High Top Awning Install

[frank73]

Hi!

I'm installing a 10ft 50lb awning and wanted to get your opinion on what I'm thinking. I'm hoping what I've designed will be strong enough to support it, but I'm not entirely sure if this will damage the fiberglass high-top. I assume it will be fine, but I wanted to make sure before I go drilling holes in the top. Most of what I've seen with other installations like this, is they mount the awning at the very top or on the roof rack, but that's high and I'd much rather have it mounted lower.

The plan is to build 3 custom steel brackets that mount along the side of the high top. I will also add a section of steel plate on the inside of the high top to further support the brackets and take some of the stress off the fiberglass. I'm thinking 3/16" thick steel, but maybe 1/8" will be enough.

LMK what you think! I'd love to know if this is a bad idea, so I don't end up seeing my awning rolling down the road in the rearview or having it rip apart the fiberglass in some way.

Thanks!

 

[RVflyfish]

I’ll be interested to see the feedback on this. Out of curiosity, why not make the exterior mounting points a full plate like the interior, rather than “feet”?

 

[frank73]

I’ll be interested to see the feedback on this. Out of curiosity, why not make the exterior mounting points a full plate like the interior, rather than “feet”?

That's interesting. Let me mock up version of that!

 

[frank73]

I’ll be interested to see the feedback on this. Out of curiosity, why not make the exterior mounting points a full plate like the interior, rather than “feet”?

I think this would work much better and be stronger. Either way, it's tricky because the high-top is not flat. It is slightly angled both vertically and horizontally because it's molded to the shape of the van body.

 

[RVflyfish]

I think this would work much better and be stronger. Either way, it's tricky because the high-top is not flat. It is slightly angled both vertically and horizontally because it's molded to the shape of the van body.

Agreed. Looking at my high top, I feel like I would need to manually curve the mounts slightly to match the shape of the top.

 

[dhally]

I would suggest having the internal backing plate be taller, vertically. It should extend from the top of the hightop to the flange, or as close as practical. Glue it to the inside of the fiberglass. This will transfer the load to the stongest part of the top, and reduce the chance of the side wall flexing in and out.
And install 3 mounts if possible.

 

[jhl99]

I would think a large piece of plywood could be used on the interior as a backing plate and use large washers or flat plate to spread the load bolt load into the plywood. Plywood as the advantage you can shape with a rasp or other tools to match the contours of fiberglass shell (assuming they aren't to drastic). It depends on how flat the mounting area is.

 

[frank73]

It's pretty flat on the inside which is great. If the metal plates don't work out, I will most certainly use wood instead.

 

[frank73]

Went forward with the original custom bracket design and so far it's working out really well. They are just tacked at the moment, but still strong enough to hold the awning. Getting the proper measurements was tough, but the wood rig/template I made gave me a starting point to make sure it's level. I decided to just put some large washers on the interior instead of a metal plate because it's plenty strong enough to hold the weight between the 3 anchor points. All that's left to do is weld up the brackets and send them off to be powder coated. Here's a photo dump of the project:

 

[frank73]

More photos: