HYMER AKTIV – Awning Mechanism Repair and Fabric Replacement

by

Awning Mechanism Repair and Fabric Replacement for HYMER AKTIV

The Thule HideAway 1200 awning on your Hymer Aktiv mounts directly to the composite fiberglass-reinforced roof rail system — the same extrusion channel that holds your factory solar panel mounting rails — so every fastener you touch up there also affects roof integrity. Unlike pop-rivet-anchored awnings on cheaper builds, the HideAway 1200 uses M6 machine bolts threading into aluminum backing plates inside the roof rail channel, which means you have solid anchor points but zero margin for cross-threading. The most common failures on this unit are fabric UV degradation at the fold lines (the Aktiv’s dark exterior color radiates significant heat into the stored roll), a stripped or seized travel lock that prevents deployment, and motor brush wear after four to five seasons of use. This guide walks you through a full mechanical inspection, motor swap, and fabric replacement you can complete in a single day with basic hand tools and a helper.

Required Parts

Step-by-Step Instructions

Step 1: Set Up a Safe Work Zone and Assess the Awning Condition

Park on the firmest, most level surface available — the ProMaster 2500 chassis sits high enough that roof-rail work puts you at roughly nine feet above grade when standing on a mid-step ladder. Clip your safety fall-protection strap around the roof rail before leaning over the roofline for any reason; anchor it to the rail on the opposite side of the van from where you’re working. Chock all four wheels. Do not work with the awning partially deployed and unsupported — a suddenly releasing torsion spring inside the roller tube can spin the assembly violently. With the awning fully retracted and the travel lock engaged, visually scan the fabric at the roll: look for chalk-white stress lines across the fold, delamination at the hem pocket, and any tears near the pull strap attachment point. Check both pivot arms for bent aluminum, cracked welds at the elbow joint, and corrosion at the pivot pin. On the Aktiv specifically, road debris thrown by the rear dual wheels frequently impacts the lower pivot arm bracket — look for elongated mounting holes there. Document every issue with photos before you touch a single fastener.

Step 2: Disconnect the Awning Motor and Isolate Electrical Power

The HideAway 1200’s motor sits inside the passenger-side end cap of the roller tube, accessible by removing the end cap’s two Phillips #3 screws and pulling the cap straight off — it friction-fits over a rubber gasket. The motor pigtail is a two-wire 12V lead with a weatherproof Metri-Pack connector; squeeze the tab and pull it straight apart, never pry sideways. Before touching this connector, go inside the Aktiv and locate the 12V distribution panel behind the driver-side rear cabinet — the awning circuit is typically a 15A blade fuse labeled ‘EXT ACCESSORIES’ or ‘AWNING.’ Pull that fuse. Do not simply switch off the Victron MultiPlus-II or the Color Control GX display to kill 12V power — the Victron system’s VE.Bus stays active and the 12V bus remains live from the lithium bank unless you open the main battery disconnect. Confirm the circuit is dead with a multimeter at the Metri-Pack terminals before proceeding. Tape over the van-side connector with electrical tape to prevent accidental contact while you work. Label the motor leads with masking tape: positive is typically the brown wire on European-sourced Thule components.

Step 3: Remove the Roller Tube Assembly from the Roof Mount

The HideAway 1200 roller tube hangs from two cast-aluminum mounting brackets bolted into the Aktiv’s roof rail channel. Each bracket has one M6 bolt on top (accessed from above, through the rail slot) and one M8 bolt on the side face visible from the ladder. Work with a helper: one person supports the roller tube from below while the other removes the fasteners. Use a 10mm socket on the M6 bolts and a 13mm on the M8 side bolts — do not use an impact driver here because the aluminum backing plates inside the composite roof rail can spin freely if the bolt grabs wrong, gouging the channel. Once both side bolts are out, the bracket pivots downward on the upper bolt; have your helper take the full tube weight at this moment because the assembly weighs approximately 18 lbs fully loaded with fabric. Lower the tube to sawhorses at waist height. Before setting it down, note the orientation arrow stamped on the driver-side end cap — the torsion spring pre-load direction matters at reassembly. Photograph the spring pre-load indicator notch position on the end cap so you can return to the same tension setting after the repair.

