mom Posted July 14, 2006 Share Posted July 14, 2006 Hi all! I have a VW Trident hightop (1992) and I am thinking of attaching a PDQ awning to the high top which I "think" is fiberglass. Could anyone advise on how strong the fiberglass is likely to be, and if it is likely to hold a C rail which will be holding a bag-awning. I was hoping to avoid pulling back the wall covering inside the van, hence I was hoping not to have to use bolts. This would leave self-tapping screws or something similar. Thoughts anyone? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom Posted July 17, 2006 Author Share Posted July 17, 2006 I'm replying to my own posting!!! In case anyone is interested, I have now learned that the hightop is lined with ply wood and it is OK to use good self tapping screws for the awning rail. In fact, we bought a Caravanstor awning at the Lincolnshire show and it is now attached and working. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
howie Posted July 23, 2006 Share Posted July 23, 2006 Hello Mom. I once helped my brother in law to secure a awning rail to the side of his van which also had a fibreglass hightop. The first point i would like to make is never underestimate the strength of the wind. Even a mild gust will put tremendous strain on both the fixing points and the fibreglass itself. We decided the only way to do it was to place a length of batton inside the roof and bolt the the rail through both the fibreglass and the wood. ( don,t skimp on the sealant ). We countersank the holes for the bolts on the wood inside, gave it a coat of stain and varnish to match the existing woodwork and the final result looked quite good. The other benifit of having the batton inside was that by placing hooks on the batton it provided a handy place for hanging keys, cups and other light items. Hope this helps. Howard. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.