Awning arm mod

[Burnsy]

Hi all,

I thought i'd put up a pic of the first mod i did on the expanda which works great and saves time. I replaced the set screws on top of the awning arms that hold the caps on for the roll out awning with stainless steel eye bolts. That way you only need to clip your ropes on via a spring clip which is also stainless and there is no stress on your barrel. This mod is a two person job as you need someone to hold the barrel while you slip the bracket off the top.

1st remove the screw then while supporting the barrel slide the bracket off the top. Then you need to remove the blind nut in the arm itself by drilling out with a 10mm (I think from memory) drill bit, this will collapse the nut. Replace bracket over the arm again and put your eye bolt through with a washer and nut fitted so it has something to tighten up to. You don't have much room behind the arm for a washer and nut because the other sliding arm need to be able to slide past it if this makes sense, you probably only have about 6mm or so. Anyway here's a pic.



Cheers.

 

[Big Gee]

That's cool, well done!

 

[zerosecta]

Very good mate, like that one

 

[cruza driver]

Your the ideas man Burnsy, great mod

 

[Cuey]

Good Mod Burnsy, what next on your Radar for Mods?????

 

[Burnsy]

Hi cuey, I had a few more things planned for my 16' but it's up for sale now so will wait untill I get our 18' (same as yours). First thing will be awning arms and canvas fly like yours then I'll go from there!

Cheers.

 

[Cuey]

Good Choice for the 18.57-6 mate. The family will love it.

If you want any info on what we got for our pricing... let me know

Cuey...

 

[straydingo]

Good thinking swapping out the exisitng bolts.
I did similar but used one of the them padeye type connectors attached to the steel arm itself. Two bolts drilled through from the back, but doesn't interfere with the sliding arm.

 

[Burnsy]

Good Choice for the 18.57-6 mate. The family will love it.

If you want any info on what we got for our pricing... let me know

Cuey...

Hi mate, I normally don't like talking dollars as sometimes it can offend but might do through pm's!

Cheers.

 

[Cuey]

Rodger mate,

PM when and if required, no dramas my end...

Cuey...

 

[Coastrunner]

Hmmm! I think that`ll be my next mod.

Just one question for Burnsy.

Couldn`t you get an eyebolt that screws straight into the existing lock nut within the awning arm?

I thought that might save a bit of work and possible damage?

Or is the thread size on the existing nut too small?

I do like the mod. I think all arms need extra support. I`m surprised that these awnings never come with extra attachment points for additional ropes to peg down in the stronger winds.

 

[Burnsy]

Hmmm! I think that`ll be my next mod.

Just one question for Burnsy.

Couldn`t you get an eyebolt that screws straight into the existing lock nut within the awning arm?

I thought that might save a bit of work and possible damage?

Or is the thread size on the existing nut too small?

I do like the mod. I think all arms need extra support. I`m surprised that these awnings never come with extra attachment points for additional ropes to peg down in the stronger winds.

Hi coastrunner, now you got me thinking....yeah I'm sure the thread was too small, however this time I did what I think SD was talking about and bolted on the stainless steel pad bolt bits like you can see in this pic. It was just a bit easier and a 1 man job!

Cheers.

 

[Coastrunner]

Thanks Burnsy.

My only concern is that there could be a lot of pressure on that one little area where the screws are in. I`m thinking if a strong wind comes up it could pull hard against the srews and rip them out of the arm?

I really want to have a fixed attachment like this as I really don`t want to tie a rope around the arm or roller.

Maybe if there was a larger plate placed on the inside of the awning arm to spread the load and fastened with small bolts with nylon nuts?

What do you think?

 

[Pace]

Definitely merit in placing plate within the internal channel of the awning arm. I like the stainless clips available for these tie off points.you can see then within the thread of ebay finds.cheers pace.

 

[Brad]

Thanks Burnsy.

My only concern is that there could be a lot of pressure on that one little area where the screws are in. I`m thinking if a strong wind comes up it could pull hard against the srews and rip them out of the arm?

I really want to have a fixed attachment like this as I really don`t want to tie a rope around the arm or roller.

Maybe if there was a larger plate placed on the inside of the awning arm to spread the load and fastened with small bolts with nylon nuts?

What do you think?

Yeah I was thinking the same thing Burnsy. So I am going to see how much space is available inside the channel for a nice wide washer and nut.

 

[Burnsy]

Thanks Burnsy.

My only concern is that there could be a lot of pressure on that one little area where the screws are in. I`m thinking if a strong wind comes up it could pull hard against the srews and rip them out of the arm?

I really want to have a fixed attachment like this as I really don`t want to tie a rope around the arm or roller.

Maybe if there was a larger plate placed on the inside of the awning arm to spread the load and fastened with small bolts with nylon nuts?

What do you think?

Hi mate, I know what your saying. I used 2x 5mm countersunk ss bolts, washers and nuts on each arm so my opinion if these rip out in wind then I think the whole awning would be ripped off the van! I really think this mounting is more than sufficient. I think the weak link is the rivet type thing that attaches the barrel to the cap on top of arm.

Cheers.

 

[Coastrunner]

Hmmm!

Good Points.

Appreciate your feedback.

Thanks.

 

[ROnEM]

Burnsy,

Great Mod - I was thinking of doing the same after our last outing as there is not a "clean" way to put any guy-rope on.

Thanks for doing all the hard work for us in figuring out this one.

Cheers,

Rohan

 

[Where2nxt]

What's with the parrot..... Was he holding the scew on the other side. Pet maybe. Like the mod idea though.

 

[Burnsy]

What's with the parrot..... Was he holding the scew on the other side. Pet maybe. Like the mod idea though.

Nah, just some nice king parrots hand feeding when we were down Kiama way!