Lil Snoozy / Shady Boy

[Eddie Longest]

Anyone install a Shady Boy awning on the rear of a Lil Snoozy? If so any comments or pictures.
Eddie

[alan H]

I’m interested in this as well... curious if anyone has done this with a little joe/weiscraft trailer ?

[JBB]

We have not installed an awning to the rear as we didn't want to drill into the fiberglass. For now we're using a tarp that goes over the top to provide cover at the back and side. My husband does all our mods and he's researching a type of epoxy/glue to attach a fastener for a tarp/awning to the top back door entrance that will not damage the gelcoat.

[Eddie Longest]

I am also working on a little Joe rear entrance trailer. I just wanted to see what the Snoozy people are doing with the rear entry door. The King Camp is one option I found from Amazon. And there are several awnings like this ARB awning.
Eddie
https://www.amazon.com/KingCamp-Shel...MX1P5RG47W0QHX

https://www.amazon.com/ARB-814301-Br...rb+awning+1250

[Julie and Jose]

Please do not give KingCamp any of your business. I purchased the shade canopy. It arrived with 3 problems (metal ends fall off the poles, only Velcro pile and no hooks make the vents useless, window in wrong place relative to where the poles go). I contacted the company for four weeks and never heard back from them. They say 180-day return, satisfaction guarantee policy...however they do not email invoices/order summaries, they have no email address (only a "contact us" form), and no physical address. To return something, they require you to contact customer support to get the "current address." Very strange business practices! And of course, customer service never responds, so you can't get the current address for returns.

Bottom line: you are stuck with their faulty merchandise with no avenue for a return, replacement, or refund.

Of course, if you purchased via Amazon, you would have the Amazon 30-day return policy. I made the mistake of purchasing from the company directly.

Still, I would advise you to stay away from this unscrupulous company.

The canopy itself is a nice design and we can make repairs/adjustments and get some use out of it. Good design. Poor quality. Awful company to do business with.

[scotty61]

Julie and Jose: Wow! Sorry to hear that but glad for the warning! Hopefully you can get it to work for you.

Eddie Longest: What we usually do is use a 10 x 10 pop up gazebo and put it next to the trailer. Works well for us! [emoji846]

[Fred-Linda]

Surprised and sorry to hear you are not happy with your King Camp awning. We have been using one for about 3 years and love it. It has held up great through some very strong winds and rain.

And it is so lightweight and simple to assemble and re-pack! (But setting it up in wind is a little challenge.) I have installed brackets on our "Little Joe" on both the rear and on both sides so I can easily set up the King Camp either way.

I hope the attached picture opens up so you can see it in operation in August Texas weather.

. . . . Fred

[JBB]

Originally Posted by Fred-Linda

Surprised and sorry to hear you are not happy with your King Camp awning. We have been using one for about 3 years and love it. It has held up great through some very strong winds and rain.

And it is so lightweight and simple to assemble and re-pack! (But setting it up in wind is a little challenge.) I have installed brackets on our "Little Joe" on both the rear and on both sides so I can easily set up the King Camp either way.

I hope the attached picture opens up so you can see it in operation in August Texas weather.

. . . . Fred

I am curious to know what type of bracket you used and how you attached them to your camper?

[Fred-Linda]

Thanks JBB for asking. Our Little Joe has a 2-inch aluminum "angle-iron" type support on each side of the roof that runs the full length of the trailer, so I attached eye-bolts to the ends of the aluminum supports.

I cut two 1/2 inch aluminum conduits the width and length of the King Camp and slide the conduit through the eye-bolts either across the rear or along the side of the trailer.

Then I simply attach the hooks from each corner of the King Camp to the ends of the conduit. I cut the conduit long enough to add a short bungee cord from the corners of the canopy to give it some stretch flexibility in case of wind so that the canopy doesn't rip.

So far, so good. And it attracts a lot attention wherever we camp because very few RVers have ever seen or heard of a King Camp.

But on the other hand, not everyone shares our opinion and success with it. Just like some people love a Ford and hate a Chevrolet or vice-versa. That's part of what makes the world go 'round, huh?

. . . . .Fred

[alan H]

Fred
Can you add some pics
As I’m also thinking about doing this once I pickup my little joe

[Air Doug]

We use the Atlantic Coast Canvas Company rear awning offered by Lil Snoozy as an option and like it pretty well. It is a good sun shade and sheds water fine. The back door touches it when opening and closing if the awning is tilted to shed water but it is still okay. ACCC customer service is great.

We also use a MSR parawing tied to one of the upper awning mounts as a very wind resistant tarp.

We have a Kijaro Exo Shade which we have been using with our teardrop and like it a lot. We are still experimenting with how to use it with the Snoozy. It would require installing one or two attachment points so we are taking it easy before deciding. We would use 1/2 inch stainless steel screws which don't go all the way through the hull, so no leak worries.

[CarlD]

Air Doug,


I tested one of the cutouts I made in my Hauley project to see if it wicks water and you guessed it, sucks it right up. If you get water in the honeycomb it will be hard to get out and if it freezes it could delaminate. I am coating the edges of all my cutouts with good chalk. If you put screws in from the outside I recommend you make sure to seal them.

[Air Doug]

Originally Posted by CarlD

Air Doug,


I tested one of the cutouts I made in my Hauley project to see if it wicks water and you guessed it, sucks it right up. If you get water in the honeycomb it will be hard to get out and if it freezes it could delaminate. I am coating the edges of all my cutouts with good chalk. If you put screws in from the outside I recommend you make sure to seal them.

Wow, I never even thought of that. I assumed that it was waterproof and impervious. I have drilled through the body at 8 places and have sealed it each time. I'm glad I did! Thanks much for sharing your knowledge.

[Thomcat316]

Originally Posted by CarlD

If you put screws in from the outside I recommend you make sure to seal them.

Strong suggestion: If you make holes in a cored composite be sure to pot the holes with thickened epoxy resin.

Make the hole in the core bigger than needed for the fastener (1/4" fastener gets a 5/8"-3/4" hole), fill the oversized hole with the epoxy putty, and redrill through the solid epoxy for the screw.

When I pot holes for a gelcoat surface I usually pot from the inside of the panel, using a bit of mylar taped on the inside to fair the potting epoxy. If you can't get to the inside you can inject lightly thickened epoxy from the outside using an irrigation syringe.

[CarlD]

Thomcat,


Thanks for the good advice. I have noticed the interior wall is a single layer of chop strand which does not hold screws very well. The exterior wall is about 3/16 to 1/8 and seems to hold screws well. I need to redo my interior connections.


Carl

[Thomcat316]

If you're doing a lot of interior work you may want to look at the following two items:

Weldmount is a bonding system for fasteners in composite construction. Attach stuff without making holes!

Six10 and GFlex epoxies are specialty epoxies for bonding structures together. They are toughened, and therefore ideal for flexible structures that are subject to vibration and shock.

If you'd like a serious rabbit hole to dive down, read back-issues of EpoxyWorks, West System's technical and applications journal. More knowledge than you'll ever use!

[CarlD]

Thomcat,


Are you talking about oversize drilling and filling for thru holes or does this apply to threaded holes. I am fastening things using 1/2 inch sheet metal screws which to not penetrate the exterior wall. Will the epoxy putty withstand a sheet metal screw? What epoxy putty do you use? Would JB weld - Plastic Weld putty work?


carl

[Thomcat316]

I would suggest potting all holes that go from the exterior into core material. It's not bad practice to do the same thing from the interior as well.

For screws over #6 diameter it's a good idea to predrill so you don't potentially crack your fill.

I work with resin quite a bit, so I end up making my own putty. Typically what I do for potting holes is to make it up to about a thick honey or thin mayonnaise consistency, with a filler that inhibits sagging. You want enough resin in the mix that the resin will wet the core and the exterior shell. This will give you a good seal. A drier putty will hold screw threads well, but will often leave gap for water to intrude into the core, which is what you are trying to avoid.

If you're not comfortable with a roll-your-own filler I would strongly suggest ordering any of the thickened products from either WEST System or System Three; Six10, GFlex Thickened, GelMagic, or EZ Fillet. If you're mixing from bottles or tubs, be sure to use a gram scale and mix the right ratio; if you're a bit off the epoxy will work fine, but you'll run out of one part before the other... Ask how I know! :-)

Also, if you're doing this in the cold you can mix and apply, then point an incandescent clip light at the area. Curing temperatures of 90-120°F are totally OK, and will speed things up dramatically.

[CarlD]

Thanks a bunch!

[Air Doug]

Thomcat, that is all really helpful. I am continuing my search for the optimum way to attach a fly or canopy to the Snoozy, and hull penetrations are my chief worry. We really like the Kijaro and it sheds wind really well, but needs secure attachments to the Snoozy. You have opened up new options for me to consider. Thanks.

I also need to take a look at the rear canopy supplied by the factory and see how well it is sealed. There are also a fair number of holes in the bottom of the trailer which I should consider sealing to prevent wetting of the core.

Doug