wanted..awning

[April Wilcox]

Would this be what we are looking for??

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Awning-Rail...0QQcmdZViewItem

[Booker B.]

The picture on the ebay site isn't very clear but here is a picture of the profile of an awning rail.
http://www.vintagetrailersupply.com/Produc...uctCode=VTS-400

[April Wilcox]

That person selling the rails on ebay also sells the Shademaker awnings w/rails included, and their price is only $15 higher (because of shipping) than the price on the interwestsports site. It does not mention whether it comes with a rail on the interwestsports site, nor do I see them for sale there. I wonder if it would be best to get it all at once from one place. We are in no hurry to buy at this time, we want to be sure we check out all our options before we get an awning.

[Booker B.]

I am sure it is from the same place. I can't remember the name on the box when it arrived but interwest sports is just a reseller and the awnings are sent directly from the factory.

I did find the awning rail, it's at the very bottom of this page:
http://www.interwestsports.com/bag%20awnings.html

One thing about buying a 9' awning - if you have seen my previous comments on these awnings I mentioned you could go longer then the awning rail as the awning itself is around 10-12" shorter then the bag. However the awning rails tie back onto the trailer using a couple of plastic grommets to hold them in place and they could be inset on the rail. This wouldn't be an issue on a Trillium because of the square shape but the Boler/Scamps are rounder. Just something to think about it.

[April Wilcox]

I was hoping we could get away with a 10ft awning, but I still need to measure the "flat" space on our roof where we plan to mount the awning. I have read that I need to leave space for the bag to hang down so it does not block the door. If they are shorter as you say, we might be able to get away with a 10'. I guess I better go take some measurements...

[Booker B.]

We have the 8' and I could have got away with a 9'. There is no way I could do a 10' on ours and I doubt you could on your Boler/Scamp - time for Boler/Scamp owners to chime in here =)

[April Wilcox]

We have exactly 7ft of flat space on the top edge of our camper. Does that mean the railings will be a foot too long? is it possible to cut them without messing up the groove? If we have 7ft of railing on top, if I understand this correctly, we could order the 9ft, actually have 8ft of awingin, and have about a foot of bag overlap on the ends.

Once again I am glad to have found this website, I would be in way over my head if this was not here!

[Booker B.]

Hi April,

Above on this page is Pat C's pictures of her awning on her Boler. She bought a 7' awning. It looks like she has a bit of room left on her's. If you have a 7' stretch then yes, you would cut a foot off the 4' rail (it's aluminum so it's easy to cut). With a 7' rail you could get away with an 8' bag awing but that would be it.

[DanPatWork]

April,

You may want to check around at the local RV stores as well for the awning track. We were able to locate a single length (13' for $10) of awning rail. All we had to do was cut it to length, and paint. We chose to have a single length piece because of the pain we had in the past with multiple piece awning rails snagging the rope awnings we had had. We decided to go with a rope and pole style awning because we didn't want to leave the awnig attached all of the time, and the continuous installation and removal of the awning could be problematic with the multiple piece tracks.

[April Wilcox]

very good to know Dan! thanks!! We planned to hit up the local rv shops to see what can be found locally, before we order any of the parts. We might just find something we can walk out with for the same price.

[Benny K]

I found that on my 13' Boler the max rail length that I could use was 7' 4", (88")......the rope on my awning is plastic round with a flap that is stitched full length to the awning proper....you can pull a longer awning thru as long as the awning is draped along the side of the trailer..... but the problem is when you pull a longer awning thru and then you put the poles that support the awning up the plastic part of the flap can`t bend on the flat to conform to the curved shape of the ends of the Boler body.....It`s like having a strip of paper and trying to arc it on the flat and it won`t bend.....Benny

[April Wilcox]

So it is starting to sound like I should install the rail before we ever buy an awning, so we know exactly how much length we will have, and that we should use a single rail over sections. Thanks for all the words of wisdom!

[CindyL]

Ever consider putting up a screen house against the door? We do that and love it. It is an extra room that we use all the time, keeps us from feeling cramped, and is a great party room! We had a lower cost screen house that blew over in a storm in Nebraska (We were eating supper out at the time!), so we replaced it with a FirstIp from Walmart. I bought screens from Hutshop.


CindyL

[April Wilcox]

Yes, we also plan to carry an ez up, but don't want to have to use it every time we stop, we want to keep it in good shape for when we vend. We thought having an awning would be best for quick set up, so we don't have to carry 2 ez ups, one to use camping and one to use for vending. I thought having a second inexpensive ez up was a good solution, since we can get that dicounted combo canopy/screen/tent deal at Marine West (online) but Kirk said he didn't want to pack 2 ez ups, and thought it would probably not hold up for very long, just adding to the waste... I don't know how long the awnings last, if you care for them properly.

[Booker B.]

April, just a note on Butyl Tape (recommended for under your awning rail) - I had a hard time finding it anywhere but a dedicated RV shop. I used it to install a porch light this fall and it's odd stuff to work with - it's basically a double sided tape like product that feels like putty. It's a bit tricky to work with but pretty forgiving.

Personally I camp to be outdoors - if I had a screen room up that means the bugs are too bad to be camping anyways =)

[April Wilcox]

It's funny you mention the butyl tape, a friend of ours just gave us a small roll of it the other day. You say we should put some of this under the rail before we attatch it? How much should be used?


I like to camp for the out door experience too, but have gone to places in our travels that were MISERABLE with bugs (mosquitos, flies) so I want to be prepared in either case.

[April Wilcox]

I found a single 8' awning rail online, and ordered it. It seemed to be the longest length I could get shipped to me. It should be more than we need so we can cut to fit. I have thought about going over to the RV shop to look, but it is pretty far across town from us and when I did the calculations, it would be just as expensive for us to drive out there, fight houston traffic, and maybe find what we are looking for at a reasonable price. So I opted out for the online order. With gas prices so high, and traffic being so bad in town these days, it's a good thing we have the internet to shop on! Also, I have to admit, I enjoy having things brought to my door. The less I have to get out in this crazy city the better...

[Dan R]

I found a single 8' awning rail online, and ordered it. It seemed to be the longest length I could get shipped to me. It should be more than we need so we can cut to fit. I have thought about going over to the RV shop to look, but it is pretty far across town from us and when I did the calculations, it would be just as expensive for us to drive out there, fight houston traffic, and maybe find what we are looking for at a reasonable price. So I opted out for the online order. With gas prices so high, and traffic being so bad in town these days, it's a good thing we have the internet to shop on! Also, I have to admit, I enjoy having things brought to my door. The less I have to get out in this crazy city the better...

But the Mexican food! The museums! The Buffalo Bayou! Rice Campus! U of H Lawndale! The Orange Show!
-Dan

[April Wilcox]

......but ICECREAM CAKE!!


All the best points about Houston Dan, but I would gladly trade them for a quiet home in the NW woods... I would miss the texmex I have to admit...mmmmmmmmmm SALSA

since this is supposed to be about awnings, I can't wait to get one!! This is fun!

[Alf S.]

......but ICECREAM CAKE!!


All the best points about Houston Dan, but I would gladly trade them for a quiet home in the NW woods... I would miss the texmex I have to admit...mmmmmmmmmm SALSA

since this is supposed to be about awnings, I can't wait to get one!! This is fun!

Hi: April...Check out Vintage Trailer Supply on line. They custom make Awnings. If I remember our former Boler rail was 6'9" long and I could get a 7'X9' rope and pole awning complete with poles and carry bag!!!( Icecream Cake Optional)
Alf S. North shore of Lake Erie