Guest Mike Posted January 10, 2005 Share Posted January 10, 2005 Has anyone had any experience of fitting a side awning retrospectively to a high top conversion? Two things bother me 1. the fact that the sides are relatively speaking, not flat ot straight and 2. What is the hi top made of? Any thoghts would be gratefully received. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest PeteC Posted January 10, 2005 Share Posted January 10, 2005 Hi Mike We have a hi top conversion The people selling pull out awnings didnt want to fix one We have a drive away awning (Euro Vent) 2.5m wide 2.5m high. We have had a roof rack fitted & I tie the awning flaps to this using webbing straps & QR Buckles like the use on rucksacks & salopetts That is after one firm refused to alter one to fit saying it would be too big to be stable Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Brian Ramsden Posted January 10, 2005 Share Posted January 10, 2005 Why not ask Auto-Sleeper? I had a roll-out awning fitted to a 1986 Rambler, which I think was the 'van which succeeded the CXL, so I would not expect any problems, but A/S would know, and they are very helpful. Brian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Clive Posted January 10, 2005 Share Posted January 10, 2005 We have seen roll out awnings (Fiama and Omnistore) on Hi-top conversations on several occasions. On each occasion the box was fixed with 3 or 4 stout bespoke angle brackets fixed to the TOP of the roof. Many of these were on hi-top vans used by motorcycle scramblers and used to provide cover alongside the van used to carry them and their kit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Derek Uzzell Posted January 13, 2005 Share Posted January 13, 2005 Unless the motorhome is based on a 'high roof' panel van (when the complete body shell, including the top part will be steel) a hi-top will be made of reinforced glass-fibre material (GRP) bonded to the vehicle's original metal side-walls. I don't think there would any great difficulty fitting an awning to your Auto-Sleepers and there are a number of companies who specialise in this work (eg. Rose Awnings -www.awnings-blinds.com). But you may have to be a bit careful on how you use the awning. I was talking to a motorhome dealer quite recently about the bad reputation dealers seemed to have acquired, how customers can never be wrong nowadays and how "compensation" is immediately on people's lips when things go haywire. He told me about a couple of chaps (motorhome owner and son) who had turned up asking for details of the warranty relating to an awning he had installed on a hi-top (GRP) panel van some 18 months previously (NOT an A-S incidentally). The 'van's roof had developed stress cracks at the awning mounting points and the owner was proposing to claim for repair costs from the awning manufacturer. The dealer reminded the owner that, when the awning was installed, he had emphasised that it should be retracted in stormy conditions to avoid undue loads at the fixing-points. "Yes, I've always done that", said the owner. The son, who had been pretty vociferous till now, went very quiet. It transpired that he had been loaned the motorhome for a holiday and the cracking had been noticed afterwards. "Was it windy during your holiday by any chance?" asked the dealer. "A bit", said the son, looking evasive but adding "Why didn't you fit stronger mounting-plates to begin with?" "If I had", replied the dealer, "you would have complained about the big unsightly chunks of metal inside the motorhome and, if the awning had been left up in very windy weather, you could have lost half your roof." I asked what had happened and the dealer said he had provided them with the awning-manufacturer's contact details and they had left. As they exited the showroom he heard the owner say to his son "You didn't leave the awning up when it was windy, did you? I distinctly remember telling you not to." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Derek Uzzell Posted January 16, 2005 Share Posted January 16, 2005 Coincidentally, the day after posting my reply, I saw a Talbot Express-based Auto-Sleepers (a Rambler I think) in a local car-park. This was fitted with an Omnistor "Light" roll-out awning that was attached to the motorhome via several hefty bolt-equipped brackets that clamped to the metal gutter that ran along the vehicle's side where the hi-top met the side-wall. This seemed a better idea than fixing the awning to the GRP hi-top itself and I assume headroom was adequate when the awning was extended. The only potential downside would be that the awning might be easier to steal than one with through-the-hi-top bolts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest M.C Posted January 22, 2005 Share Posted January 22, 2005 I have a Talbot Autosleeper, it has a grp high roof and has a wind out awning fitted to it. It seems fine, never even thought about where or how it was fitted as it was fitted when I bought the `van, operates without hassle and is a usefull addition to the `van. M.C Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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