Awning seam

[leightonjthomas]

When my 3 yr warranty expired I thought about extending it but it was so expensive it was worth taking the risk. Did you say you repaired you awning yourself?.
Anything is worth a go. I’ve got vinyl glue but who knows until you try it. I know superglue would work but it goes hard and not flexible and superglue is FINAL. Absolutely no having a second go.

The first awning split was about a foot long and the awning was replaced under warranty. The replacement awning soon started to split very slightly on the outside. My local garage (BMVS) glued it together and clamped it overnight - free of charge. Not sure what glue they used but it’s now held for over three years. I checked with VW about whether it was covered under the extended warranty in case it started to split again. As it’s not covered I’m just keeping an eye on it, especially in very hot weather, and if necessary will try adhesive again if it’s not too bad. I always carry with me the repair kit from the Club Shop. If it doesn’t work I’ll buy the fabric from the Shop for £272.95 and get BMVS to fit it. It seems almost criminal that they’ve been replacing the whole assembly under warranty every time the fabric splits.

 

[Pete Roberts]

Wow you were lucky they did it free for you and if it’s lasted for 3 years it will probably be ok for the long term. Wish you knew what glue they used.
I know this is not a big deal as things go but with this vehicle we have had both the leasure batteries replaced, rear door struts, cooker hinges and corrosion on the roof repaired and front dashboard vents. I just want to get a vehicle without faults especially when you spend so much money, they are not chickenfeed they are very expensive.

 

[westfalia]

Wish you knew what glue they used.

I´d be looking for some kind of glue they use on Pond liners.

 

[Pete Roberts]

Oh well I went round to Sinclairs VW van centre this morning. The guy was very helpful and we have dealt with him before.
I asked him for an honest opinion as to what my chances were and after taking all the details he tried to put a claim document through an it just came back with. Zero % contribution from VW.
It’s just seems bad when you use an item that you put out to protect you from the Sun and the glue melts. I’ve now emailed VW but I think I know what there answer will be.
I’ve also found an adhesive called Stormsure. I’m going to give that a go when we have a fairly sunny less windy day as it need to cure for a good few hours. If it works I will let you all know.

 

[sapto]

I‘ve got a new one today (old one - 2 years old, 2 pieces glued). Big thanks to Sven from Büel Garage next to Rapperswil, Canton St. Gallen Switzerland:
http://www.buel-garage.ch/

 

[GSX1300R]

Actually had a phone called today from VW. They were adamant there would be nothing. No goodwill, no help at all. Thanks Volkswagen.

 

[GSX1300R]

damn predictive text.......

 

[GSX1300R]

I‘ve got a new one today (old one - 2 years old, 2 pieces glued). Big thanks to Sven from Büel Garage next to Rapperswil, Canton St. Gallen Switzerland:
http://www.buel-garage.ch/

Maybe you are treated differently in Switzerland but you say your was only 2 years old so still under warranty. It seems in the UK that once your warranty is out that’s it. No goodwill, nothing.

 

[sapto]

Maybe you are treated differently in Switzerland but you say your was only 2 years old so still under warranty. It seems in the UK that once your warranty is out that’s it. No goodwill, nothing.

I keep my fingers crossed that you guys get an other one soon!

 

[GSX1300R]

Ok this is for anyone who is still looking for an adhesive to fix their out of warranty awning. I used a product called Stormsure. It worked fantastic. The only thing it does take about 10 hours to fully cure. I clamped mine onto a wooden board which straddled the awning arms making sure everything was perfectly flat and straight then clamped the centre part down after applying the adhesive. I left it overnight and sure enough in the morning it had done a perfect job. Fully flexible and heat resistant so it’s not going to come apart again. Hope this helps anyone who has had the same problem.

 

[pjm-84]

The replacement awing that I had under warranty doesn't have a join.

 

[GSX1300R]

That’s what I gather from anyone having a replacement awning or replacement material that all the new ones are one piece not two. It was a mistake by Thule to manufacture them this way in the first place. Now owners without warranty have to put up with what they have got. It seems that Stormsure adhesive certainly works.

 

[marchugo]

It seems that Stormsure adhesive certainly works.

Hi Peter,

Did you use the kit from a tube or the selfadhesive patches from Stormsure?
Maybe you could provide a picture? I’m thinking of a preemtive action to protect the seam against future tearing. Not sure if it is necessary to glue both upside and downside of the fabric.

Regards from Amsterdam,
Marc.

