Date:         Thu, 22 Feb 2007 10:04:56 -0600
Reply-To:     Jim Felder <felder@KNOLOGY.NET>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Jim Felder <felder@KNOLOGY.NET>
Subject:      Re: Anyone ever use standard awning rails on a vanagon?
In-Reply-To:  <vanagon%2007022116455412@GERRY.VANAGON.COM>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII; delsp=yes; format=flowed

On Feb 21, 2007, at 3:44 PM, Bill Glenn wrote:

> Jim,
> Jim
> Here is my experience with both types of awnings  In addition to my
> Vanagon
> for use in North America, I keep a similar campervan in Australia,
> where I
> travel for several months at a time.
>
> The previous owner had installed a fully-self-contained, roll-out
> awning
> that mounted to the rain gutter, with stabilizing supports that
> extended
> downwards on the pillars of the van.
I'm trying to get away from this concept. I've seen these installed
on westies, but they are nice, but they seem oversized for a westy
that sees a good bit of daily driving. And it's another thing to
clean and paint, someday.
>
> I then installed just what you described, an extruded aluminum
> track with
> a "C" section to receive a canvas awning, which has a small rope
> sewn in
> the hem.  In Australia, this extrusion is available at any tent and
> awning
> fabricator, since many, if not most of the awnings are fitted to the
> vehicles and caravans (camp trailers)in this manner.  There, this
> extrusion
> is also called a sail track, either because it is similar to the
> groove or
> metal fitting on the trailing edge of the mast and the top of the
> boom that
> receives the lugs of the sail on a sail boat, or it may actually be
> a sail
> track on some type of boat (I have no experience with sail boats).
> Incidentally, this extrusion had the mounting flange only on one
> side, and
> the width was no more than 1".

I've seen and used sail track, which I may look into. It has the
capture groove in the center of a mounting base, not at the edge as
the camper "bag system" (as they are called, because the tarp goes in
a bag and does not permanently mount to the vehicle) which has the
capture groove at the edge of the flange.
>
>
> The disadvantages are it takes longer to set up, and two or three
> poles are
> required along the outer edge, together with guy lines staked to
> the ground
> (which can be a tripping hazard); the canvas, the poles, the guy
> lines, and
> the stakes must be stored in the van when not in use, though this
> would be
> a good item for the luggage carrier up top;

I'm used to dealing with this with my parents' camper. I have extra
poles and stakes and guys already to use with my westy. Besides, when
camping with an eight-year-old, you never have to do this stuff
yourself.

> if it's put away wet, it's more
> involved to open it up to the sun to dry when the opportunity presents
> itself, to avoid mildew.  I find I rarely use it unless I'm camped
> in the
> same spot for more than one day and need the shade, or it's really
> raining
> hard. It's not worth the bother for short term use.

Rain is important, but sun as much so for us. Anything to lower the
temperature of the camper on a warm day is worth looking into.
>
> One also sees a hybrid of the two: an awning which mounts into the
> sail
> track, but which also has a larger dowel or aluminum tube inserted
> into a
> hem along the outer edge of the awning as an aid to rolling it up
> against
> the van, where it is secured with straps (which are captured
> between the
> sail track and the van body).

This isn't a bad idea, especially if it could all be folded inside
the poptop.
>
> I also installed a ten-foot long sail track on the off-side, and I
> have a
> mini awning made of light-weight rip-stop nylon, about eight feet
> wide and
> four feet deep which I angle down and away from the van with guy
> ropes and
> stakes to shade the off-side when it's really hot; in such
> conditions this
> bit of extra shade has a positive affect on the operation of the
> refrigerator.

I'd thought of that, too.
>
> As much as I would like the ease of use associated with a Fiamma
> awning on
> my Vanagon here, I frequently use the full capabilities of the
> syncro on
> rough and narrow roads to reach camping spots inaccessable to
> larger rigs,
> so I will probably duplicate the awning configuration of my other
> campervan.  I don't see any problem fitting the sail track to the
> Vanagon
> if I find the same narrow, single-sided flange type of extrusion.
> This is
> not a priority for me right now, but one bit of advice if you do
> this.  At
> the cut ends of the extrusion, file a taper on both sides of the
> entrance
> to the "C" section, and sand it smooth.  This will aid in threading
> the
> awning into the sail track.

That's how it was done on our camper, and it works smoothly.

A final thought from me: If I can find a complementary extrusion that
will fit nicely into the gutter, I will be able to use to two to
clamp to the gutter. The advantage is to bring the front edge of the
awning to the front of the front door, not the sliding door, giving
an extra four feet or so of coverage. The way the awning rail stops
at the luggage rack on the conventional installation makes it easy to
rain into the door if the rain is coming from the front passenger
side angle. Running the track all the length of the gutter would
protect the interior from all but the very worst weather.

Jim
>
> Bill
>