Mounting awning to Yakima/Thule roof TRACKS?

[jbeer]

It's going to be a couple more months until I add a platform to the top of my ARE Topper but for now I'd like to mount a small ARB Awning (48") to directly to the tracks on the topper - is this possible?

I've seen this done in a store display (angled bracket to awning, screwed directly into the track mount) but I have not seen it on a vehicle... Any problems with this strategy?

 

[Red1]

It's going to be a couple more months until I add a platform
to the top of my ARE Topper but for now I'd like to mount
a small ARB Awning ( 48" ) directly to the tracks on the topper - is this possible ?

I've seen this done in a store display
( angled bracket to awning, screwed directly into the track mount )
but I have not seen it on a vehicle . . .

Any problems with this strategy ?

 

[jbeer]

Red, thanks, but I am asking if I can mount them to the tracks without any of the feet/crossbars/etc... Just the tracks directly.

 

[80t0ylc]

Why do you want to attach direct to t-track? It will not be as strong as attaching to crossbars. One of the functions that cross bars do, is spread the load to both sides of your rig or in your case topper. It might have looked nice and functional in a "store display", but that's not exposed to real world conditions...like wind and the stress of being exposed to everyday life on a vehicle. Not to mention deploying the awning and closing it up or catching a good gust of wind. Don't know what your setup on your topper is now, or what else you have planned, but if you want to add more to your t-tracks, such as a roof rack or kayak or bike carriers, your custom brackets that you'll have to fab or have made will probably get in the way of other adds to your t-tracks. Also, if your topper came with the t-tracks installed, you should find out what the load rating is. As mentioned before, the weight of the awning is only a small part of the stresses involved with supporting it in real world environment.

 

[jbeer]

Tom, yeah, I'm nervous about the dynamic forces on the awning/bracket while driving... I wanted to attach it to the track because I do not currently have any crossbars on the roof while I wait to pick a platform situation for the roof. Since I've never seen this done, and I am weary of the forces on the track alone, I will wait until I buy a platform/crossbar solution for the topper. Thanks!

 

[Chris Boyd]

BomberGear brackets.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[sonarman]

I built these which seem to be working fine.