Awning rail attachment

[Excaliber]

Hi all, considering fitting a white aftermarket awning rail lower down on side of Moho for easier access to fit small porch type awning, only rail currently fitted is on the leading edge of the roof mounted full length roll out awning which is just too high to reach and I don’t like rolling this out to fit a conventional awning then winding it back in which raises the awning as this puts a lot of strain on the roll out system
My question is has anyone else fitted a awning rail using silkaflex adhesive or similar product would this be robust enough without fitting screws which may invalidate warranty
All sensible suggestions considered thanks

 

[Manic]

I don’t know but the previous owner of our van had fitted an awning rail under the rollout and that’s screwed on. I wouldn’t think there would be enough land to successfully just stick one on.

 

[namwaldog]

We have one about 4m long sikaflexed onto the vertical side of our Burstner without screws.
It was on when we bought the van and has had a large air awning mounted on it in 50mph winds without issue.
It has quite a broad base to give more surface area for the sikaflex

The image above is from Keder UK via Amazon

 

[two]

I've not done it but what kind of awning do you plan to fit?
If the top rafters are tensioned against the van, I'd go for screws and space them towards where the rails will be.
An air awning may spread the tension more evenly.
If concerned about warranty, why don't you ask the underwriter?

 

[TOAD on Tour]

Hi - I would agree with the Keder strip in previous post from namwaldo, we had one on a VW T25 Campervan. However I would say that we have always used air awnings for a few years on our Motorhome threaded on to the rail of the Fiamma wind out awning and although I agree stress is put on the awning, we have never had any issues. We usually use a step to stand on and take the weight of the air awning as it is wound in.

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[DangerMousy]

You'll be fine just sticking it on - no need for screws. We've used Sikaflex EBT from Screwfix and done it twice (previous MH and current one) and they've both stood up to a lot of pressure....including one one memorable occasion when we unexpectedly had 4" of snow overnight. That was before we got a proper canopy and we only had a tarp & poles at the time.....the load of snow was heavy enough to cause the tarp to bag in the middle & pull out some of the guys.....but the awning rail was solid.

 

[AndyPK]

I stuck lengths of C-channel to the underside of my wind-out Dometic awning and attach any porch awnings, etc., to that - the C-channel diameter is greater than the awning rail channel, so I don’t need Keder strip. I used 3M VHB 5952F double-sided tape to attach the C-channel to the underside of the awning.

 

[uzsnowdrop]

We have one about 4m long sikaflexed onto the vertical side of our Burstner without screws.
It was on when we bought the van and has had a large air awning mounted on it in 50mph winds without issue.
It has quite a broad base to give more surface area for the sikaflex

View attachment 610744

The image above is from Keder UK via Amazon

Stuck on right thats going knowhere. No need for holes

 

[Drexl]

I have a Thule awning strip attached with Sikaflex adhesive to the side of my van.
Details and fitting instructions are available from here:
83609-thule-quickfit-easylink-universal-mount-kit

 

[Excaliber]

Thanks everyone that’s reassuring to know silkaflex is up to the job, did anyone put tile spacers behind the ‘c’ channel to prevent the adhesive being squeezed out too much or is it ok with a thin bead
I don’t have the awning yet, looking to purchase a lightweight standard pole type which packs up smaller than the air types approx 2.5 x 2.5mtrs will obtain and fit awning C channel before purchasing appropriate awning

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[AndyPK]

Thanks everyone that’s reassuring to know silkaflex is up to the job, did anyone put tile spacers behind the ‘c’ channel to prevent the adhesive being squeezed out too much or is it ok with a thin bead

That’s one of the reasons I chose to use the double-sided tape - and for the fact that it was the same width as the C-channel face to be attached to the awning box underside…..

 

[DangerMousy]

Thanks everyone that’s reassuring to know silkaflex is up to the job, did anyone put tile spacers behind the ‘c’ channel to prevent the adhesive being squeezed out too much or is it ok with a thin bead

I tried that when I attached the rail to our first MH - was a bit of a faff and didn't work that well (the tile spacers just fell out). The second time around (on our current MH) I just put a reasonably thick bead on the back and then wiped off the excess that squidged out the side whilst making sure not to press down too hard. That was much easier and seems to have worked just as well.

 

[Excaliber]

Thanks for the latest updates