Hello.

I am about ready to get a 6.5' rooftop awning for my 5th Gen with a no drill Prinsu full length rack, and I am looking for your opinions. Of concern is fitting of the awning to the rack and interference with the cross bar screws, ease of attachment, noise levels, etc.

Thanks a lot.

Farzad

I have a Sherpa full length rack (essentially the same shape/concept) with a 6.5' awning. There's really no noise added. I'm not sure what you are asking as far as blocking cross bar mounting holes. I used the Sherpa awning mounts which attach the awning to the cross bar on the small side of the bar and not the top of the bar. I can still access all bolt heads and whatnot. The Prinsu cross bars have a bigger slot on the ends which I deemed unnecessary. I thought they might even limit my ability to attach things near the ends of the bars. look into Sherpa before you buy. their build quality, customer service, strength, and most off all, their sealing system is superior to Prinsu. No silicone is used so no need to wait for silicone to set and no worry of water intrusion.

I don't like those large parts of the Prinsu's cross bars either, and it is too late since I have had it for about a year.

If Sherpa is similar to Prisnu, you have screws that pass through the side rails for the cross bars to attach to. These screw heads is what I was talking about. I don't know how the Roam awning attaches to the rack. If there are brackets that come with Roam then there should be no problems.

Do you like your Roam awning? Is the 6.5' the right length for the T4?

Yeah, screws go through the side rail and into the cross bar. I can still access those. Prinsu makes some nice mounts. Sherpa mounts will work on the prinsu as well since the cross bars are pretty much the same. I have an OVS awning (same basic design as the Roam). It's nice. I don't think their customer service is very good though. 6.5' is perfect for a 4R. It's the same length as the roof and has no extra sticking out on the front or back. I wish I had spent a little more on a 180 batwing style awning though. That would be beefier and easier to set up.

The 8' Roam is the correct length for the full length Prinsu in my opinion (see photos). The 6.5 and 4' awnings really pail in comparison when the sun or weather is coming in sideways. Im using the Roam provided brackets and have not had an issue after 3 seasons with it. Still need to trim the bolts to length but got lazy. Thread below has some discussion on awning lengths as well.

Awning owners... 6.5' or 8'?

Also, If you don't like the end slots on the Prinsu crossbars try flipping the bar over so the non-slotted side is facing up.

Attached Images

       

Thanks for sharing those pictures. I can see that I need to attach the awning to the first and last-most cross bar because I use the second crossbar to mount a Rugged box. I may then need a third bracket unless the Awning can handle brackets at the two ends.

On the opposite side of the rack from the box I lay down my solar panels, and so that space is taken up already. I think Prinsu sells awning brackets that mount to the side rails.

Maybe I should visit a local shop here in Portland area.

Crap. Looking at those pics and now looking at my awning, I have to agree. 8’ would be better. You can see I have space on both ends.



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Yes, I think 8' is better, and I am going to go for that one. It will stick out a little bit over the windshield, but that should be part of the rugged look

The 8’ won’t stick out over the windshield






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Perfect; thanks. I have ordered mine and can't wait to get it.

Farzad