The awning on my motorhome was getting very old. The mechanism is in very good shape, but the fabric was badly deteriorated and mouldy. It was originally good quality but had probably never been replaced. I'll admit that I rarely used it because it was in such bad shape. I didn't have the gumption or time to replace the fabric until now.
The existing awning was a Norseman Sunburst. Norseman is a manufacturing company based in Edmonton Alberta, but they have not made awnings for a very long time and could not advise me about replacement fabric.
A google search found very little information about what replacement fabrics will work with a Norseman awning. I found a couple of obscure references in discussion forums saying that Norseman is compatible with Carefree and A&E (Dometic) awnings.
So I took a chance on the following, which is also compatible with Carefree and A&E.
Solara by Lippert Canvas 15’ - WHBLU-PREPFLEX
This awning is not an exact match - for example:
- It is one-piece rather than the original two-piece fabric design,
- The main fabric and valence have only one bead between them (shared) and I was expecting two beads - one for main awning and another for the valence
- The valence is straight rather than scalloped,
- The sides of the Solera fabric are not stitched and seams are heat-welded rather than the stitching that was on the original canvas. Heat welding produces a stronger bond than sewing, so this is probably an advantage. (reference)
At $495 plus GST, I think I paid more than I might have by ordering online, but I was able to get it quickly from a local company.
There are numerous videos about RV awning replacement on youtube, but I think the following video most closely matches my type of awning, and explains the process very clearly:
I copied the audio transcription of this video, and printed it out so I had step-by-step printed instructions to follow and cross of after each step.
The job took me 4 hours, with occasional help from my wife, but could probably be done in much less time. I was not in a hurry and wanted to get it right without damaging the fabric during installation.
The finished installation looks great! In future I will not put off fabric replacement when it is needed - I have learned that this is a very manageable DIY project.