Thule bar awning mount. How'd you do it?

[BentBomber]

^Looks like top notch stuff.

Thanks guys. It all came about because I wanted to mount my ARB awning on my Thule bars, and didn't need a basket type rack on my tacoma. I wasn't really excited about any of the options I found, especially L brackets and hose clamps. Ended up trying out the L bracket method and broke two of them over the course of about 9 months. Decided to do something about it. These things will never break!

 

[Jack Stilts]

Thanks guys. It all came about because I wanted to mount my ARB awning on my Thule bars, and didn't need a basket type rack on my tacoma. I wasn't really excited about any of the options I found, especially L brackets and hose clamps. Ended up trying out the L bracket method and broke two of them over the course of about 9 months. Decided to do something about it. These things will never break!

These are brilliant. Great idea! I'll certainly be picking these up soon.

 

[BentBomber]

These are brilliant. Great idea! I'll certainly be picking these up soon.

Not to push my own product too much, but we are doing a pre-order special through the middle of the month. $25 dollars off if purchased before Nov 15 or so. We will start shipping Dec 1, so not too much longer!

 

[Jack Stilts]

I'm moving to some Thule bars soon and I need a solution to this. I've been looking at all the options for my ARB awning, and it looks like the Bomber mounts and the LabRak mounts are going to be close contenders. Both are exactly what I've been looking for.

 

[SSF556]

Check out what I did...I can get you the bracket part #s tomorrow..purchased them at Home Depot. The hardware can also be purchased there...I just used a bolt that has the square edges. The key is to tighten down the bolt and nut so you have just enough space to slide onto the Thule bar with some resistance. I used my vice on my work bench and used a hammer to tap the bracket into the groove on the Thule bar. Once you get that right you can tighten down the nut. This setup is under $20 bucks. I mount an ARB 2500 and I have no issues at all. You will need to drill new holes in the vertical part of the bracket to match the ARB tracks. Removing the awning is very quick.


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[chasespeed]

To be completely honest, those brackets, or that design, with a gusset to take the strain off the bend, would be plenty adequate for the application.

Left like that, it will fail in the area of the bend, due to fatigue from vibration.

Not trying to slam your brackets.
Chase

 

[BentBomber]

I did pretty much the same thing with my ARB 2500 for about 6 months and ended up going through 2 sets due to breakage at the bend from vibration. Thats the reason I started making my own mounts. Yours look nice with paint, and should work well for you depending on the kind of driving you do. I just know living out west with all of the dirt/washboard roads I drive on it just wears them out. I decided I wanted to build an awning mounting system that would last longer than the awning.

 

[Jack Stilts]

I pulled the trigger on the LabRak mounts. I wanted the Bomber mounts, but I couldn't justify the price (read: wife would kill me).

The LabRak mounts are sturdy and versatile. I dig em.

 

[BentBomber]

Very nice! I've yet to actually get a chance to check out their brackets. If you ever have any issues with them give me a call.

 

[Treadup]

Bomber Products, your mounts look very well built!

I have the ARB awning that I will only use a few times a month when we go to the beach. Wondering if anyone has tried the rhino-rack thule bar awning mounts. They look plastic and for the price I assume the are. Just curious if it would even be worth trying to adjust them to fit with the ARB.

http://www.etrailer.com/Accessories...Kw8A22G_KRFg0sYU1UiLNQxiUZgtTPH7d3xoC39nw_wcB

 

[BentBomber]

I've spent some time with them. They have two sets that will work, but do not sell them separately that I'm aware. You would also need to drill extra holes in either one to make it work with an ARB. The one that comes with the Foxwing is too tall, and the one that works with their Sunseeker only has one hole as their Sunseeker only has one slot.

 

[Chris85xlt]

I found the ARB awning mounts for $23ea and bolted them to some Yakima Universal MightyMounts. Now i can quickly switch between the Tacoma or JKUR with the Rhino Rack

 

[Ducky's Dad]

I fabbed up some brackets similar to the ones BentBomber shows. Couple chunks of big aluminum angle, some stainless 1/4-20 fasteners, and a little time with saw and file. My bars are Yakima, but I found that the two-hole EMT conduit clamps from Home Depot were a perfect fit around the bars. Galvanized, snug fit, predrilled for the 1/4" bolts. I think I used 1", but they may have been 1-1/4". They hold an EZ-Awn Bat 270 on one side of the rack and a PVC water tank on the other side.
http://www.homedepot.com/p/1-1-4-in-Electrical-Metallic-Tube-EMT-2-Hole-Strap-26164/100209836

 

[RKRUGER]

I was asked to share more info about my set up. Pics are attached. I have about 10,000 miles on this setup without any issues. The Yakima RailGrab brackets and bars mount directly to the UZJ100 OEM sidebars. To the Yakima bars are mounted Yakima Snap Around Universal Mounts ( https://www.amazon.com/Yakima-Snap-Round-Square-Set/dp/B0025UH06U ) You can hang off the Yakima bars, and the CVT provided brackets that work on both my CVT awning and my ARB awning are more than robust enough. If I thought there were durability concerns I could easily add another bar.

Chris85xlt, love the idea you have there. I try to hang my awning down closer into the slipstream of the truck. The simplicity of your approach certainly has positives though. The additional height probably comes in handy quite often.

 

[Hltoppr]

I kept it simple...angle iron and U-bolts...just attached the Yakima bar through the U-bolts. Worked great for my self-supporting Hannibal awning.

-H-