Awning blown off

[Gooldmike]

We had our first trip away in our new California Beach this last few days. After our first night in it , an unfortunate accident happened the following morning . Whilst winding in the awning , with my wife holding it at the end , a big gust of wind blew , my wife lost her grip on the awning and it blew up in the air. It then ' ripped' off the vehicle completely. I have learned since that this isn't an uncommon occurrence. However , the very unfortunate outcome of this is that the roof is bent where the awning bracket is . Also the clip that releases the top up roof on that side , now cannot be unclipped due to the fact that the roof nearby has been bent . Obviously the force was significant. I ll ring my insurance to see if I can get the repair costs covered. I wondered, firstly, if anyone has had this experience of this and, secondly , if anyone has any advice regarding how to go about getting the roof repaired

 

[westfalia]

Have you any pictures.

It could be that the roof could be gently pushed back in and you may
need a new pair of awning brackets and the plastic end caps.

 

[Gooldmike]

I don't have any pictures At present but will try in daylight tomorrow . Thanks for your help

 

[Perfectos]

Sorry to hear that GM
You may be able to undo the roof clip by pressing on the outside corner / front, pushing it down whilst someone unclips it inside.
The clamps can be adjusted up or down ( couple of screws) once Un-clipped.
With the roof being aluminium it should be possible for a good panel beater to improve it dramatically.
As Westfalia says photo would help understand how bad the damage is.
It’s amazing what a good panel beater can do.

Did the awning bracket shear or did the fixings and pop rivets snap ?

 

[westfalia]

Spare parts are available for the awning and if it ripped off and the screws
stayed with the brackets then you could still get it back on with some bigger washers.

Brackets are easy to replace so its just a question of how bent the roof is.
Quite a few roofs have been bent and put right easy enough.

 

[Perfectos]

Your profile still says Cali on order

Welcome to the beach club

 

[Perfectos]

Reparing buckled roof

Hi all, We buckled our roof recently (2 month old SE, sob!) and I'd like to hear any success stories in getting repairs done. The damage happened while closing the roof and catching the rear edge on the handlebar of a bike that was stored on the rear-hanging bike rack. It seems minor, but the...

vwcaliforniaclub.com

 

[Calimili]

I had the left arm of the awning broken in two because of heavy rain. After a long wait I finally received last week the spare part (since August). I’ve then found out the bracket holding the Awning was bent and the roof was slightly, not visible but only to be felt by touch, also bent. The awning bracket was bent up and that was not allowing the roof to close properly...
Is this your case as well? Is your roof bent at the front where the waning bracket is located?

 

[Borris]

I sorry about your accident. I've had the odd near miss myself.

I'm afraid I have no experience of this sort of damage however I am certain it can be sorted out so don't be too disheartened.

 

[Gooldmike]

Sorry to hear that GM
You may be able to undo the roof clip by pressing on the outside corner / front, pushing it down whilst someone unclips it inside.
The clamps can be adjusted up or down ( couple of screws) once Un-clipped.
With the roof being aluminium it should be possible for a good panel beater to improve it dramatically.
As Westfalia says photo would help understand how bad the damage is.
It’s amazing what a good panel beater can do.

Did the awning bracket shear or did the fixings and pop rivets snap ?

Thank you for your advice. I'll attach some photos. It's difficult to see. You'll see the rubber around the awning bracket is pulled up . I'm assuming the roof is also bent underneath as the release clip on the inside for the top up , on that side has been bent

 

[Gooldmike]

Thank you for your advice. I'll attach some photos. It's difficult to see. You'll see the rubber around the awning bracket is pulled up . I'm assuming the roof is also bent underneath as the release clip on the inside for the top up , on that side has been bent

