Dometic 8952 series, 915 series, 916 series, 917 series Operating Instructions Manual

RECORD THIS INFORMATION FOR FUTURE
REFERENCE:

FRTA Model Number
FRTA Serial Number
Hardware Model Number
Hardware Serial Number
Date Purchased

Retailer / Qualied Installer

POWER PATIO AWNING

USA

SERVICE OFFICE
Dometic, LLC
2320 Industrial Parkway
Elkhart, IN 46516
574-294-2511

CANADA

Dometic, LLC
46 Zatonski, Unit 3
Brantford, ON N3T 5L8
CANADA
519-720-9578

For Service Center
Assistance Call:

800-544-4881

HARDWARE

8952(X)(X)1.4(X)0(#) BASEMENT
8952(X)(X)2.4(X)0(#) STANDARD

FRTA

FABRIC ROLLER TUBE ASSEMBLY

915(XX)(YY).(X)(X)(X)(#)
916(XX)(YY).(X)(X)(X)(#)

917(XX)(YY).(XX)(X)(#)

OPERATING INSTRUCTIONS

REVISION

Form No. 3312736.022 04/12
(Replaces 3312736.014)
(French 3312739.026)
©2012 Dometic, LLC
LaGrange, IN 46761

HARDWARE

8952(X)(X)(X).4(X)0(#)

FRTA

915(XX)(YY).(X)(X)(X)(#)
916(XX)(YY).(X)(X)(X)(#)

917(XX)(YY).(XX)(X)(#)

Read these instructions carefully. These
instructions MUST stay with this product.

INTRODUCTION

This awning (hereinafter referred to as “awning,” or “product”) is designed and intended for use on RVs with straight sides.
For curved sides, please see the separate Hardware List in the Dealer Service Manual for the appropriate model. Use these
instructions to ensure correct operation of product.

Dometic, LLC reserves the right to modify appearances and specications without notice.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................................................................................... 2

DOCUMENT SYMBOLS ........................................................................................................................................................2

IMPORTANT SAFETY INSTRUCTIONS ................................................................................................................................3

A. Recognize Safety Information ...................................................................................................................................3

B. Understand Signal Words ..........................................................................................................................................3

C. Supplemental Directives ............................................................................................................................................3

D. General Safety Messages .........................................................................................................................................3

PROCEDURE .........................................................................................................................................................................4

A. Open Awning .............................................................................................................................................................4

B. Adjust Awning Pitch (Optional) ..................................................................................................................................4

C. Prepare Awning To Shed Water ................................................................................................................................. 5

D. Close Awning .............................................................................................................................................................6

CLOSE AWNING MANUALLY (POWER FAILURE) ...............................................................................................................7

A. Auxiliary Power Method ............................................................................................................................................. 7

B. Pull Strap Method ...................................................................................................................................................... 8

GENERAL CARE AND USE ...................................................................................................................................................9

A. Precautions ................................................................................................................................................................ 9

B. Hardware Maintenance .............................................................................................................................................9

C. Fabric Maintenance ...................................................................................................................................................9

D. When To Get More Help ............................................................................................................................................9

DOCUMENT SYMBOLS

Indicates additional information that is NOT related to physical injury.

Indicates step-by-step instructions.

2

IMPORTANT SAFETY INSTRUCTIONS

WARNING

CAUTION

NOTICE

WARNING

CAUTION

This manual has safety information and instructions to help
users eliminate or reduce the risk of accidents and injuries.

A. Recognize Safety Information

This is the safety alert symbol. It is used to
alert you to potential physical injury hazards.
Obey all safety messages that follow this
symbol to avoid possible injury or death.

B. Understand Signal Words

A signal word will identify safety messages and
property damage messages, and will indicate the
degree or level of hazard seriousness.

WARNING! indicates a haz­ardous situation that, if NOT avoided, could result
in death or serious injury.

CAUTION! indicates a haz­ardous situation that, if NOT avoided, could result
in minor or moderate injury.

