LEISURE TRAVEL VANS UNITY – Awning Mechanism Repair and Fabric Replacement

by

Awning Mechanism Repair and Fabric Replacement for LEISURE TRAVEL VANS UNITY

The Fiamma F45s 260 powered awning on the LTV Unity mounts to the upper frame rail directly above the passenger sliding door, sandwiched between the fiberglass roof cap and the van’s structural body rail — a location that makes it surprisingly accessible but demands careful technique when removing the cassette housing. Leisure Travel Vans uses a factory-wired 12V power lead routed along the passenger-side ceiling to drive the awning motor, so any electrical work must be done with your house battery disconnect switched off at the command center panel. The F45s is a premium cassette awning, meaning the fabric, arms, and roller tube are all self-contained in an aluminum housing — this is good news because you can replace fabric or the motor without removing the entire unit from the van if you work methodically. This guide covers full fabric replacement, motor swap, and arm/mechanism service so you can handle the most common F45s failures right in a campground or your driveway.

Required Parts

Step-by-Step Instructions

Step 1: Establish a Safe Work Zone and Disconnect Power

Before touching the awning, go to the command center panel on the driver side of the Unity’s interior and switch the main house battery disconnect to OFF. If your van has the lithium upgrade package, there is a secondary BMS disconnect on the battery bank itself — turn that off too. The F45s motor draws 12V DC directly from the house system, and a live wire near an aluminum cassette housing is a shock and short-circuit risk. Next, set up your ladder on level ground on the passenger side. The F45s cassette sits at roughly 8–9 feet off the ground on the Unity’s Sprinter 3500 platform — that’s a meaningful fall height. Clip your safety fall-protection strap to a secure anchor point such as the roof rack or a roof-mounted solar bracket before stepping above the third rung. Have a second person stabilize the ladder throughout. Lay a moving blanket or foam mat on the ground below the work area to protect the cassette housing if a component slips during removal. Keep your telescoping awning rod nearby — it will serve as a third hand when controlling the fabric roll during replacement.

Step 2: Extend the Awning Manually and Inspect the Mechanism

With power disconnected, you’ll extend the F45s manually to inspect it. Locate the manual override slot on the right end cap of the cassette — it’s a 7mm hex socket recessed about an inch inside the cap. Insert a 7mm hex key or the Fiamma crank tool if you have one and rotate clockwise slowly to unroll the fabric. Extend the awning to its full 260cm deployment. As it unrolls, watch the arms: both pivot arms should travel smoothly and lock at roughly 45 degrees in the standard position. A grinding sensation or uneven extension usually means a pivot bushing has worn or the arm’s gas strut has lost pressure. Inspect the roller tube for flat spots or bowing — a bowed tube causes the fabric to track off-center and wrinkle permanently on one side. Check the lead rail (the outermost aluminum rail the fabric attaches to) for bent sections or cracked end caps, both common after a wind event. Run your hand along the full fabric length looking for UV-degraded zones, tears, mold spots, or delamination of the acrylic weave. Photograph any damage before proceeding — you’ll reference these photos when ordering your replacement fabric width.

Step 3: Remove the Cassette End Caps and Extract the Roller Tube

The Fiamma F45s cassette has two aluminum end caps secured by T25 Torx screws — three per cap on most 260 models. Remove all six screws and set them in a magnetic tray so none roll off the ladder. The caps are snug but should slide off with gentle lateral pressure; don’t pry them because the aluminum flanges crack easily. With both caps off, you’ll see the roller tube spanning the full cassette width. The motor is integrated into the right end of the roller tube and is secured by a small retaining clip — pop it with a flathead screwdriver. Support the left end of the tube with one hand or have your helper hold it; the tube is heavier than it looks because of the motor weight bias on one side. Slide the tube out to the right (motor end first) while keeping it level. If you’re only replacing fabric, rest the tube across two sawhorses at a comfortable working height. If you’re swapping the motor — commonly needed when the F45s runs slow, reverses erratically, or won’t stop at end limits — set the tube aside and prepare your universal replacement motor, which should match the Solera/Dometic spline and shaft diameter of the Fiamma OEM unit.

