Sailing the Mountain Aire!

[TJ&LadyDi]

We received a call from Girard’s Director of Sales and Service, Johnnie Mathiasen, this morning and had a very productive conversation with him. Girard is stepping up and taking ownership of this issue.

Nothing heard yet from Newmar, but Girard has already talked to Erica Miller at Newmar this morning and confirmed our contact with her last Thursday regarding the unexpected awning deployment. I am impressed with Girard’s quick response and indication that they will make things right.

During my conversation with Girard this morning, Johnnie seemed genuinely unaware that there have been several other reported cases of unexpected awning deployments and indicated that he would like to know of any other documented cases. You can contact him at [email protected].

TJ

 

[Neal]

For any Newmar owners that have had an unintended deployment of your Girard awning, please share your story here so we can raise awareness. I know of several here that have had their Girards deploy while parked, in garages, in service centers, etc. It's important to document this and I offer to start here so we can help collect the data.

 

[NWIP]

For any Newmar owners that have had an unintended deployment of your Girard awning, please share your story here so we can raise awareness. I know of several here that have had their Girards deploy while parked, in garages, in service centers, etc. It's important to document this and I offer to start here so we can help collect the data.

In addition to what I posted in #6, I was at Daytona Road Race in February this year. There are lots of different type of RVs around and we had our awnings stowed, but plugged in as we had been using them periodically as the wind allowed. Our front awning deployed uncommanded as we were sitting next door at another coach.
Don’t know the caused the deployment but lots of RF signals in the area.

 

[Neemer]

I learned something interesting today about mine. There is an ignition lockout, but it doesn’t function as I thought it would.

I started the engine and placed it in gear with my foot on the brake. I reached up and hit the “out” button on the awning control. Nothing happened. I sat there for a minute to see if anything would happen with time, and nothing did.

I then placed the engine in neutral and engaged the parking brake. I thought I would go outside and check things out. As I was exiting the coach, I noticed the awnings were deploying. Holy crap, I’m glad I was clear of my port.

I got back in the coach and released the parking brake. The awnings retracted.

So, it appears that at least on mine, the parking brake is the boss. I went through Newmar’s documentation and found nothing at all about how this interlock works.

 

[TJ&LadyDi]

That’s very interesting. In our case, the awning stayed extended even when the parking brake was applied (the engine was still running as well). It retracted when I pushed the “IN” button on the remote, however.

The good news on our situation, however, is that Girard is providing a new awning and electronics, and has us set up at Premier RV Service in Junction City, Oregon, to have the new equipment installed. Girard is treating is very well.

I am assured that Premier RV Service will go through the entire system (from ignition interlock on up) to make sure everything is working correctly. Girard makes awnings to order, so needs a bit of lead time. We have an appointment in late June to have the work done on our coach.

And, we have an appointment just prior to that at RV Glass Solutions in Coburg, Oregon, (just a few miles away from Premier RV Service) to have the windshield replaced.

TJ

 

[Neal]

TJ,

I'm glad they are taking great care of you. I'm still deeply concerned about all the other Newmar coaches out there with Girards that are at risk and motorists that are at risk as a result. I hope this matter will be addressed across all affected owners via recall or some form of inspection and correction to ensure safety for all.

 

[J&JD]

I learned something interesting today about mine. There is an ignition lockout, but it doesn’t function as I thought it would.

I started the engine and placed it in gear with my foot on the brake. I reached up and hit the “out” button on the awning control. Nothing happened. I sat there for a minute to see if anything would happen with time, and nothing did.

I then placed the engine in neutral and engaged the parking brake. I thought I would go outside and check things out. As I was exiting the coach, I noticed the awnings were deploying. Holy crap, I’m glad I was clear of my port.

I got back in the coach and released the parking brake. The awnings retracted.

So, it appears that at least on mine, the parking brake is the boss. I went through Newmar’s documentation and found nothing at all about how this interlock works.

That’s very interesting. In our case, the awning stayed extended even when the parking brake was applied (the engine was still running as well). It retracted when I pushed the “IN” button on the remote, however.

The good news on our situation, however, is that Girard is providing a new awning and electronics, and has us set up at Premier RV Service in Junction City, Oregon, to have the new equipment installed. Girard is treating is very well.

I am assured that Premier RV Service will go through the entire system (from ignition interlock on up) to make sure everything is working correctly. Girard makes awnings to order, so needs a bit of lead time. We have an appointment in late June to have the work done on our coach.

And, we have an appointment just prior to that at RV Glass Solutions in Coburg, Oregon, (just a few miles away from Premier RV Service) to have the windshield replaced.

TJ

We have dealt with Premier in the past. They treated us very well. They replaced a radiator in our previous coach. I’m confident they will resolve your issue. Looking forward to your feedback.

 

[sheridany]

 

[TJ&LadyDi]

Thanks. @sheridany, for posting that video. It is great to be able to put faces to the people I talked to yesterday about our pending awning replacement; Louie and Gary. I was impressed by both of them and we’re looking forward to meeting them.

That’s an incredible facility they have there. And, lots of history associated with it.

TJ

 

[Gizmo]

My 2017 Ventana LE (Less Expensive) has a switch that turns the awning on and off separate from the in and out switch and that's on our checklist to check before leaving.