This is not a step-by-step tutorial on how to install new RV awning fabric. That is a subject best watched, not read. I encourage you to visit the land of YouTube and watch a DIY awning fabric installation video by The RV Geeks, AZ Expert, Tough Top Awnings, or an RV owner/influencer. Every awning is a little different. Some have tension springs; some don’t. Some have electric motors; some have ratcheting mechanisms. But replacing the awning fabric is a mid-level DIY project that most RV owners can accomplish in a non-windy afternoon. 

Instead, this is an article best read after you watch a tutorial or two. I want to whisper in your ear a few helpful tips when removing and replacing your RV awning fabric. I’ve replaced all types of awnings, in all kinds of weather, by myself and with a helper. Whether you have a patio awning, door and window awning, or slide-topper canopy, I hope you’ll find some worthwhile nuggets.

Don’t rely on a straight pick or screwdriver to pin the awning spring.

Many RV awnings have torsion roll-up springs inside the aluminum roller tube. These springs assist the awning as it retracts, somewhat like a garage door spring (fun fact: you can always tell when someone wound the spring the wrong way and didn’t realize it, as the awning will unfurl like it’s demon-possessed). Generally, these springs are pinned by inserting a clip, pick, cotter pin, allen key, screwdriver, or something else long and thin through a hole in the tube end cap and through the mounting shaft on the head assembly.