 1
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Senior Member |
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glenn2726 wrote on Wed, 16 July 2014 16:13 My coach came with a new awning in the box that hadn't been installed by the PO...like a lot of other parts..lol..
Yeah ours came with a bunch of spare parts, not. It came with a bunch of repair parts that hadn't been installed yet.
Steve Southworth
1974 Glacier TZE064V100150 (for workin on)
1975 Transmode TZE365V100394 (parts & spares)
Palmyra WI
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| Re: Oops on the Zip Dee Awning [message #255630 is a reply to message #255586] |
Wed, 16 July 2014 16:26 |
Bob S.
Messages: 143
Registered: October 2012
Location: Rapid City, SD
Karma: 2
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Senior Member |
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Thanks for all the good advise. I had a roller on the door but it must have been old and brittle and broke off under the weight of the awning. I also checked with the awning place here and they don't do repairs like that. I'm not sure exactly what they do??? I am going to try and install the new fabric myself, once I receive it, so I may be back on the forum looking for advice and instructions.
Bob and Pam Schilling
Rapid City, SD
"78 Royale
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| Re: Oops on the Zip Dee Awning [message #255645 is a reply to message #255630] |
Wed, 16 July 2014 19:06 |
lotsofspareparts
Messages: 726
Registered: May 2014
Location: Arlington, WA
Karma: -9
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Senior Member |
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Bob, I have an original Zip Dee Awning manual for the GMC. Goes through the entire installation and winding of the torsion spring.
The only problem is I don't know how to turn it into a PDF so everyone can see it.
I would be more than happy to photocopy it and mail it to you.
Jared
edit, I also had a great customer service experience with Zip Dee, one of my stainless adjusting rods was frozen by electrolosis inside of the aluminum tube and the service tech on the phone was able to talk me through how to get it out, cleaned up, and it is working again!!
Jared & Tina Lazaron + 14yr old Daughter.....
77 Eleganza II "Recherché".....
73 Canyon Lands 230 "Elephant"
[Updated on: Wed, 16 July 2014 19:10] Report message to a moderator |
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| Re: Oops on the Zip Dee Awning [message #255669 is a reply to message #255586] |
Wed, 16 July 2014 21:59 |
glenn2726
Messages: 234
Registered: June 2014
Location: Topeka, Kansas
Karma: 2
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Senior Member |
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In the past when I've replaced an awning with a helper I just remove the arms from the coach and slide the old awning off the coach after removing the screws in the awning rail. Then remove the old awning and slide the new awning on the roller, roll it back up and then slide it back into the coach rail. This way it still has it's tension on it so no adjustment is needed. Sometimes you need a third hand to start the awning in the rail and help guide it in so it doesn't get in a bind when pulling it into the rail. Once it is in the rail put the arms back in position and unroll and roll up the awning a few times to center on the roller and then put you screws in the ends of the awning in the rail on the coach to keep it in place. Sounds harder than it is...also if the awning roller tube doesn't have a slot to let you install the awning into the end of it you can drill it out and file it down so it is smooth and won't cut your new awning, otherwise you have to take the end of the roller tube off once you take the tension off the roller tube then re rivet the end back on and then tension the roller tube again. Be careful as there is a lot of energy stored in the awning spring. Good luck, Glenn
Glenn W
Topeka, KS
1974 GMC 26 ft. Color:Camel Interior:Canyon Land
Side Bath, Rear Sitting Area
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| Re: [GMCnet] Oops on the Zip Dee Awning [message #255678 is a reply to message #255669] |
Wed, 16 July 2014 23:36 |
jimk
Messages: 6734
Registered: July 2006
Location: Belmont, CA
Karma: 9
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Senior Member |
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You must have spoken to Linda, she has been there a long time.
She can be rather abrasive with dealers.
I prefer Randy as he is easier to deal.
They like direct customers as they do not need to discount.
We have access to all 3 awning manufactures, but we feel ZipDee is the best
one and looks good.
We stock several replacement parts and ship them out of our inventory.
On Wed, Jul 16, 2014 at 7:59 PM, Glenn Whitt wrote:
> In the past when I've replaced an awning with a helper I just remove the
> arms from the coach and slide the old awning off the coach after removing
> the
> screws in the awning rail. Then remove the old awning and slide the new
> awning on the roller, roll it back up and then slide it back into the coach
> rail. This way it still has it's tension on it so no adjustment is needed.
> Sometimes you need a third hand to start the awning in the rail and help
> guide it in so it doesn't get in a bind when pulling it into the rail.
> Once it is in the rail put the arms back in position and unroll and roll up
> the awning a few times to center on the roller and then put you screws in
> the ends of the awning in the rail on the coach to keep it in place. Sounds
> harder than it is...also if the awning roller tube doesn't have a slot to
> let you install the awning into the end of it you can drill it out and file
> it down so it is smooth and won't cut your new awning, otherwise you have
> to take the end of the roller tube off once you take the tension off the
> roller tube then re rivet the end back on and then tension the roller tube
> again. Be careful as there is a lot of energy stored in the awning spring.
> Good luck, Glenn
> --
> Glenn W
> Topeka, KS
> 1974 GMC 26 ft. Color:Camel Interior:Canyon Land
> Side Bath, Rear Sitting Area
> _______________________________________________
> GMCnet mailing list
> Unsubscribe or Change List Options:
> http://temp.gmcnet.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/gmclist
>
--
Jim Kanomata
Applied/GMC, Fremont,CA
jimk@appliedairfilters.com
http://www.appliedgmc.com
1-800-752-7502
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Jim Kanomata
Applied/GMC
jimk@appliedairfilters.com
www.appliedgmc.com
1-800-752-7502
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| Re: Oops on the Zip Dee Awning [message #255692 is a reply to message #255586] |
Thu, 17 July 2014 09:09 |
Bob S.
Messages: 143
Registered: October 2012
Location: Rapid City, SD
Karma: 2
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Senior Member |
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Thanks to everyone for all the great advice. I was going to pay a shop to do it, but by the time I can get an appointment, the summer will be over. I decided to do it myself and after getting this advice and help, I feel like it was a wise decision. Once again, thanks to all.
Bob and Pam Schilling
Rapid City, SD
"78 Royale
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