ARB Style Awning on OEM roof rails?

[kpd1999]

If that falls off on the road you are putting people in danger around you. Keep that in mind. That will loosen and break eventually.

If it falls off while I'm going down the road, I've really done something. (I wrote up about three paragraphs about these and tired to post it, but this thing said my post had to be longer than four characters???)

Anyway, I had that same concern so I wrapped one around a tree branch, hung from it (172 lbs), and tugged on it and it didn't break or come loose (the awning is ~30 lbs). I also marked the slot its in and drove around hitting every pothole and speed bump I could and it never loosened. That being said, I'll stop about 50 miles into my trip to Overland Expo and triple check it.

This isnt a permanent solution, so I'm not too concerned about "eventually". I plan on taking it off when I'm not using it, and I can inspect it for wear and signs of failure. I may also order some "super heavy duty" clamps which aren't sold locally out here just for added peace of mind in the future. Ultimately I'll have a rack and a more "permanent" mountaining option, but that's outside of my budget right now.

 

[KidVermicious]

If it falls off while I'm going down the road, I've really done something. (I wrote up about three paragraphs about these and tired to post it, but this thing said my post had to be longer than four characters???)

Anyway, I had that same concern so I wrapped one around a tree branch, hung from it (172 lbs), and tugged on it and it didn't break or come loose (the awning is ~30 lbs). I also marked the slot its in and drove around hitting every pothole and speed bump I could and it never loosened. That being said, I'll stop about 50 miles into my trip to Overland Expo and triple check it.

This isnt a permanent solution, so I'm not too concerned about "eventually". I plan on taking it off when I'm not using it, and I can inspect it for wear and signs of failure. I may also order some "super heavy duty" clamps which aren't sold locally out here just for added peace of mind in the future. Ultimately I'll have a rack and a more "permanent" mountaining option, but that's outside of my budget right now.

The concern is that over time, worm clamps will stretch. As they stretch, they'll fatigue and weaken rapidly. That fatigue may not be visible when you inspect them.

Not saying you gotta switch them out tomorrow, but it would be a good idea to bend your head to finding a more permanent solution. :thumb:

 

[arrogantbarber]

I was a union sheet metal worker so I'm no stranger to metal. Take a your clamp and two pair of plyers. Keep bending the clamp back and forth until it snaps. It WIll snap. When metal bends it gets harder until it breaks apart. Hey I'm sure your super happy to have a tent attached to your truck but that's a terrible installation and I wouldn't let that off my driveway. You can buy a stand alone tent shade from Walmart for 40$. Thats like buying a winch and not having a place to put it. I'm not saying your install is not possible but with real metal parts fabbed to fit. Hose clamps ?

 

[arrogantbarber]

Hey man in not trying to be a Dick I want to express myself politely.. another point - if you get into an accident that tent will break off and torpedo into the car in front of you! You drive a $37,000 truck. Be an adult about this. Again I can't make you do anything but when I see people at Ikea tying things to the roof of their car with string I give them a tie down and help them. Enjoy your tent pal.

 

[kpd1999]

The concern is that over time, worm clamps will stretch. As they stretch, they'll fatigue and weaken rapidly. That fatigue may not be visible when you inspect them.

Not saying you gotta switch them out tomorrow, but it would be a good idea to bend your head to finding a more permanent solution. :thumb:

I agree completely. I'm still looking for more/better temporary solutions, until I get a rack. I looked at using some type of aluminum/steel bars for brackets on both sides of the rack bar, but I couldn't figure out a good way to make them work. Always open to new ideas.

I was a union sheet metal worker so I'm no stranger to metal. Take a work clamp and two pair of plyers. Keep bending the worn clamp back and forth until it snaps. It WIll snap. When metal bends it gets harder until it breaks apart. Hey I'm sure your super happy to have a tent attached to your truck but that's a terrible installation and I wouldn't let that off my driveway. You can buy a stand alone tent shade from Walmart for 40$. And that degree of African engineering of yours. .. no good .

Although I'm not an engineer or a union sheet metal worker, I am familiar with metal fatigue and that was a concern when I was coming up with how to mount it.

My tests are far from scientific. I lack the proper instruments to measure how many psi that it would take to break the metal. If one can hold a static weight of 172 lbs (minus of course the give in the tree branch when weight was applied to it), i'm hoping four can hold a static weight of ~30 lbs. I really have no way of measuring the dynamic load though (I hope that i'm using the right terms). Like you said, I can bend it up and down over and over again until it breaks (I'll go try that out in a minute to see how long it takes me to break it), but that doesn't seem to scientific without a way to measure the forces being applied to it over time?

Im open to other ideas and with your experience in the metal field, I appreciate your insight.

I guess I could use something like large zip ties to wrap around it when I travel, then remove them when I get to my destination. What do you think about that idea?

