Girard Ultra Series: Patio/Door Awning, UltraShade Window Awning and Ultra Slide-Out (SG5000)

Overview

The Ultra series covers three different machines that share cassette construction and Girard fabric but differ completely in drive. The Ultra patio/door awning is a motorized lateral-arm unit whose electronic controls are sold separately from the hardware. The UltraShade window awning is fully manual - no motor, no electronics - extended by a pull strap against two torsion springs. The Ultra slide-out awning (SG5000) is a spring-tensioned slide topper with no motor at all: the slide room pulls the fabric out and the torsion spring reels it back in.

Ultra patio/door awning

The cassette holds a tubular motor in the roller tube driving spring-loaded folding arms and a lead rail. Replacement motors: 97GA45M-50 (110 VAC with manual override), 97GA45DM-50 (12 V with override), and 97GA45DS-35 (12 V, door-awning size). Duty cycle is 2 minutes of run per hour; exceeding it trips the motor's thermal protector. Because controls are a separate purchase, an installation can carry any of the G-Link modules: AC controllers GC136, GC154, GC274A/B, 98GC74; DC controllers GC732G, GC1146C; dry-contact module GC1149A; ignition retract GC1102 (AC) or GC946G (DC); motion sensor GC779G or anemometer GC116I; and the usual handsets and wall switches. LED strip lighting comes pre-installed on the cassette, with its two conductors bundled inside the motion-sensor cable - wire them to a switched 12 V source (separate wall switch on 120 V awnings, or through the DC motor controller on 12 V awnings). One mounting slide lock must carry the grounding bolt in contact with both bracket and cassette bottom.

Motor limit switches

Identical logic to the G2085: adjust via the plastic key or 4 mm Allen in the ports on the motor head. Right-hand motor: red port = IN limit, white = OUT (mirrored for left-hand motors). The OUT limit must stop the motor exactly as the arms reach 90 degrees; wind toward minus if the lead rail overshoots, toward plus if the arms never straighten. For the IN limit use the safe walk-in method: stop about 6 inches from closed, wind the IN adjuster about 20 turns toward minus, then step it back toward plus roughly 3/4 turn at a time (each 3/4 turn is about 1 inch of travel) until the motor stops the instant the lead rail meets the cassette. A limit that lets the motor stall against the closed box kills the motor prematurely.

Pitch adjustment

The Ultra shoulder is designed so elbow height never needs adjustment - there is no adjuster. Pitch, however, is settable: fully extend the awning, loosen the shoulder cover screw and slide the cover off, hold the bolt head on the left of the shoulder with one 19 mm wrench while loosening the right-side nut and set screw, then turn the pitch adjustment screw with the open end of the second 19 mm wrench to raise or lower the pitch. Retighten and cycle the awning to verify. Keep deployed lead-rail height at 84 inches minimum.

Motor failure on the road

If the motor dies with the awning out, Girard's documented emergency procedure is mechanical: alternately push the left and right lead-rail corners toward the housing, folding the sagging fabric in layers so it packs inside the cassette, then pass heavy zip ties or load straps behind the housing and around the lead rail to hold everything closed, and drive to service. Girard accepts no liability if the awning reopens in transit, so strap it properly.

UltraShade window awning

The UltraShade has almost no moving parts: a fabric roller with one or two torsion springs, two fixed arms, and a pull strap. The critical operating rule is printed twice in the manual: never let go of the pull strap until the strap is on its catch or the awning is fully closed - the stored spring energy will slam the cassette shut hard enough to damage awning and coach. Retract slowly, steering the strap slightly left or right so it does not wrap on top of itself and crease the fabric. A humming strap in wind is cured with a single twist before hooking it on the catch.

Fabric replacement and spring turns (UltraShade and SG5000)

Both manual products use the same spring service method. Extend fully (UltraShade: secure with the strap; SG5000: open the slide 12 inches), remove the end caps, hold the square torsion bar with a 14 mm wrench, pull the C-clip, and let the spring unwind slowly under control - never release the bar freely. Pay out fabric until the poly rope lines up with the locking-plate slot, remove fabric screws, and slide the fabric out of roller tube and awning rail. Feed the new fabric into both channels simultaneously, center and screw it down, then wind the spring clockwise with the 14 mm wrench and refit the C-clip before releasing (the torsion-bar hole must align for the clip). Spring preload comes from the model tables. SG5000 by awning length: up to 92 in = 5 turns; to 138 in = 6; to 168 in = 7; to 176 in = 8; to 191 in = 3 turns on each of 2 springs; to 297 in = 4 turns on each of 2 springs. UltraShade by width: 30 in XL-arm = 8 turns; 36 in = 3; 42 in = 4.5; 54 in = 6.5; 66 in = 7.5; 78 in = 8; 138 in = 9; 156 in = 4 turns on each of 2 springs. On any two-spring unit the right-hand spring winds opposite the left (LH springs wind clockwise as mounted), and both must carry exactly the same turns to the quarter turn. If fabric still sags or does not fully retract, add tension in half-turn increments.

Ultra slide-out awning (SG5000)

The awning rail mounts to the coach wall at least 3 inches above the slide room; the cassette hangs on brackets fixed flush to 1/4 inch above the slide-room top edge. During first installation the fabric is tensioned by pulling the cassette out slightly and removing the cotter pin that ships holding the spring preload. Fabric screws 1 inch in from each end of the awning rail stop the fabric walking sideways and reduce center sag. Because the room does the pulling, most SG5000 complaints are spring tension or fabric alignment, not drive problems.

Fabric care (all Ultra models)

Acrylic and polyester tops take the same regimen: brush off dirt, hose down, wash with natural soap or dishwashing liquid and a soft brush, rinse thoroughly, air dry only. Close awnings before wind, heavy rain and travel; weather damage is not warrantable.