Awning rail with glue?

[Camilla]

Like everyone else I hate to put any holes in the fiberglass. Has anyone attached an awning rail using cement or glue or liquid nails or anything?

[Donna D.]

How about 3M VHB tape? Here's a couple of threads: http://www.fiberglassrv.com/forums/f...ase-51871.html and http://www.fiberglassrv.com/forums/f...ets-42083.html

[Camilla]

As usual, Donna comes thru for me again! Thanks Donna!

[Ed Harris]

I would be especially reluctant to attach an awning without through bolting or riveting to the shell.

Most applications I have seen or used tape or glue with are a lot less stressed than that of an awning levered off the side of a trailer with downward weighted stress over a 10 foot long span.

Add to that what an awning that is launched from a moving trailer might do to anything or anyone it might strike and I think making 3 or 6 small holes in the trailer is a small price to pay for a lot of peace of mind?

Call me cautious but I don't understand the reasoning behind mounting one without attachments that are mostly foolproof?

[Francesca Knowles]

I agree with Ed- I think it's unlikely that one could find an adhesive up to holding against the amount of tension in a deployed awning. I also think it unwise to use anything but mechanical fasteners on big exterior fitments.

If one's completely averse to using through-hardware, it might be possible to attach a rail with virgin fiberglass, thereby making it an actual part of the shell. But I think that's a lot more trouble than it'd be worth.

[Richard Hayes]

I wouldn't trust any adhesive to take that sort of load. If you bed the track properly in butyl tape, and make little doughnuts of it under each thru-bolt head so that it squeezes out from under as you tighten the fastening, it should never leak. Works like a charm on sailboat deck fittings that take 1000's of pounds of strain...

[Pam Garlow]

I remember that someone posted a while back that they planned to use tape. But I never did hear if it worked or not. When I put in my rail, I used both tape and rivets. I feel much more comfortable that the awning is not going to disengage in a strong wind. I had it up in a few really gusty situations, and simply dropped my poles down to 4ft and tighened the stakes. It rode out the wind beautifully.

[Donna D.]

Camilla, you're hearing about concerns regarding weight, etc. and maybe justifiably so. I also remember (perhaps the Legacy posts?) where someone successfully mounted an awning rail using high bond tape. The difference (if my rememberer is right) is the owner always removed the BAG AWNING during travel. If the tape let go, the only thing lost was the rail ("cheap" to replace) the bag awning road inside the trailer during travel and was only mounted and deployed upon setup at the campsite. Perhaps THIS is what you should consider?

There are many methods that can accomplish the same thing... you need to decide what would work best for you.