 

[GSX1300R]

I used it straight from the tube. The pack had 3 x 5 gramm tubes.Cost me £5.00. Used a small artists brush to cover both areas. NOT over applying the adhesive as it didnt want it coming out too much after clamping it and only wanted the awning sticking together not the wood and clamps!!!!!!!
There was a 200 mm area that needed attention. Used about half of one tube. Stuck selotape to the areas i wanted to protect from adhesive. I have to say i was extreamly impressed how good it actually was.
It has to be clamped or held together for at least 10 -12 hours to fully cure but once its gone off no way is it coming apart again. And its fully flexible. I will see if I can post a pic from my ipad.

 

[GSX1300R]

 

[GSX1300R]

I decided not to bother going to the extreme of getting off the excessive bits of adhesive as it can’t be seen from the top and would cause more problems than it was worth.

 

[marchugo]

Peter,

Thanks for posting the pics.
In my case the awning is still o.k., so glue is not necessary. I think I'll buy 10 meters of Stormsure tape and apply it in full length at the bottom and the upper side of the seam, as a precaution against tearing.

Regards from Amsterdam,

Marc.

 

[GSX1300R]

Marc.

That may be a good idea but I think that to apply it to the Top you would have to actually take the awning off the vehicle as unless you have very very long arms you wont be able to apply if firmly enough.
When ours first went bad I used Gorilla tape which is supposed to be very strong but it still seemed to come apart in the summer heat and its black which dosent really help. But that was mainly to stop it from coming apart completely.. Maybe Stormsure Tape would do a better job. There are too many potential things that could go wrong with a california you would need to tow a trailer to put all the bits.
I wouldnt be overly concerned this will happen to you but precautions are always good.....

 

[marchugo]

Peter,

Maybe I’m too precautionary. But when we bought the Cali ten years ago, I put several lines of gorilla tape over the inside of the slats from the rolling cupboard doors in the back. Until today no broken slats. Years later I saw that VW does tape the slats in the factory. All those years VW has saved some pennies, the same way as they sqeezed Thule to use the old remains of awning fabric and glue them together...

Regards from Amsterdam,
Marc.

 

[WelshGas]

Peter,

Maybe I’m too precautionary. But when we bought the Cali ten years ago, I put several lines of gorilla tape over the inside of the slats from the rolling cupboard doors in the back. Until today no broken slats. Years later I saw that VW does tape the slats in the factory. All those years VW has saved some pennies, the same way as they sqeezed Thule to use the old remains of awning fabric and glue them together...

Regards from Amsterdam,
Marc.

Sorry don't get that. Must be more labour intensive/expensive to have a seam in the fabric rather than 1 piece. You'll have to ask Thule the reason but I very much doubt the reason is one of cost.

 

[GSX1300R]

They probably had a jig and tool made to do this when they first conceived the idea. It was probably much more expensive to supply it as one piece than in two pieces. I don’t know but it seems that the older ones didn’t suffer as much with the awning coming apart like the ones featured in this thread. So it’s probably only when it started costing Thule many thousands £ € and getting no recompense from VW that they had to change tack and make it in one piece. Who knows how these people think. It’s just left people in a bit of a dilemma as to actually how to repair them. Thule say the seam is “welded” not glued and cannot be repaired.(their own words).
It can be repaired, I’ve done it.

 

[marchugo]

You'll have to ask Thule the reason but I very much doubt the reason is one of cost.

I did ask Thule, but this was the answer:

Hello,

The awning, adapter and spare parts are sold exclusively by VW.
They also do the after sales service.
so please contact your VW dealer.

BEST REGARDS

I had asked them a couple of questions, such as why is there a seam, is it glued or welded, can we change it for a one sheet awning. As you see, simply no answer. VW wasn't helpfull either, because, as they stated, I hadn't bought the awning together with the van, so no service can be given. So be warned, when you buy the awning after buying the car, you're on your own.

Regards from Amsterdam,

Marc.

 

[Andy]

I have bought awning parts in the past from a place in Bournemouth. So at least in the past parts not exclusively from VW.

Parts are listed on roseawenings.co.uk they are in Poole.

Sent from my SM-G950F using Tapatalk

 

[GSX1300R]

I had exactly the same reply from Thule that all the parts must be bought from VW direct, but when asking in the VW dealership regarding buying just the awning material I was told that it wasn’t listed only the complete unit at about £740. So there you go even the manufacturers won’t sell you the parts simply because the item was specific to the California and only supplied to VW and never sold to individual customers.
But of coarse we know that these items ARE available other than through VW unless The California club buys them direct from Thule or from VW. Obviously making a nice little profit. Maybe the parts are sold for an item which is identical to the California Awning but not specifically California. Just a different model number.