Another bit o' trouble

More than one person has given me the advice that RV ownership is akin to boat ownership. The old joke about boat ownership being the same as throwing money in to a hole in the sea seems to apply. Buying a used anything is bound to include buying the previous owner's problems. Well my latest problem involves the awning on the Minnie. As I was rolling it up last night, one section of the aft arm jammed itself into the other part and applied too much pressure to the bracket mounted at the roof line. It is now apparent that this area has been leaking for some time because the added pressure on this section of rotted plywood roofing led to the failure of the connection. My roof now has an eight inch tear in the fiberglass and a few screws have pulled out. This gave the crowd of guys something to discuss and I think we've come up with a plan to sandwich some reinforcement plates over the offending section and allow the mounting of the awning to the motor home once again. Dave is a bit disappointed that we won't be making it strong enough to act as a tow point, but I'm certain he will ensure that the final product is adequate. Again, I am thankful for my friends.