Fitting awning rail - any last minute tips?

[timski]

Hi Guys,

I've got one of the following awning rails that I am about to fit to the side of for my my Autosleeper hightop so I can attach a fiamma awning in a bag.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Pyramid-Awning- ... 757&sr=8-3

Comes with self-tapping screws and a sticky back plastic to help hold it in place while you screw it on.

Couple of questions.

1. Would it be a good idea to drill small pilot holes for the self-tapping screws?
2. Would it be a good idea to put some sekaflex on the back to prevent water getting in the screw holes? The product description says it creates its own water-tight seal when attached. Should I trust the description and skip the sekaflex?

Thanks,
Tim.

[LittleMissSunshine]

Hiya

meggles fitted mine and yes he drilled pilot hole, you risk cracking the fibreglass hightop if they are directly above each other, if you can spread them out - so spreading the stress.

Yes, sekaflex the back - definately!

You might need bigger self tapping screws than it comes with to make it secure.

Good luck.

PS - Oh my, think your my first post that I have advised and not asked!!!

[timski]

Thanks Little Miss Sunshine! I feel honoured to be your first answer

[LittleMissSunshine]

If it falls off or your hitop cracks ... you ain't seen me, right ?

[timski]

I just openned the awning rail and it comes with the screws (cheap looking) but also some little rubber washers for the screws. Anyone know what they are for?

I presume you put the washer between the hightop and the rail and then screw through the rail, through the awning rail hole and then into the hightop. So the washer creates a water tight seal and you don't need to use sekaflex or something similar? Anybody used these before or should I stick to the original plan and use sekaflex?

The other option would be hightop/rail/rubber washer and screw through that. Not sure why you would do that though?

Cheers,
Tim.

[weldore]

The washers go onto the screws first to seal the screw hole.try and find better screws as the ones in the box tend to shed their heads...they are a bit pants

[timski]

The washers go onto the screws first to seal the screw hole.try and find better screws as the ones in the box tend to shed their heads...they are a bit pants

So they end up between the rail and the screwhead?

Cheers,
Tim.

[weldore]

yes..the sticky stuff will seal it up round the back

[timski]

Once again, thanks for all your advice guys. I got the rail fitted just in time for the weekend where the canopy proved invaluable what with the changeable weather.

We bought an old Fiamma awning in a bag from eBay and we love it. We're even considering selling it and upgrading to the latest model as you can fit side panels but for now we're happy to use a wind breaker instead of side panels. Certainly our favourite accessory so far.

Anyway, I thought I'd do a quick recap of your advice and add some of my experiences for the benefit of anyone else doing this in future. In short, I should have paid more attention to you guys and not rushed so much and it would have been a lot easier

1. First and foremost, make sure you have the rail high enough. I had to remove the rail and fit it again as I hadn't put it high enough and it hung too low making it difficult to open the sliding door - had to refill the pilot holes with body filler, rub down, spray - nightmare!!! Lesson learned the hard way!!
2. As advised the screws that come with the awning rail are not the best. The metal is so soft that if you are a bit too vigorous with the screw driver you can easily damage the head making it difficult to drive the screw home or remove it. I bought some new screws as advised for my second attempt I didn't bother with bigger screws just better quality and used all the screw holes although I can see the logic in buying slightly bigger screws and spreading them out a bit.
3. If you try to drive the screw home in a straight line the head of the screw touches the main channel of the awning rail and makes it difficult to drive home and then the screw head is prone to being damaged. It helps to angle the screw in towards the main channel slightly so the head is further away from it and isn't obstructed when driving home. I think I read this tip on an amazon review (?) and didn't really understand what they meant until it happened to me. Hopefully it's clear as mud now
4. The product comes with 2 X 2mm drill bits. I thought that was rather generous until I realised they are so brittle they break very easily. Fortunately I had a decent dewalt drill bit set so used the 2mm bit from that to do the pilot holes and had no more problems. I would suggest using a decent 2mm drill bit.
5. If you have a clutch on your screw driver set it low and drive the screw home slowly otherwise you'll damage the screw heads.
6. Again as advised above use sealant between the rail and the hightop to prevent water getting in the screw holes.

So thanks again and good luck to anyone else who tries this in future
Tim.

[LittleMissSunshine]

Glad you are sorted ... or you can cajole another forum member to fit it whilst you nosh on their food and drink their tea

Great guide though

[evilnoodle]

Have read this avidly as we now have a Caravanstore to fit

The caravan is minding it at the moment...saves finding somewhere in the house to store it

[timski]

Good luck! In hindsight it's an easy job, especially if you have two goes at it

[faggie]

on my last van i used silicon sealer to mount rail to van so no drilling needed and it was on for many years without any problems even in bad wind it never came of