....long story short, the front bottom L-bracket piece of the bolt-on clip on my awning (I think its a TransAwn 2000) broke in half while going down the road, stressed the front section of the van's rain gutter and created a crack along the inside seam. I temporarily relieved the stress off the gutter by bungee-ing up the awning to the loops on the front storage area of the camper. To worsen the damage, while at camp and the awning out, a strong gust of wind toward the passenger side lifted the awning off the ground and plastered it against the extended poptop and lengthened the front crack and created a new one where the awning attaches to the aft section of the the raingutter. Lesson learned: Always stake down the awning poles. Anyway, a friend with welding experience recommends doing a stitch weld to avoid warping of the gutter and then use MarineTech (sp?) to do a filler of the remaining cracks to prevent rusting. Of course I'll have to do touch up job once the paint's burnt. Has anyone been down this avenue yet? Also, these L-bracket never seemed stong enough since they're made of aluminum. They relieve the stress off of the gutter and transfer it to a small section of the outside paneling of the van just below. Is there a better alternative? Thanks In Advance, Kevin Sullivan '87 Syncro Westy (Baja bound in 6 weeks) Soquel, Ca |
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