EZUP Canopy - Truss Repair

[RedLionCookie]

Last fall I purchased a 10X 20 EZUP canopy. The 2nd or 3rd time I used it a gust of wind caught it and broke 3 of the trusses. I’ve been looking at buying replacements and the are t. Heap. Anyone have a good DIY repair? I’ve thought about putting a piece of metal in the center held in place with screws but the aluminum is so soft I’m not sure how well it will work. I also considered filling in around the metal with spray foam to stiffen it up a bit. Anyone have any other ideas?

The truss itself honestly looks like curtain rod. I’ve thought about using that as a replacement if I can find a piece heavy enough and long enough.

[Merrykalia]

Over our 40+ years of camping, we have had several of these tents. We have found that the actual EZUP brand will last us in excess of 7-8 years, while the off brands will usually last 2-3 years. They are expensive, but well worth the money. We usually have an off-brand that we use here and there and if someone needs to borrow one, we will loan the off-brand.

[RedLionCookie]

Update. The isn't actually and EZUP it was purchased through HOUZZ so it was an off brand. I contacted HOUZZ and several other sources with no luck. Most said the lengths and hole placements are very specific so it's not as simple as you might think.... according to them.

With that in mind I decided to try and fix what I had. The tubing for the trusses is obviously hollow. I decided to cut a piece of wood that would fit tightly inside the truss. The truss itself was actually 58 inches long. I cut the wood to be around 50 inches long. I was able to work the wood down through the truss and actually push out the dents and bends in the truss and get it back to its original shape. To finish it off I re drilled the center hole to connect the trusses and put a screw in each end to hold the wood in place. The whole process took me about an hour and I actually think it is stronger now than it was before! We will try it out this weekend but I'm confident it's going to work great!

[Kennedycamper]

Go to the beach. People break these every day, and maybe you can find a part from a broken one.

[Bobbo]

D.E.Bishop wrote:
Needless to say she was too busy and never ordered the part, after all, DOD(Dear Old Dad) McGivered it and it works great, so let's just leave it.

Sometimes the sentimental value overrides. When I was 16 years old, and in high school, I was on the JROTC drill team. I would practice at home with our 410 shotgun. One day, I dropped it and cracked the stock. At 16, my woodworking skills were non-existent. I fixed it by clamping it together, putting some finishing nails in to hold it, and wrapped it thoroughly in masking tape. DD announced one day that she wanted that shotgun. I told her fine, I will get a new stock for it. She said absolutely NOT. She only wanted it because of the cracked stock and the story behind it. (She already had a fully functional 410 of her own.)

[D_E_Bishop]

My DD bought an EZ-up specifically because of other folks having them and their ease of up and down for one person. Being a nice person she loaned hers to a friend who broke a truss arm. It was never fixed and because we have no trees that shade my outside work area and the temps were in the 90's and 100's, I borrowed it to work on the DW's car and found the broken part.

Not having time to order and install an arm, I used some scrap red oak and fashioned a filler for the tube, it fit so tight no screws were necessary. She was suppose to look up, find and order a couple of arms so I could fix it properly. Needless to say she was too busy and never ordered the part, after all, DOD(Dear Old Dad) McGivered it and it works great, so let's just leave it.

[2012Coleman]

This sounds like a job for Fiber Fix

Saw it on Shark Tank - been looking for something to try it on.

[MrWizard]

if you think screws won't hold in the soft Alu

you can use pop rivets, either Alu or steel

but first contact EZ-Up, you might be pleasantly surprised

[myredracer]

I made some weights for the feet on our canopy (Costco brand) by cutting up some THICK rubber horse mat. Ain't ever gonna blow away and works on rocky ground too. You can buy weights, just don't know where. We see them at crafts fairs all the time. Prevention is the cure... 🙂

[Bobbo]

When we bought ours, we chose the EZ-UP brand specifically because you can get repair parts.

[tracyb-oh]

Merrykalia wrote:
Have you called EZ-UP? Ours was damaged during a wind storm a couple of months after we purchased it. They sent us a replacement, free of charge.

We had a similar issue and called EZ Up. They mailed us the parts for just a couple bucks. Repaired it ourselves. Call them, worst they can say is no. Worth a try.

[4x4van]

EZ-UP also sells replacement parts.

EZ-Up Parts

1-800-45-SHADE
Monday - Friday
8:00 - 4:30 PM PST

[Merrykalia]

Have you called EZ-UP? Ours was damaged during a wind storm a couple of months after we purchased it. They sent us a replacement, free of charge.

[ford_truck_guy]

My brother in law broke his... we measured the tube, placed a solid piece of aluminum inside the tube and secured it with 2 nuts and bolts..

that was a few years ago and still going strong..




Joe

[midnightsadie]

get on craigs list theres some body out there with one twisted up.