I'm still trying to figure out what Africa has to do with it though.....????

 

[proquip]

Hey man in not trying to be a Dick...

Too late...

I want to express myself politely..

Nope, not even close....

I know the internet makes people "speak" with no filter, but geez, there was a better way of making the point politely.

 

[kpd1999]

I was a union sheet metal worker so I'm no stranger to metal. Take a your clamp and two pair of plyers. Keep bending the clamp back and forth until it snaps. It WIll snap. When metal bends it gets harder until it breaks apart. Hey I'm sure your super happy to have a tent attached to your truck but that's a terrible installation and I wouldn't let that off my driveway. You can buy a stand alone tent shade from Walmart for 40$. Thats like buying a winch and not having a place to put it. I'm not saying your install is not possible but with real metal parts fabbed to fit. Hose clamps ?

Exploring those options today too at a local metal fab shop.

Again, Im open to your insight as this was your profession and your experience well exceeds mine.



(Its hard to quote and reply when you edit your posts)

 

[KidVermicious]

I agree completely. I'm still looking for more/better temporary solutions, until I get a rack. I looked at using some type of aluminum/steel bars for brackets on both sides of the rack bar, but I couldn't figure out a good way to make them work. Always open to new ideas.

Well, check out Jono.ful's setup again. He's got an aftermarket roof rack, but you can use the same principle - bolt a set of plates to the awning, then bolt another set of plates to the first set, sandwiching the side rail of your stock roof rack. Tool dip the plates or use some rubber gasket from the plumbing section to protect the finish on your racks side rails. Bend the inside plate a little bit so it follows the contour of the side rail so that the thing doesn't roll on you.

If you don't have a bunch of metal laying around, look up metal supply houses in your yellow pages, most of them have remnants and offcuts they sell by the pound - look for a couple feet of 3/16ths aluminum or 1/8th mild steel, about 2 inches wide. If you don't have any fab equipment, a drill is $20 at Harbor Freight, an angle grinder is about the same, pick up a set of bits for the drill and a cutoff wheel and flap wheel for the grinder and you're ready to fab. If you don't have a vise, a set of c-clamps to keep your work stationary will be helpful.

That's how I'd do it anyway, but I tend to go for the quick and cheap answer. I'm sure there's a more elegant solution if you look for it.

 

[arrogantbarber]

Hey guys again I apologize! I'm clicking away through some forums and I see pictures of hose clamps holding a tent to a roof. Please be very carefully on our public streets. If you were in Austin I would be over in a second to help you out!

 

[kpd1999]

Well, check out Jono.ful's setup again. He's got an aftermarket roof rack, but you can use the same principle - bolt a set of plates to the awning, then bolt another set of plates to the first set, sandwiching the side rail of your stock roof rack. Tool dip the plates or use some rubber gasket from the plumbing section to protect the finish on your racks side rails. Bend the inside plate a little bit so it follows the contour of the side rail so that the thing doesn't roll on you.



If you don't have a bunch of metal laying around, look up metal supply houses in your yellow pages, most of them have remnants and offcuts they sell by the pound - look for a couple feet of 3/16ths aluminum or 1/8th mild steel, about 2 inches wide. If you don't have any fab equipment, a drill is $20 at Harbor Freight, an angle grinder is about the same, pick up a set of bits for the drill and a cutoff wheel and flap wheel for the grinder and you're ready to fab. If you don't have a vise, a set of c-clamps to keep your work stationary will be helpful.



That's how I'd do it anyway, but I tend to go for the quick and cheap answer. I'm sure there's a more elegant solution if you look for it.

That was actually my first idea. I got steel and aluminum bars, plus all the hardware I need to do that. I was gonna use the steel bar to attach to the awning, and the aluminum bar to attach it to the rack sense the aluminum will bend a little. My neighbor thought of the clamp idea, so I tested (loosely used term) it and tried it. I've got two more days before my trip to try this out. If I see any issues, I'll back up and try using the bars.


Funny you mentioned that about the drill. I did have to buy a new one, but I ended up getting one at Lowes. My other one was old and ended up with a lot of sheet rock dust in the brushes. Who knew that isn't good for a drill? That caused it to smoke and spark every time I used it. Anyway, I figured it was time for a replacement.

Thanks for the mounting suggestion though.

 

[proquip]

I ended up using worm clamps. Gotta trim them up, but is definitely secure.

kdp1999 I see that the top channel on the awning frame runs above the rack. Does the bottom channel run below the rack rail? What's the width between channel on the awning frame? You could use t-slot bolts on the awming side and a nice backing plate on the other side of the rack frame (essentially making a sandwich of the rack frame. Do that 4-5 times along the length of the rack and your solid.

Good luck and let us know what you figure out. Thanks!

