Date:         Tue, 9 May 2000 09:31:08 -0400
Reply-To:     John Fried <john@DATAKNIGHT.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         John Fried <john@DATAKNIGHT.COM>
Organization: dataKnight, L.L.C.
Subject:      Catalina 2500 Awning Installation
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii

Yesterday our A&E Dometic Catalina 2500 awning finally arrived and I
wasted no time getting it installed on our '85 Westy. Three van adaptor
brackets were supplied in the kit and, while it said only two were
needed, I installed all three. (The one awning I saw at EveryBus had all
three brackets installed.) I had raised the top to make it easier to
install the awning. Installation went fairly smooth until it came time
to lower the top. It seems that the outer edge of the top hits the nut
holding the awning case to the center bracket (just aft of the sliding
door). It also might be hitting the nut at the rear bracket -- but it
was getting dark and I wasn't about to open it up again. While I was
able to "shift" the top enough to close it, I am concerned that repeated
open/close cycles will eventually damage the top.

I will remove the offending nut & bolt tonight but I would like to hear
from others who have installed this awning to their bus. Did you use two
or three brackets? Did you secure the case to 1, 2 or 3 brackets? Any
clearance problems? How did you solve them? Also, I'd be interested in
any tips/tricks to use/care/etc. you may have found.

We really love the awning. Setup and takedown is easy and there is ample
vertical clearance for my 6'1" frame. Now let it rain while we're
camping...

John
'85 Westy (no name...yet)