Mounting an Awning on a Burro (double shell)

[S Sato]

Hi All,
I recently went to get a quote on an awning for our 17' Burro, and the shop was hesitant to quote me a price, since they could not see a way to attach the awning casing securely.

Since the Burro has a double shell, there is no way (they or I can see) to mount a block behind the exterior screws for the casing without cutting out holes in the interior shell to get the blocks in. Perhaps rivetnuts?

How is the awning casing typically mounted on other FG trailers?

Thanks as always - I hope to share some minor mods/upgrades we've made to our Burro with all of you shortly.

Steve

[Frederick L. Simson]

My Fiber Stream has an awning, but it is not a case type; and the awning rail is just rivited thru the single shell. You've got a special case (pardon my pun) there... and it might take a Burro or maybe a Bigfoot owner to answer your dilemma.

[Gina D.]

Consider cutting out inside holes with a hole saw, setting the glass aside, fit in a resined wood block thru the hole, fasten the awning points, and then with a glass rapir kit, "Fit" the set aside glass back in.

Up where the awning would go, there isn't that much of a gap to work with, so this may prove to be more difficult than it sounds.

[Loren G. Hedahl]

I think I would do it as Gina suggested.

I was just thinking that using the same cup drill that was used to cut the inside shell could be also used to make the wooden 'slug'. It would be of a slightly less diameter than the cutout due to the thickness of the cup drill teeth, so would fit nicely through the hole.

The slug would also have a hole in the center that could be bored out if needed to fit a "tee-nut". The "tee-nut" would allow securing the awning frame with a machine screw which would make for a good metal-to-metal joint.

If I were doing this I would make the slug a thickness so the fiberglass piece cut out by the cup drill could be secured to the bottom of the slug with hot-melt glue and be flush with its original surface. Then a bit of caulking could dress up the seam and the center hole.

[Rick F. D.]

Steve,
The outer shell of the Burro's is very thin. The inner shell is quite a bit thicker. A case awning will surely rip out if it is attached only to the outer shell. The case awnings that I have seen only attach in a 3 or 4 places. This put a lot of stress on the shell. I would try to have a minimum of 8 attach points and get through both shells with the cavity between the shells (at the attach points) filled with epoxy. Also put a large fiberglass washer on the inside shell to help spread the load. Maybe some boat people can give you an idea for getting epoxy dammed up and injected between the shells. A standard awning rail would probably work OK through just the outer shell.
Good luck,
Rick

Hi All,
I recently went to get a quote on an awning for our 17' Burro, and the shop was hesitant to quote me a price, since they could not see a way to attach the awning casing securely.

Since the Burro has a double shell, there is no way (they or I can see) to mount a block behind the exterior screws for the casing without cutting out holes in the interior shell to get the blocks in. Perhaps rivetnuts?

How is the awning casing typically mounted on other FG trailers?

Thanks as always - I hope to share some minor mods/upgrades we've made to our Burro with all of you shortly.

Steve

[Brian B-P]

I assumed that this mounting was more of a problem than the usual original-equipment awning rail because the stress is concentrated into a small area (with few fasteners), and Rick seems to confirm this. Since getting inside is a problem, then one alternative would be to make a long mounting plate or bar and attach it with a significant number of rivets, like the old rails. I shudder when I look at the number of rivets punched through my Boler shell for the awning, various vents, etc., so if I were faced with this situation I'd think long and hard before actually going ahead with this alternative and the associated leak risk.

The idea which Gina and Loren are developing is interesting. I would expect the wooden (presumably plywood) disk to be an effective big washer, and the tee nut sounds like a great idea.

I would hesitate to do anything which would rigidly tie the inner and outer shells together, if they are not normally, and that's being suggested in this discussion. As others have pointed out in previous discussions, the frames of most trailers flex in use, and the shell(s) must either be strong enough to resist distortion or flexible enough to move with it. In the glued-back-in-piece setup, I can imagine the plug pulling the piece out of its place in the inner shell. This might not be a problem at all... just a concern which comes to mind for me.

[S Sato]

Thanks for all the great advice! I'll think long and hard about whether to add more holes in our roof (I'm still patching leaks in the ones I have). I may forego the cased awning and go with a rail-mounted one.

Steve

[Byron Kinnaman]

You might consider a stand alone, such as E-Z up.

[Pete Dumbleton]

You might also consider an awning that is not mounted to the shell but is just a tarp with pvc or bamboo on one edge fastened to ropes thrown over the egg and tied to the back side or wheel. Standard tent poles hold up the outer edge of the awning.

Not as classy, but not as expensive and you won't care much if the wind blows it away (and it won't tear up the egg in the process).

[D Shubel]

I've seen a picture of a handmade awning where the maker had attached a pole receptacle on back bumper and another receptacle on front A-frame. They then inserted awning poles into those receptacles. It was a square tarp like awning that was supported by the four poles...two supported by the frame and two poles on the ground.

I'm pretty sure it was posted here. I'll see if I retained a copy...somewhere.

[MKohlman]

You might also consider an awning that is not mounted to the shell but is just a tarp with pvc or bamboo on one edge fastened to ropes thrown over the egg and tied to the back side or wheel. Standard tent poles hold up the outer edge of the awning.

I think Karen may have tried this last year with her Companion...

But at the time she was fairly motivated...

- Michael

[Karen K.]

Necessity IS, after all, the mother of invention.

Karen

[John Blizzard]

Any good upholsterer or awning shop can make you what you need.
Here's a pic of the one I made for our 13ft Burro. Easy to set up and with the back wall , quite aerodynamic as well.We have never had to take it down for wind when evryone else is frantically stowing their roll-ups. I used a strip of awning rail across the trailer and made the adjustable poles. Guys that specialize in boat tops and canvas would be able to do something like this too. I specialize in auto interiors so I don't like to do this kind of work (unless it's for me of course!). Just thought I would throw some ideas in.
John

[MKohlman]

Attachment 1538
Any good upholsterer or awning shop can make you what you need.
Here's a pic of the one I made for our 13ft Burro.

Now this IS cool... Makes me want to go out and try the same thing on my 13'er...

Michael

[D Shubel]

Cool awning, John! Thanks for the pics.

How do you store that when not in use? Like a bag type awning?

[Con]

Very nicely done John. I can tell from the way you have done it that your are a pro!

[John Blizzard]

How do you store that when not in use? Like a bag type awning?

I made a bag for the awning and one for the poles out of the same material.
When it's folded it's only about 18" by 24" .
The material is pretty standard for this type of thing, it's called "sunbrella".
They use it for bimini tops on boats and for boat mooring covers. The tension straps for the poles are 1" nylon webbing.

John

[MKohlman]

I made a bag for the awning and one for the poles out of the same material.
When it's folded it's only about 18" by 24" .
The material is pretty standard for this type of thing, it's called "sunbrella".
They use it for bimini tops on boats and for boat mooring covers. The tension straps for the poles are 1" nylon webbing.

John

Aw come'on you sure you don't want to build a few of these for your fellow Burro'ites?

I'm sure we'd all be very grateful...

Michael

P.S. whatever you do, don't show this to my wife, then I'll have to make one myself...