NOTICE. is used to address
practices NOT related to physical injury.

C. Supplemental Directives

Read and follow all safety information and
instructions to avoid possible injury or death.

Read and understand these instructions be­fore installing/using/servicing or performing
maintenance on this product.

Incorrect installation/operation/servicing or
maintaining of this product can lead to seri­ous injury. Follow all instructions.

The installation MUST comply with all ap­plicable local or national codes, including
the latest edition of the following standards:

U.S.A.

● ANSI/NFPA70, National Electrical Code
(NEC)

● ANSI/NFPA 1192, Recreational Vehicles
Code

D. General Safety Messages

FAILURE to obey the follow-

ing warnings could result in death or serious injury:

● This product MUST be installed/serviced by a

qualied service technician.

● Do NOT modify this product in any way. Modica-
tion can be extremely hazardous.

● Frequently examine product for imbalance; and
signs of wear or damage to wiring (if applicable)
and other critical parts. Do NOT use product if
adjustments or repairs are necessary.

Critical parts may include awning fabric,
cables, arm assemblies, etc.

● Disconnect product from power supply (if ap-
plicable), and do NOT operate product when
maintenance (such as window cleaning) is being
carried out in the vicinity.

● Do NOT allow anyone (including children) with
reduced physical, sensory or mental capabilities,
or lack of experience and knowledge to use this
product, unless they have been given supervision
or instruction (concerning use of this product) by
a person responsible for their safety.

● Do NOT allow children to play with product or with

xed controls (if applicable). Keep remote controls

(if applicable) away from children.

● IMPACT OR CRUSH HAZARD. NEVER leave an

open awning unattended. Keep awning stowed

(closed) when snow, heavy rain, wind, and severe
weather conditions are expected.

● IMPACT OR CRUSH HAZARD. Do NOT allow
water to pool, snow to accumulate, or heavy
debris on awning fabric. Do NOT hang or place
anything on awning. The awning will become
unstable, and could bend or collapse.

● FIRE HAZARD. Keep sources of heat and re
(barbecue grills, portable heater, etc.) away from
awning.

CANADA

● CSA C22.1, Parts l & ll, Canadian Electi-
cal Code

● CSA Z240 RV Series, Recreational
Vehicles

FAILURE to obey the follow-

ing caution could result in injury:

● PINCH HAZARD. Maintain a horizontal distance

of at least 16″ between fully open awning and any

permanent object.

Do NOT face awning toward permanent
objects that may interfere with awning op-

3

eration.

PROCEDURE

A. Open Awning

1. CAUTION! PINCH HAZARD. Maintain a hori-

zontal distance of at least 16″ between fully

open awning and any permanent object. Failure
to obey this caution could result in injury.

Press and hold “Extend” button on (xed/wired)

remote awning switch until awning is fully ex­tended. See (FIG. 1).

Awning will automatically stop when but­ton is released no matter how far awning
is extended/retracted.

FIG. 1

Switch Appearance

May Vary

FIG. 2

Wrong Position.
Awning Is Over­Extended With
Valance Rope
Behind Roller
Tube.

Correct Position.
Awning Is
Extended
Correctly With
Valance Rope
At Top Of Roller
Tube.

2. WARNING! IMPACT OR CRUSH HAZARD. Do
NOT allow awning to remain in over-extended

position as this could trap heavy debris, or could
cause water to pool or snow to accumulate on
awning fabric. This weight will cause awning to
become unstable, and bend or collapse. Failure
to obey this warning could result in death or seri­ous injury.

Verify valance is in correct position, and correct
if necessary. If awning is over-extended, press

“Retract” button briey on remote (wired) switch

until valance is in correct position. See (FIG. 1)
& (FIG. 2).

B. Adjust Awning Pitch (Optional)

The FRTA (fabric roller tube assembly) will be lower
than RV’s awning rail when hardware is fully ex­tended. This pitch (slope) will help accommodate
water runoff. If a steaper pitch is desired, the FRTA
must be lowered.