Step 4: Extract and Replace the Awning Fabric

With the roller tube on sawhorses, locate the fabric’s leading hem rail — a thin aluminum extrusion that slides into a T-slot running the full length of the roller tube. On the HideAway 1200, this T-slot runs along the bottom of the tube; the hem rail slides out from the driver-side end after you remove the driver-side end cap (same two Phillips #3 screws). The hem rail is held at the passenger end by a small set screw — loosen it with a 3mm hex key before trying to slide the rail out, or you’ll buckle the rail. Pull the old fabric off the tube by unrolling it completely onto a clean tarp; this also releases the torsion spring pre-load, which is intentional at this stage. Measure your old fabric’s width now before discarding it — confirm it matches your replacement fabric width, as the Aktiv comes in a standard 10-foot awning width but some Aktiv configurations shipped with an 8-foot variant. Slide the new fabric’s sewn hem pocket over the replacement hem rail, then slide the assembly into the T-slot from the driver-side end. Re-insert the set screw finger-tight. The opposite end of the fabric attaches to a second extrusion at the drop rail — feed the sewn pocket over it and secure its set screws before rolling the fabric back onto the tube.

Step 5: Install the Replacement Motor and Set Torsion Spring Pre-load

The universal replacement motor (Solera/Dometic-compatible) fits the HideAway 1200 tube bore with a 35mm hex drive shaft — confirm the hex profile matches before inserting. Slide the motor into the passenger-side end of the roller tube hex bore until the motor body seats against the tube end, then reinstall the end cap to lock it in place. The torsion spring on the driver-side end cap controls how firmly the awning rolls up and holds tension when deployed. The standard Hymer factory pre-load is four full turns of tension — to set it, hold the tube stationary on the sawhorse, use a 1/2-inch drive breaker bar inserted into the spring anchor slot on the driver-side end cap, and rotate the cap four full turns in the winding direction (clockwise when viewed from the driver’s end on most HideAway units — verify against your photo from Step 3). Lock the cap in position and connect the new motor’s pigtail leads to the Metri-Pack connector: match polarity to your labeled wires from Step 2. Incorrect polarity won’t damage the motor immediately but will deploy in reverse, so double-check before reinstalling the fuse. Reattach the end cap securely.

Step 6: Reinstall the Roller Tube and Test Deployment

Reverse the removal process from Step 3: lift the roller tube to the mounting brackets with your helper, pivot each bracket up to engage the M6 top bolt first (hand-thread it to catch), then snug the M8 side bolt. Torque the M6 bolts to 9 Nm and the M8 bolts to 22 Nm — do not skip torquing because the composite roof rail flex under vibration will back out undertorqued fasteners within a season. Reinstall the 15A fuse at the distribution panel inside the van. Using the telescoping awning rod — extend it to the hook end — engage the travel lock release lever on the passenger-side end cap and manually pull the awning out approximately two feet. This is your first motion test: the fabric should unroll smoothly with even tension across its full width, no billowing in the center, no edge leading. If the driver-side edge leads, your torsion spring is overwound one turn — release and re-set. Run the motor through one full open/close cycle via the switch (typically on the Aktiv’s interior panel above the sliding door). Listen for the motor to cut out cleanly at both travel limits via its built-in limit switches; grinding or runaway travel indicates a limit switch calibration issue requiring a second adjustment cycle per the Thule HideAway motor calibration sequence.

Step 7: Attach Accessories and Perform Final Safety Check

Feed the new UV-resistant pull strap through the grommet eyelet at the center of the drop rail and tie a figure-eight stopper knot on the inside face — the sewn-USA strap’s heavier webbing requires a slightly larger grommet clearance than the OEM strap, so use a grommet punch to open the eyelet one size if needed rather than forcing the strap through. Attach the Camco de-flappers to the drop rail at the outer quarter-points (approximately 18 inches in from each end) — their tension clips snap over the rail extrusion without tools. These are non-negotiable on the Aktiv because the ProMaster’s tall profile creates significant turbulence at the awning when parked broadside to wind, and uncontrolled fabric oscillation fatigues the hem rail attachment faster than UV does. Walk the full perimeter of the awning in deployed position and check: no fabric rubbing on the roof rack solar rails, no contact with the Maxxair fan housing at either roof corner, and the pivot arms lock firmly in the deployed position. Retract the awning, engage the travel lock, and give the roller tube a firm sideways tug by hand — if you feel any movement in the roof-rail mounting brackets, the M6 top bolts need reseating with thread-locker (blue Loctite 243) and retorquing.

← Back to Top 20 Class B RV Models