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Having looked at the photos I've posted , I don't think they show the bend particularily well. In answer to some of your comments, I've decided not to replace the awning. When I had it, I did think it was the one bit of the whole vehicle that was a bit " flimsy" and fragile. After our experience of it being blown and ripping off , I think I'd rather have a tent at the side of the van for storage etc. We had a Comfortz awning Room for the awning also, just used the once but the California shop have been excellent and offered us a full refund for it subject to inspection.
My main concern is the roof. I'm not at all mechanically minded , so I may have been fearing the worst . I'm taking it to a local garage tomorrow and will see what they think. Thank you all for your very helpful comments

 

[Perfectos]

Can you remove both awning brackets?
I cannot see how the latch inside would be bent as it’s substantial and v strong.
I suspect the awning brackets are holding the roof out of alignment. Which in turn are pushing on the latch, preventing it from being unclipped

Either way the damage brackets need to come off to assess the damage to the roof


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[WelshGas]

Thank you for your advice. I'll attach some photos. It's difficult to see. You'll see the rubber around the awning bracket is pulled up . I'm assuming the roof is also bent underneath as the release clip on the inside for the top up , on that side has been bent

View attachment 51106

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The Roof itself may not be deformed but the bracket definitely is.
First thing is to open the roof and remove the deformed bracket. The roof is being held up by the deformed bracket so get someone to press firmly on the roof over the area above the internal catch and hopfully it wwill open. Then remove bracket and check out the roof.

 

[westfalia]

I would remove the screw -torx t30- in the rail, don't unscrew it completely cos
you need to slide it to the front and remove the square thing that its threaded in.

Once that is removed, bend down the bracket while someone is inside raising the roof,
when the roof is up you can then remove the bracket completely.

How is the rear bracket?

 

[Calimili]

Can you remove both awning brackets?
I cannot see how the latch inside would be bent as it’s substantial and v strong.
I suspect the awning brackets are holding the roof out of alignment. Which in turn are pushing on the latch, preventing it from being unclipped

Either way the damage brackets need to come off to assess the damage to the roof


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The awning bracket are substantial and very strong , but they can be bent, it happened to me too. It could very well be that you can repair, straighten the roof again by using a rubber mallet, gently to push it back in place. After my accident, I was also debating if it is worth repairing the awning. In any case , save the two square nuts that hold the awning bracket to the side rail, and buy two knob screws. You will be then able to use them to attach a tarp at the corner holes to the side rails of the van, and two collapsible poles on the other side. So you'll have a awning at a fraction of the cost that won't cause damage.

 

[MattBW]

New brackets are available, hopefully its just the bracket that's bent.

A few members who warped the roof in the past had good results from a body shop managing to reshape the roof.

 

[Borris]

Don't be too hasty to ditch the Comfortz awning room, it can be very useful. You've had a nasty incident but don't let it put you off.

These awnings are very useful and the Comfortz awning room is a brilliant accessory. I like others, have had the odd incident, like the occasion I had forgotten to lower one leg when rain was forecast. The overnight rain storm filled up the awning until it very nearly buckled. On another occasion I experienced the same issue as your's but in my case I was able to hang onto it, stopping it from taking off.

The awning is like a large sail so needs to be tied down on ALL occasions. Even the slightest breeze can make it frisky and any sudden gust can, well you know the rest. The shop sells these kits. You just need to be mindful of the weather when you use it and always take the necessary precautions. IMO they should never be left out when the weather's iffy and if you aren't with the vehicle. Also if medium or high winds are forecast then bring it in. If it's going to rain then drop one corner so as not to allow the water to collect on the awning.

As for the awning room, it is a very useful bit of kit especially for touring. It can be put up and down quickly and provides a good porch, wash area, somewhere to cook, eat and keep your wet clothes in.

So don't be put off, KBO as Winston use to say.