To lower FRTA :

1. With awning fully extended, loosen adjustable
knob on adjustable pitch arm assembly (bottom
arm). See (FIG. 3).

FIG. 3

Front Channel

Adjustable Knob

Adjustable
Pitch Arm
Assembly

4

WARNING

PROCEDURE

2. CAUTION! PINCH HAZARD. Keep CLEAR of
openings around adjustable pitch arm assembly
while adjusting awning pitch (slope). Adjustable
pitch arm assembly (bottom arm) will telescope.
Failure to obey this caution could result in injury.

NOTICE. Do NOT allow corner of entry door
to contact awning fabric. Otherwise, premature
wear or tearing of awning fabric could occur.

Pull top arm assembly (nearest entry door) down
to lower FRTA to desired height. See (FIG. 4).

FIG. 4

Top Arm
Assembly

C. Prepare Awning To Shed Water

FAILURE to obey the follow-

ing warning could result in death or serious injury:

● IMPACT OR CRUSH HAZARD. Do NOT allow
water to pool or snow to accumulate on awning
fabric. The awning will become unstable, and
could bend or collapse. Whenever heavy rain
or snow is expected, place awning in stowed
(closed) position.

Lowering one arm assembly into water shed posi­tion (to create a slope from other arm assembly) will
allow water run-off during light rain.

1. With awning fully extended, verify top arm as­sembly nearest entry door is fully extended, and
that adjustable knob is tightened. See (FIG. 3).

2. WARNING! IMPACT OR CRUSH HAZARD.
NEVER disengage [lift handle -or- adjustable
knob] with water pooled or snow accumulated
on awning fabric. This will cause the awning to
collapse. Failure to obey this warning could re­sult in death or serious injury.

Adjustable
Pitch Arm
Assembly

3. While holding top arm assembly in place, tighten
adjustable knob to set pitch (slope). See (FIG. 3)
& (FIG. 4).

4. WARNING! IMPACT OR CRUSH HAZARD. AL-
WAYS place one side of hardware in water shed
position when adjusting awning pitch (slope).
Otherwise, water could pool on awning fabric.
Failure to obey this warning could result in death
or serious injury.

Repeat steps (1) through (3) for opposite side.

Make sure the top arm assembly that’s far­thest from entry door is lowered more than
the other. See subsection, “C. Prepare
Awning To Shed Water” on page (5).

NOTICE. Do NOT allow corner of entry door
to contact awning fabric. Otherwise, premature
wear or tearing of awning fabric could occur.

Loosen adjustable knob on adjustable pitch arm
assembly (bottom arm) that’s farthest from entry
door. See (FIG. 3).

Lowering the arm assembly that’s closest
to entry door could allow door to contact
fabric.

5

PROCEDURE

3. CAUTION! PINCH HAZARD. Keep CLEAR of
openings around adjustable pitch arm assembly
while adjusting awning pitch (slope). Adjustable
pitch arm assembly (bottom arm) will telescope.
Failure to obey this caution could result in injury.

Pull top arm assembly (farthest from entry door)
down until awning slopes approximately 10°,

or 9″ minimum from other arm assembly. See

(FIG. 4) & (FIG. 5).

This slope requirement is in addition to the
slope from RV’s awning rail.

FIG. 5

10° Slope

(Or 9″ Minimum)

Arm Assembly

Awning Rail

D. Close Awning

1. Loosen adjustable knobs to allow awning to
reset to original position. Then lightly tighten
knobs on both arm assemblies to help ensure
rattle-free travel. See (FIG. 3).

2. WARNING! PINCH HAZARD. Keep CLEAR of
arm assemblies while closing awning. Arm as­semblies will [fold / close] against [back channel
/ RV]. Failure to obey this warning could result in
death or serious injury.

