Solitude 310GK awnings provide no shade. Suggestions?

**BigGuy82** · 07-18-2018, 10:06 PM

Originally Posted by BabyBober

Have you tilted them down. They are adjustable...

Of course, the trick is to actually get to the arms to adjust them. Then once you do, the adjustment is minimal at best. Overall, kind of a waste.

My last coach had an awning the had a strap on it. When the awning was fully extended, you could pull down on the strap while your significant other tightened the adjustment knobs (or you could fabricate a tool out of PVC pipe that allowed you to do this by yourself). This lowered the lead edge of the awning to a very effective angle.

**Jims94vmx** · 07-19-2018, 04:19 AM

I was heading back to our rv to try and beat a storm. Wife was in rv but could not loosen the nobs used to tilt the awning that is on the slide.
I hit the storm driving back. Rained so hard had wipers on fastest speed, roads flooded and people driving 20mph with flashers on.

Got to rv about half hour after it started and rain was indeed running off the awning. If I hadn't tilted it, it would have filled and broke. It comes out almost totally staight otherwise.

**BigGuy82** · 07-19-2018, 10:04 AM

Originally Posted by andrewssteve

Thanks for the advice, Dhuggs. I'm pretty sure I want to do the Carefree EZ Zip, but I don't know if it will fit the extra track in my awning brand and model. That's what I haven't figured out yet. What are the brand and model of the awnings on a 2018 Solitude 310GK. I don't think we were given any manuals. Anyone know the answer?

My Solitude 374TH came with two 14.5' Carefree of Colorado Longitude awnings. Instead of their ZipBlocker shade, you may want to look at the Vista Shade from ShadePro. The Carefree only comes in 10', 15' and 19' widths. Got a 14' awning? Oh well. The ShadePro comes in 8', 10', 13', 15', 17' and 19'. The Carefree comes in only 7', 8' and 9' drops. The ShadePro comes in 6', 7', 8', 9', 10' and now, 11' drops in case you want to angle out a bit (you need to order via phone for the 11'). The Carefree comes in black. The ShadePro comes in black, brown, burgundy, navy and tan. They told me it will fit perfectly in my Carefree Longitude awning. Both block 85% of light - my guess is that it's the same material. I just ordered one (if I like it, I'll get two) in brown, 13' wide, 11' drop. Estimated 7 - 10 day delivery (not bad since they need to make it and ship from SanDiego) for $209.

If you are interested, here's the link:

https://www.shadepro.net/product-cat...awning-shades/

**andrewssteve** · 07-19-2018, 12:36 PM

Thanks for the link Dick. I'll definitely check them out. The Carefree of Colorado people have dreadful customer service. They are completely incapable of answering very specific email questions, their web-site is full of typos and confusing terminology, and they can provide no information about how choose a shade size or how to mount it. So I'm thankful that there's an alternate choice.

-Steve

**BigGuy82** · 07-19-2018, 04:50 PM

Originally Posted by andrewssteve

Thanks for the link Dick. I'll definitely check them out. The Carefree of Colorado people have dreadful customer service. They are completely incapable of answering very specific email questions, their web-site is full of typos and confusing terminology, and they can provide no information about how choose a shade size or how to mount it. So I'm thankful that there's an alternate choice.

-Steve

If you are a stickler for customer service, you'll like the ShadePro folks. I ordered around noon EDST and got a shipping confirmation at 6:45. Ships tomorrow morning via UPS ground. Also, the person I talked to on the phone knew her stuff - answered all my questions, took my order, done.

**carlofig** · 08-07-2018, 01:45 PM

Nice work. Could you send a photo of your black screen attached?

**andrewssteve** · 09-02-2018, 08:56 AM

I went with the ShadePro -- excellent product and service. Perfect fit into the GrandDesign supplied Carefree of Colorado Longitude awning. Makes a huge difference in shading capability.

Renee and I both think it's one of the most useful improvements we've made to our unit.

**BigGuy82** · 09-02-2018, 10:34 AM

Originally Posted by andrewssteve

I went with the ShadePro -- excellent product and service. Perfect fit into the GrandDesign supplied Carefree of Colorado Longitude awning. Makes a huge difference in shading capability.

Renee and I both think it's one of the most useful improvements we've made to our unit.

Yup - we love ours. They actually made a mistake on the first order, sending one that was too long. Told me to keep the wrong one and then sent the correct replacement via 2nd Day Air. Can't beat that kind of service.

**Hisminister7** · 12-09-2019, 02:29 PM

I believe your awnings are from Carefree of Colorado. (At least that’s the pamphlet that came with my 2018 Solitude 310GK-R.)

FYI ... I previously owned a Monaco Diplomat 40PDQ. It had slide awnings from Carefree. They rotted within a couple or three years and the four short awnings had to be replaced by a large dealership in FL. My new slide toppers started coming unsewed in less than two years, so I contacted carefree for replacement. (They cost just short of $2,000 and had a five year guarantee on the Sunbrella fabric.) Carefree informed me that the warranty was void because the Sunbrella hadn’d failed but the stitching thread was what failed. They told me they used 5 year guarantee Sunbrella fabric but sewed it together with one year guarantee thread. Totally disgusted, I took my unraveling toppers to a local canvas shop ... had many options of canvas color and manufacturer, and told them to use 5 year canvas AND thread. Worked GREAT!!! For under 1/4 of the cost.