 

[kpd1999]

Hey guys again I apologize! I'm clicking away through some forums and I see pictures of hose clamps holding a tent to a roof. Please be very carefully on our public streets. If you were in Austin I would be over in a second to help you out!

At first glance I probably would have thought the same thing. I'm surprised how strong these actually are. Again, my playing with them isn't scientific testing.

I thought this would go without being said but I guess not: I would not put anything on the road that I would consider unsafe - for me or anyone else. I'm a huge fan of redundancy and over engineering. I'm going to try this a few days around town, evaluate, and go from there.

If I make it to Austin, I'll give you a call and we can see what other options we can come up with. Thanks!

 

[kpd1999]

kdp1999 I see that the top channel on the awning frame runs above the rack. Does the bottom channel run below the rack rail? What's the width between channel on the awning frame? You could use t-slot bolts on the awming side and a nice backing plate on the other side of the rack frame (essentially making a sandwich of the rack frame. Do that 4-5 times along the length of the rack and your solid.



Good luck and let us know what you figure out. Thanks!

The width of the awning rails is 1 7/8". The roof rack rail is 2 1/4". I placed the top bolt on top of the rail and the bottom bolt in the slot of the rail.

I'm not familiar with t-slot bolts, but I'll research them.

Thanks!

 

[KidVermicious]

T-bolts - Amazon.com: T-Slot Bolts - Screws & Bolts: Industrial & Scientific

If you found one of those the right size, could you slip it into the track where the crossbars slide? If you had that, you could get a piece of decent u channel and bolt one side to the t-bolt and the other to the awning. That could actually be pretty slick, but I wonder if the side rail is strong enough to withstand that torsion stress from the weight of the awning.

 

[kpd1999]

T-bolts - Amazon.com: T-Slot Bolts - Screws & Bolts: Industrial & Scientific



If you found one of those the right size, could you slip it into the track where the crossbars slide? If you had that, you could get a piece of decent u channel and bolt one side to the t-bolt and the other to the awning. That could actually be pretty slick, but I wonder if the side rail is strong enough to withstand that torsion stress from the weight of the awning.

If I'm following you correctly, the U channel will be attached facing the awning, wrapping around the roof rail? The issue I have is I don't think I can get the appropriate angle on the T bolts to make it over and under the roof rack (I'm not sure if I'm describing that correctly). That's why I didn't do it like Jono.ful. Is that kinda what your thinking?

I guess ultimately I could drill through the roof rack, then use a steel backing plate but I'm trying to avoid drilling through it. If the awning was a little taller the rack rail was smaller things would be much simpler.

I don't think lateral forces on the rack are going to be an issue with this awning.

Thanks!

 

[KidVermicious]

If I'm following you correctly, the U channel will be attached facing the awning, wrapping around the roof rail? The issue I have is I don't think I can get the appropriate angle on the T bolts to make it over and under the roof rack (I'm not sure if I'm describing that correctly). That's why I didn't do it like Jono.ful. Is that kinda what your thinking?

I guess ultimately I could drill through the roof rack, then use a steel backing plate but I'm trying to avoid drilling through it. If the awning was a little taller the rack rail was smaller things would be much simpler.

I don't think lateral forces on the rack are going to be an issue with this awning.

Thanks!

Like this:

But again, I'd worry about the weight of the awning applying torsional stress to the siderail itself as you bounce along the road. I don't have a 5gen, so maybe that rail is burlier than I'm imagining it.

 

[kpd1999]

Like this:

But again, I'd worry about the weight of the awning applying torsional stress to the siderail itself as you bounce along the road. I don't have a 5gen, so maybe that rail is burlier than I'm imagining it.

Thanks for the diagram, that helped a lot.
That just might work if I can find the right hardware. If I can find a U channel that would hug the rail I think it would reduce the lateral stress. The channel on the inside of the rack is pretty wide, but I guess I could find a large washer to make it work if I can't find a T bolt that large. I'll see if I can find the parts I need today. Thanks!

 

[KidVermicious]

If you can't find the right tbolt, make one. Get a square chunk of 1/8th or whatever fits snugly in the rail and tack weld a piece of allthread to it.

 

[crackiswack]

Or you could apply the same concept to the outside rail and you wont need the U-channel, just some flat stock

 

[proquip]

I placed the top bolt on top of the rail and the bottom bolt in the slot of the rail.

I'm not familiar with t-slot bolts, but I'll research them.

Thanks!

Interesting. I would consider running a t-slot bolt (or button head cap screw that fits snuggly in the channel) in the top awning channel and place/rest on top of the rail, and a second t-slot bolt through the rail (drill a hole just large enough for the bolt to cross the rail). On the other side of the rail, I would use a backing plate with washer/nut to secure. I think that would be a pretty stout connection between awning and rack rail.

You've got a few good ideas in this thread - let us know what you decide to do.