Press and hold “Retract” button on remote
(wired) switch until awning is fully closed. See
(FIG. 1) & (FIG. 6).

Awning will automatically stop when but­ton is released no matter how far awning
is extended/retracted.

FIG. 6

Back Channel

Top Arm
Assembly

4. While holding top arm assembly in place, tighten
adjustable knob to set in place. See (FIG. 3) &
(FIG. 4).

Front Channel

Adjustable
Arm Assembly

Pinch
Points

Pinch
Point

Pinch
Points

6

CLOSE AWNING MANUALLY (POWER FAILURE)

In case of power failure, it may be necessary to close
awning manually. There are two methods to close awning
manually:
Perform procedure under, “A. Auxiliary Power Method” on
page (7) rst. If this fails, perform procedure under, “B.
Pull Strap Method” on page (8).

Rule out simple causes for power failure (RV discon­nected from power, low/discharged battery, ignition
interlock, etc.) before attempting to close awning
manually. If one of these procedures is performed,

the awning will need to be serviced by a qualied

service technician before operating awning again.

A. Auxiliary Power Method

When awning is in open position and 12 Vdc power
has been lost, the awning may be closed by sup­plying auxiliary power (from external source) to aw­ning motor.

A 12 Vdc automobile battery would make an
ideal external power source.

1. Loosen adjustable knobs to allow awning to
reset to original position. Then lightly tighten
knobs on both arm assemblies to help ensure
rattle-free travel. See (FIG. 3).

2. WARNING! ELECTRICAL SHOCK HAZARD.
Disconnect power from awning before access­ing wiring connections. There may be issues
mimicking a power failure with electric current
still present, or power may return unexpectedly.
Failure to obey this warning could result in death
or serious injury.

Disconnect 120 Vdc power from RV, and 12 Vdc
power to awning.

3. Unplug motor connector from hardware connec­tor (located in upper part of RH arm assembly.
See (FIG. 7).

4. Connect 16 Gauge (minimum) wire leads (user
supplied) to motor connector, and tape in place
(with electrical tape).

Do NOT connect to hardware connector.

5. NOTICE. Disconnect power immediately after
awning retracts. Otherwise, damage to awning
motor could occur.

Connect other end of wire leads to the 12 Vdc
external power source, until awning retracts to
its closed position:

a. Connect red wire to positive (+) terminal.
b. Connect black wire to negative (-) terminal.

c. Disconnect wire leads from power source

once awning fully retracts.

The awning will extend if wire leads are
reversed (reversed polarity).

6. If awning does not move (after conrming con­nections and charge on external power source),
the motor may be defective. Proceed to subsec­tion, “B. Pull Strap Method” on page (8) for
alternative method.

FIG. 7

Motor
Connector

Hardware
Connector

7

CLOSE AWNING MANUALLY (POWER FAILURE)

B. Pull Strap Method

Use this procedure if prior method failed to close
awning.

This procedure requires help from at least
one other person.

1. Make sure adjustable knobs are only lightly
tightened on both arm assemblies. See (FIG. 3).

2. Insert pull strap (provided) into utility slot of FRTA,
and slide to center (of FRTA). See (FIG. 8).

FIG. 8

(2) Screws In
Top Casting

5. WARNING! IMPACT OR CRUSH HAZARD. Re-
install screw(s) at top casting BEFORE trans-
porting RV. Otherwise, awning could extend
quickly and unexpectedly during transit. Failure
to obey this warning could result in death or seri­ous injury.

Align holes in RH top casting (where screws
were removed), and reinstall the (2) screws to
secure awning for travel.

3. WARNING! IMPACT OR PINCH HAZARD. Hold

pull strap rmly before removing screw(s) at top

casting. The fabric roller tube is under spring
tension, which will attempt to close the awning
quickly and unexpectedly. Failure to obey this
warning could result in death or serious injury.

While one person grasps pull strap rmly, re­move the (2) screws at top and back of RH top
casting. Save for reinstallation later.

