canopy for 13 ft Trillium

[Gail H]

Hello All,
This subject has been beat to death on this website, but I'm gonna ask again about an awning/canopy. Our Trillium came with a bag awning that doesn't stay in place on the rail. We would like to have something that rolls up with a spring mechanism and stays in place and that you don't have to completely assemble. We thought we had found the answer in a Dometic (A&E), because it has curved arms that can more or less match the curve of the trailer. But come to find out the lower arm has to be adjusted within 71" to 74" in length. Our trillium is not tall enough to accommodate that. Surely others have awnings on their small (13 ft) trailers and can lead us in the right direction. We're hoping!
Thanks to anyone who cares to discuss this once again!
Cheers,
Gail

[RRJR]

Moderator's note: This was originally posted in the wrong thread, and in our effort to move it to it's current, correct spot, the attachments have become corrupted... These may need to be reposted.


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This is the Domestic awning I purchades ($290.00) for my 13 ft Truillium and it works well, but if I was looking again I would swettle for a canvas type (w/3 poles ) and it would slide into the mounted rail on the trailer . I'll post a pictuire later of the canvas I had on my Hard top Trailer.
If interestyed in the Domestic the address is
Domestic Corp
46 Zatonski
Brantford Ont, Can
N3T 5L8
phone # 519 720 9588

[RRJR]

Gail, sorry I was answering re the awning and posted it onto the "Canadians. should I be afraid" thread, so chech my reply there, agaion sorry.

Ron

[Marinab]

Hi Gail, my Surfside didn't have an awning, so I had Escape trailers put one of their's on, called "Carefree". When I got my Biggar, it came with a bag awning that I would have to push up to get in or out of the door. That went by the wayside fast and I had another Carefree awning put on it. I like the ease of the roll-up and one person can put it up or down which is perfect for me.
Marina

[Roy in TO]

Try this thread
http://www.fiberglassrv.com/forums/f...ium-48070.html

Tom is using a crankout on his new 13'ers. You can see them on the slide show.
Trillium RV | Vintage Style / Legendary Quality / Activity-Driven Design

[Doug Mager]

....a l'il late but, ....we have a 'carefree' bag awning in our railing which was also installed @/ by Reace & company. The (bag)awning is held in place while rolled up/in the bag while down the pike by a simple pair of small stainless screws located at either end of the installed track in protrubing/biting into the awning's edging. It doesn't move at any time driving down the highway!!!

[RRJR]

Sorry, the pictures re canopies got lost but here (hopefully) they are. Hope there of some help .
Ron

[Francesca Knowles]

I have a pulldown awning and love it for the convenience, but I think it's worth mentioning that there's less shade/cover than one gets with the freestanding pole-type you've got now.

My Trillium's a 4500, so it's longer than yours, but the height's the same. I thought you'd be interested in the arm setup I'm using for my pulldown awning, which I bought some time ago from Joe Thoen at Trillium "Outback" in Canada. (Sorry- I don't have a pic with the awning open)

As you can see, the arms are considerably shorter than "standard", and were supplied with offset blocks to stand them away from the body of the trailer so as to clear the belly band. I like this setup a lot since as you can see it still allows for the cargo hatches I installed in all four corners of the trailer.

The awning brand is Carefree Fiesta.

The same setup (only with a shorter tube of course) would work on your 1300.

Francesca

[Gail H]

The photo Francesca posted is exactly what we hoped we could get! I was under the impression that Carefree didn't make a curved arm. Did you have to special order? A couple more questions, if you don't mind........How long are the arms that stay in the vertical position when you are traveling? How thick are those blocks that allow the arm to clear the belly band and what are they made of? How far does the awning extend when rolled out? And lastly, does the whole mechanism attach to or slide into the existing awning rail?
I apologize for grilling you, Francesca, and if it's inconvenient to do measuring, don't worry. I'll be grateful for answers to any of these questions. It'll be tremendously helpful. Thank you for posting!

[Francesca Knowles]

Hi, Gail

It's the awning that comes on the Outback(Trillium)- see pic below. I ordered the arms, tube, and hardware directly from them- they were very accommodating! I already had a canopy, so I saved in that department.

I installed it myself- the fabric slides into the rail on the trailer and there's a bracket at the base of each arm and another (upper) bracket that forms the foot of the "rafter arm" that extends out from the trailer when the awning is deployed.

When open, the awning extends out about 8', and is about 9' wide.

I've got the trailer in a position that makes it difficult to open the awning right now, but I'll try to get some pics of at least the bracket points for you later today.

Francesca

Below picture is from: Outback Trillium

[Gail H]

Some great ideas, Francesca! Thanks! I've been in touch with Carefree today, and ALAS, they no longer make the curved arms. Their specific machine that made them broke a few years ago and they haven't replaced it. They instructed me to make some very specific measurements of our trailer, and send to them. They will look around the warehouse and see if they have any curved arms lying around. Doesn't sound real promising, but we'll try it.

[Francesca Knowles]

Hi, Gail

Sorry no pics yet- hubby took the camera with him and he hasn't come home yet!

Did you try your luck with the Outback folks? I know they still offer that awning, and that they get it from Carefree.....they might at least be able to give you a part number or something.

A word of warning: things may have changed, but way back when I went through this search, Carefree did NOT want to deal direct-to-the-public. I was getting similar answers from them as those you relate...I'm pretty sure that the awning I eventually got went from Carefree to Outback to me!

Keep us posted.

Francesca

[Gail H]

Have found a couple awnings that will work. The Outback people (in Calgary) are using the Carefree Fiesta awning on their 13ers, according to Joe, the owner. He special orders these. He says the Outback is made on the old original Trillium mold and therefore, the awnings will work with older Trilliums. He seemed very confidant of that. The other possibility is the one the current Trilliums are using, made by Fiamma, a company in Orlando, FL. Like the Outback, the new Trilliums are also manufactured on the original mold, and the Fiamma awning would fit. Tom, the owner of Trillium, also seemed quite certain.
Both of these options run about $900 for the parts. Installation would be extra. The two awnings have a different look and operate differently. It's always good to have a choice!
Thanks to everyone who posted advice!
Gail

[Francesca Knowles]

No kidding....

Francesca