Love my Duct Tape

As a new RVer,  I'm learning something new almost every day.   Easier ways to do things, getting organized in the basement as well as inside.    I’m also learning about the operation of my different systems.

The other day, I learned how to deploy my awning.  I had started it (with my instruction sheet in hand), and my neighbor came over and helped/showed me how to do it.  OK, that wasn't as bad as I thought it would be.   Today, I wanted to wind it up because it was gusty, and there's no use beating it up when I knew I wouldn't be home.  So, again with my instruction sheet, I went out and was doing fine until my wind-up strap came loose. 

The strap was stitched to a rubbery length of material that went into a slot so it could slide from side to side on the rollup tube.  The stitching had frayed, a ridiculous problem, since the awning was new just before I bought my 5th wheel trailer.  We all know that duct tape cures lots of problems.  I looped the strap over the rubbery piece, duct taped it to itself and slid the rubbery piece into the slot in the windup tube. 

 Simple fix, right?   Yep, love that duct tape, I have multiple rolls of it.  Years ago, a partner and I had a class C that we used for weekend camping.  We were coming home late one night and the radiator hose blew in multiple places.  Nothing was open, deserted stretch of road.  I jokingly said that we had a brand new roll of duct tape.  Quite a while later, most of that tape was wrapped around the radiator hose and it got us home - I really should have taken pictures.  Of course, that's no fix for poor maintenance - which was a major problem with that partner........  and we won't go any further on that.

 My point today is to have all your tools together for a project.  As I was winding up the awning, I realized that I had forgotten to get out the long wand used to unroll the awning and then to roll it back up again.   It’s the first thing you use to deploy it and the last thing you use to stow it.  I stood there, realizing I would have to roll it all out again, call for help or somehow deal with it.  Luckily, I was able to climb up on the picnic table and get it rolled in the rest of the way.   I bet I’m gonna remember that wand for the next time I deal with the awning.