4. WARNING! PINCH HAZARD. Keep CLEAR of
arm assemblies while closing awning. Arm as­semblies will [fold / close] against [back channel
/ RV]. Failure to obey this warning could result in
death or serious injury.

NOTICE. Move pull strap diagonally (to left or
right) as awning rolls up. Otherwise, awning fab­ric may crease or form a bulge, and could per­manently stretch fabric.

Carefully and slowly allow awning to roll up
(close).

8

GENERAL CARE AND USE

NOTICE

A. Precautions

FAILURE to obey the follow-

ing notices could damage product or property.

● Do NOT use insecticides or other sprays near aw-
ning fabric. These could cause stains, and could
adversely affect fabric’s ability to repel water.

● Do NOT expose awning to adverse environmental
conditions, corrosive agents, or other harmful
conditions.

● Do NOT allow corner of entry door to contact aw-
ning fabric. Otherwise, premature wear or tearing
of awning fabric could occur.

● NEVER close awning (for storage) when wet. The
combination of moisture and dirt could result in
mildew, discoloration, and stains.

If it is necessary to roll up awning (tem­porarily) while it’s wet, make sure you roll
it out and let it dry (as soon as conditions
allow) before rolling it up again.

● Do NOT allow dirt, leaves, or other debris to ac-
cumulate on awning, which could cause abrasion
and stains. Mildew could grow on dirt and organic
debris causing permanent discoloration, stains,
and odors to awning fabric.

B. Hardware Maintenance

1. NOTICE. Do NOT use strong chemicals or abra­sives to clean parts, as their protective surfaces
will be damaged.

Clean awning hardware (as needed) with a mild
surface cleaner.

2. NOTICE. Do NOT use silicone sprays near la­bels. This could weaken label’s adhesive bond
to product surfaces.

Apply silicone spray lubricant as needed to keep
the fabric roller tube assembly’s moving parts
operating smoothly.

3. Lubricate all sliding surfaces of arm assemblies

with parafn wax or silicone spray as needed.

C. Fabric Maintenance

Vinyl fabric offers the advantage of durability and
water resistance.

Wrinkling is a normal characteristic of vinyl.
Wrinkling may be more noticeable when re­tracted, and after prolonged periods of stow­age (rolled up). Leave awning open during
warm weather to minimize the wrinkling over
a period of time.

1. To clean:
a. Mix 1/4 cup dish soap and 1/4 cup bleach to

5 gallons of fresh water to use as cleaning
solution.

b. NOTICE. Do NOT use abrasive or corrosive

cleaners, mildew removers, or hard bristle
brushes on awning fabric.

Liberally drench open awning fabric with
cleaning solution.

c. Close awning, let it soak for 5 minutes, then

open awning again.

d. NOTICE. Remove solution completely from

awning fabric. Bleach will degrade awning
fabric if NOT completely rinsed off.

Thoroughly hose off top and bottom of fabric
with clean water.

Repeat as necessary to completely re­move solution.

e. NOTICE. NEVER close awning (for storage)

when wet. The combination of moisture and
dirt could result in mildew, discoloration, and
stains.

Allow awning to dry thoroughly before stow­ing (rolling up).

2. To repair a pinhole, or if a spot of coating akes
off from top layer of vinyl fabric:

a. Apply a very small dab of VLP (Vinyl Liquid

Patch) on tip of cotton swab.

b. Gently roll cotton swab around pinhole. The

VLP will melt the coating (on fabric) and that

will quickly ll in pinhole and blend with all

colored vinyls.

c. Wait until VLP (Dometic P/N 3314216.000)

fully cures before rolling up awning.

D. When To Get More Help

1. If malfunctions occur (that cannot be corrected
by reviewing these instructions), contact a quali­ed service technician.

A slight “travel line” may appear where
door roller (if installed) contacts awning
fabric. This is considered normal and does

9

NOT affect the integrity of awning fabric.