 

[Gooldmike]

Thank you all for your very helpful comments. I'll see if I can remove the awning brackets ( rear one is bent/damaged also) by the methods suggested.
Thanks ' Calimili' . With regard to the awning issue, i presume what you mean is to buy a detachable awning tarp? If so, are there specific ones compatible for a VW California ?
I did see someone with a very good pop up tent , pitched next to the van with 2 doors , one entrance door and another door in front of the side sliding door , so could use the tent for storage, and cooking etc if necessary. The big advantage was that they were just able to drive off in the van for the day and leave their tent on the site when gone out for the day. I meant to ask them what tent it was but ,unfortunately our accident happened and was the last thing on my mind ! I wonder if anyone here could recommend any such tents ?

 

[2into1]

Thank you all for your very helpful comments. I'll see if I can remove the awning brackets ( rear one is bent/damaged also) by the methods suggested.
Thanks ' Calimili' . With regard to the awning issue, i presume what you mean is to buy a detachable awning tarp? If so, are there specific ones compatible for a VW California ?
I did see someone with a very good pop up tent , pitched next to the van with 2 doors , one entrance door and another door in front of the side sliding door , so could use the tent for storage, and cooking etc if necessary. The big advantage was that they were just able to drive off in the van for the day and leave their tent on the site when gone out for the day. I meant to ask them what tent it was but ,unfortunately our accident happened and was the last thing on my mind ! I wonder if anyone here could recommend any such tents ?

If it was a large tent (not touching the van) AND a pop up (springs up out of the bag) then it was probably the discontinued and much sought after Quecha Base range from Decathlon.
There are similar blow up ones, but folks hanker after the pop up version (which I think lacked a ground sheet?).
I think the club shop does a tarp and pole kit now.

 

[Calimili]

Yes a normal tarp, 2,5m wide with rings at the corners in order to quickly attach with the knob-screw to the van.
For longer stays I use, like many here, an inflatable tent Quechua Air base seconds:

 

[Calimili]

On this one there is a ground sheet attached with velcro that can be removed. I went the opposite way and laid a sheet under the tent ground sheet, and a tent carpet on top of the ground sheet for comfort.

 

[CampervanBits]

If you need any help, please give us a call at the shop 01246 912 712

 

[CALI FATE]

i managed to close the roof on a bike handlebar that was in the way on the rack - the roof is made of aluminium and therefore easily dinted / dented - but the good news is its quite easy to bend it back into shape.

 

[Gooldmike]

Just a final update on my awning accident. The good news is that the roof after all , wasn't bent. As one of you had suggested , it was the bent awning bracket that was distorting the roof, and consequently the bracket to which the top up release clip was attached , was also being distorted. Removing the awning brackets has sorted everything and the roof is fine.Thank you all for your very helpful comments and advice.
Ive decided not to replace the awning. Im going to look at at purchasing a drive away awning instead.
I still have the damaged awning and bent brackets. One of the awning legs is twisted . I wondered if it would be of any value to someone and wondered if I should put it on eBay .I suppose someone might be interested and particularly someone with mechanical know how ??
Im now looking at possible drive away awnings and wondered if anyone had any experience /advice on these ?

 

[Nick.C]

Just a final update on my awning accident. The good news is that the roof after all , wasn't bent. As one of you had suggested , it was the bent awning bracket that was distorting the roof, and consequently the bracket to which the top up release clip was attached , was also being distorted. Removing the awning brackets has sorted everything and the roof is fine.Thank you all for your very helpful comments and advice.
Ive decided not to replace the awning. Im going to look at at purchasing a drive away awning instead.
I still have the damaged awning and bent brackets. One of the awning legs is twisted . I wondered if it would be of any value to someone and wondered if I should put it on eBay .I suppose someone might be interested and particularly someone with mechanical know how ??
Im now looking at possible drive away awnings and wondered if anyone had any experience /advice on these ?

You will find it a lot easier to attach a driveaway awning if you keep the roll out awning as well. it is much easier to get the tunnel link to the driveway awning nice and tight without being too precise on parking the van. It is also easier to detach if you roll out the awning a little before removing the joining strip.