Velcro-ed awnings

[GingerB]

Has anyone attached an awning to a scamp with Velcro or a similar material? I really want an awning and I'm reluctant to drill a hole or rivet into my little egg. I have an idea to attach one side of 3M locking tape (5x stronger than Velcro) to the Scamp and the other side to awning fabric, then place a leg and ropes on each outer edge to hold it up. Am I crazy? How hard is it to remove adhesive from the fiberglass surface if it doesn't work? Thanks!

[Bobbie Mayer]

Check with 3M about how hard it is to remove the adhesive from fiberglass. But I think it would work.

[Evan Friesen]

If you do some searching on the forum, I think you will find someone who mounted a standard awning rail with 3M VHB tape. It was also suggested to use thin piano wire to remove the tape from the shell. I would think that an awning rail would hold up better than velcro, but that's just my unsolicited opinion.

An awning is always a great addition to an egg! Best of luck!

[Roy in TO]

People have been using the 3M VHB to attach solar panels. I'd be tempted to cut the C channel or awning rail to the right length, add the tape to that, then position the rail on your trailer.
To remove the adhesive later, some one recently posted posted this:
3M

[Raz]

Hi Ginger. Our home brew awning is made of ripstop fabric and attached to the camper with industrial grade Velcro. I installed about 6 one foot strips across the side of camper with the adhesive stuff. The gaps let the air pass through without the awning being torn off. Maggie made the awning and found the Velcro with adhesive jams the needle on the sewing machine so she uses the non adhesive type. We get about two season before the Velcro on the trailer has to be replaced. To remove the glue I have used Goo Gone which is slow and Goof Off or Acetone which are faster but not as safe. While we have had the poles blow over, the Velcro holds very well. The picture was taken at a campground in the Outer Banks of N.C. Lots of wind. Raz

[Roy in TO]

Originally Posted by P. Raz

I installed about 6 one foot strips across the side of camper with the adhesive stuff. The gaps let the air pass through without the awning being torn off.

Great idea!

[GingerB]

Thanks for the suggestions, everyone! You guys are the best. I had seen the rail and "airplane tape" posting but I don't think I want to travel with the awning attached. Given that, people seemed to find feeding the awning through the rail to be troublesome so I thought the "super-velcro" might circumvent that problem. The idea of leaving spaces so air can pass through is someting I hadn't considered. 3M sells a trial package of 10 ft of the tape (supposed to be for engineers to experiment with possible applications...$25) I thought I would lay 8 ft. straight across but maybe I'll cut it into sections. I'm pretty handy with a sewing machine so I believe I could make the awning w/o too much trouble.