Step 4: Replace the Awning Motor (Skip If Motor Is Good)

The OEM Fiamma motor is a 12V DC tubular unit that slides into the right end of the roller tube and is held by the retaining clip you removed. If your replacement motor is the universal Solera/Dometic-compatible unit, confirm the spline count and outer diameter match before pressing it in — most modern units use a 40mm tube diameter and 12-spline shaft, but measure yours if unsure. Slide the new motor in from the right end, rotate slowly until the splines engage, and press fully inward until seated. Reinstall the retaining clip — it must click firmly or the motor will walk out under load and strip the spline. The motor’s two lead wires (red positive, black negative) exit through the right end cap and connect to the van’s 12V awning circuit via a weatherproof two-pin Deutsch connector located just inside the right mounting bracket of the F45s. Reconnect the Deutsch connector and temporarily restore battery power at the command center. Use the F45s wall switch inside the Unity to run the motor through a full extend and retract cycle on the bench — listen for smooth, consistent torque in both directions. Disconnect power again before continuing.

Step 5: Remove Old Fabric and Install Replacement Fabric

Awning fabric on the F45s attaches to the roller tube via a continuous bead-and-channel system: a sewn fabric bead (like a keder bead) runs into a channel groove along the roller tube, and the opposite edge attaches to the lead rail the same way. Slide the old fabric out of the roller tube channel by pulling it lengthwise — it should move freely once the lead rail end caps are removed. If the bead is swollen from moisture, a few drops of dish soap help it slide. Before installing new fabric, measure your Unity’s F45s cassette length precisely from inside wall to inside wall of the cassette housing. The F45s 260 nominally covers a 260cm cassette, but manufacturing tolerances mean your actual measurement should guide your fabric order. Feed the new replacement fabric’s roller-tube bead into the channel groove starting at one end and work it across the full width evenly — rushing causes the bead to jump the channel and kink. Once seated, attach the lead rail bead the same way, starting at the center and working outward. Snap the lead rail end caps back on and confirm both fabric edges are fully captured before proceeding to rewind.

Step 6: Reinstall the Roller Tube, Reassemble Cassette, and Test

Slide the loaded roller tube back into the cassette housing, motor end first into the right bracket. The left end of the tube seats into a plastic pivot cup inside the left end cap — align carefully before pressing home, or the tube will bind. Reinstall both aluminum end caps and all T25 Torx screws. Do not overtighten — Fiamma caps strip easily; finger-tight plus a quarter turn is correct. Now manually crank the fabric in (counterclockwise on the hex slot) to take up any slack before powering the system. Reconnect house power at the command center and use the F45s interior switch to run a full powered extension. Watch the fabric as it deploys: it should unroll smoothly without tracking to one side or bunching near the end caps. Run two full extend-retract cycles to let the fabric tension seat itself. If the fabric tracks off-center, the roller tube bead is not fully seated in the channel — retract, disassemble, and reseat before continuing. Once tracking correctly, test the auto-stop function by letting the motor run to its full extend stop in both directions; the motor should cut power automatically at both limits without you pressing the switch.

Step 7: Secure the Deployed Awning and Prevent Wind Damage

An improperly stabilized F45s awning on the Unity will flog itself to pieces in even moderate campground wind — Fiamma’s arms alone aren’t enough. With the awning fully extended, attach your Camco awning de-flappers to the lead rail: these clamp onto the fabric rail and provide weighted tension that dampens flutter at the fabric’s natural resonance frequency. Space the two de-flappers evenly across the lead rail, roughly one-third in from each end. Next, use your UV-resistant pull strap — the 27-inch sewn replacement strap — if the original pull loop has cracked or delaminated. The strap secures to the lead rail’s center d-ring and gives you a safe, ergonomic pull point for manual retraction without grabbing bare aluminum. Use your telescoping awning rod (extended to match your preferred angle) to peg the lead rail to the ground via the built-in hook, creating a third support point mid-span on longer deployments. Any wind above 15 mph is cause to retract the F45s fully — the cassette housing protects the fabric far better than any stabilizer can. Before closing out this job, inspect the two mounting bracket bolts that attach the F45s to the Unity’s upper frame rail; these should be torqued to 18 ft-lb and checked annually for corrosion from road spray.

← Back to Top 20 Class B RV Models