uhaul new awning

[mary and bob]

this is an awning we bought from kristi, 7 x 7 feet, happy with the workmanship of the awning and delivered ahead of schedule which was about 3 weeks from ordering on line.

[gage]

Looks good. You must have been reading my mind. Marti's making a 7 x 7 for our Burro. She's also making me two side walls like I had for the Field and Stream.

[mary and bob]

Thanks Gage, how's progress on the Burro. Marti was off on family business when we wanted to order an awning so went with Kristi. We have found a slight problem however, there is some sag in the awning so I'm afraid water will puddle up on it. If I drop the poles down the door hits the awning. So the solution I've come up with is to install a grommet halfway out from the trailer at the edge of the awning, put poles there supporting a cross PVC pipe, and hope that takes up the slack and still have door clearance. If I had put the awning rail up any higher I would have needed a ladder to get the awning in the rail, and besides that there was a damaged rail already in the location where I installed the new one. I'll make it work!!

[Francesca Knowles]

When I had a pole awning I had that middle-sag problem too, Bob. No joke here in wet Washington...I used a strategically placed little patio table with an umbrella stuck through a center hole in it to lift the center of the fabric.

The table was handy, and sorta made it look like I'd planned it that way!

Francesca

[mary and bob]

good idea Francesca, and I think I saw somewhere that Gage used a tennis ball on a pole for a similar situation, that right Gage??

[gage]

Bob, don't put a grommet in your awning. That'll just be another place for the water to drip in. What I did with the Field and Stream was to get another tent poll and put a tennis ball on the end of it , then place it about center and push it up just enought to take the sag out of it and raise the center a little so there is a slop all around and the door will also clear. A simple fix that you don't have to have in place all the time.

[mary and bob]

Gage, see my previous post. After reading Francesca's idea I remembered reading somewhere about you using the tennis ball. I'll try it, thanks.

[Otters]

Nice looking awning. I made one but haven't had a chance to use it yet. Hope to put it up this week at a SOTF camping trip and will put up pictures. Now you have me worried Bob. Didn't think there would be an issue about the sag. Hope the tennis ball on the tent pole works for you.

[Francesca Knowles]

FYI:

I didn't poke a hole in the awning for my umbrella- just jammed it up tight against the fabric. (The umbrella was one of those cheapo extendable beach umbrellas with a rounded plastic head.)

Purpose of the table was twofold:
It provided a little stability at the base, and gave us a place to set a cup of coffee down. Or beer, depending on the time of day and the company...

Francesca

[djtriceflt]

Originally Posted by gage

Bob, don't put a grommet in your awning. That'll just be another place for the water to drip in. What I did with the Field and Stream was to get another tent poll and put a tennis ball on the end of it , then place it about center and push it up just enought to take the sag out of it and raise the center a little so there is a slop all around and the door will also clear. A simple fix that you don't have to have in place all the time.

Mr. Bob, Your awning looks great. I have been really happy with mine, a bag awning, until a recent outing. I could have really used Gage's fix! I was away for several hours when a huge thunderstorm filled my awning and broke one of the side supports from so much water! Was thinking of a grommet myself but now, thanks to Mr. Gage, I'll not have to!

[gage]

Originally Posted by mary and bob

Gage, see my previous post. After reading Francesca's idea I remembered reading somewhere about you using the tennis ball. I'll try it, thanks.

I was typing while you and Francescawere posting.

[tartosuc]

How much one of those awning run for?

[Perk]

How do you attach the awning mount to the fiberglass surface?

[mary and bob]

Awning was $200 plus shipping which I think was another $22, priority mail. I attached the awning rail with 3/16 pop rivets. And here's where you'll get varying opinions but what I did was locate my holes [used 3 previous holes from a damaged rail that was already on the trailer] put some ProflexRV sealant on a rivet, stuck rivet in hole, used air rivet gun to tighten rivet, then put a dab of the Proflex on the rivet head. I heard recommendations to put butyl tape under the rail but the reason I didn't do that is I tried it with a scrap piece of rail and a piece of fiberglass that I had cut out when making an access hole. The butyl tape being soft didn't let the rail be tight to the fiberglass, I could move the rail around with two rivets in it so decided against the butyl tape. I may have used 8 or 10 rivets on a 7' piece of rail. The awning rail I bought from Vintage Trailer Supply because they ship it in a length of PVC pipe [extra charge] and there is no RV place near me. First ordered the rail from JC Whitney but they didn't have it in stock and after a two week wait couldn't tell me when I would get it so cancelled that order.

[mary and bob]

We also were thinking about installing a bag awning instead of this rope & pole awning. George Lauver was great with some information as to how he put one on his Uhaul, and I appreciate the time he took to answer my questions. After some debate we decided to go with the rope & pole for now, but the bag awning may have been just as good a choice, if not better. We'll see how this one works out, maybe try a bag awning later as the price is about the same. A few years ago I did install a bag awning on our daughters popup camper, and we are very happy with it. I particularly like the rafters that extend out from the camper and that all the parts fold and roll up into the bag. We were just a little concerned about that weight on the uhaul roof and possible flapping while traveling, but most likely it wouldn't be an issue. I was also concerned about alignment of the ball & socket part of the rafters on the bag awning due to the curve of the roof, but George says he had no problem there. Another reason I did a test piece with the awning rail was to see if the rivets would have any effect on the fiberglass when they were set. No problem with the test piece. Because the Uhaul has an inner shell I couldn't get at the rivets from inside the camper, if I could have I would have put a washer on the inside.

[D Davis]

Congradulations Bob & Mary, it's pretty.

[deryk]

The awning looks Great! I also have had some similar issues with my awning and rain. I was thinking about a pole in the center when it rains... the tennis ball is a great idea!

[Pam Garlow]

I raise the center pole up, and slightly drop the two side poles. Door does not hit awning. It does brush under the side skirt when I open the door out against the camper. But I might have installed my rail a bit higher than yours is.

[mary and bob]

Pam; sounds like your rail is higher. Our door just clears the awning if we don't have much pitch on it. I installed the new rail where on was previously, and that height allows us to get the awning on without using a ladder.

[Lynne VDK]

I appreciate all the information about U-haul and awnings- I have a CT 13 and one of Marti's awning- I'm petrified to put holes in my CT13 to attach the rail.

How high over the door do you put the rail? Also, if I use butyl tape 20 lb can I put a rivet through the rail/tape/uhaul? what size rivet

And of course I've just bought a rivet gun and have NO experience- really don't want to screw this up
-
scardy pants at work
Lynne