Building an eyebrow awning for T@G side entry

WilliamA

I've been mulling this over for awhile now and have finally gotten around to doing the math and dimensions. Part of the interest I've had is due to the "wet entry" when it's raining outside. That's the primary motivation. I also (by way of motivation) have been mulling over the thought of getting rid of some shock-cord poles I've had lying about and it's either use or throw out. I don't like collecting things so it's one or the other.

The philosophy is to make a quick setup eyebrow awning that attaches to the trailer and doesn't require any ground stakes or guy-ropes to deploy. I hate the thought of putting up tents, ropes, stakes and all of the stuff I got rid of when camping by purchasing a trailer. So the awning needs to be compact, fast to set up and take down, self-supporting and rugged so I can leave it up overnight in anything but a gale-force wind. Having learned a lot about gale-force winds in the night, I also want to be able to take it down quickly should the weather surprise me at 2:00 a.m. There's not much in camping less fun than wrestling down an awning or canopy with a flashlight clenched in my teeth while picnic tables, various trailers and trees are flying by. Been there and don't want to go back.

Here are a few photos of the process thus far:
The following 2 photos are the shock-cord poles I had on hand. They are the same diameter but one set is fiberglass and the other is aluminum. The aluminum ones seem to have much more rigidity so I've decided to go with those first. I spent some time taking them apart and lengthening them to the same overall length as the fiberglass ones so if need be, I can use either. I'll experiment with both. I have enough for both the long pole and the stays that will be needed to eliminate the dreaded ground cords and stakes. The fiberglass poles have a collapsed length of 24" and the aluminum ones have a collapsed length of just about 13":

Another key to making it work has been determining where the long pole will attach to the trailer and how. I looked at a few manufactured eyebrow awnings for the T@G and none offered the basics. All were essentially a long shock-cord pole that attached to the awning fabric and just hung from the keder rail. In any wind, they would blow up or down, providing little in the way of structural integrity. I wanted to fix that so the first design requirement was to have the long pole attach relatively low on the trailer. I messed with a few different locations and all had some drawbacks, primarily in that they needed me to drill the trailer for mounting. I eventually came up with the following 2 mounting points. In addition to being structurally correct for strength, they didn't require me to drill holes in the trailer body proper.
The rear mount simply sandwiches beneath the trailer rear running light using the same mounting holes. I made this bracket to go under the light and it seems to be close enough to the right size and angle to properly attach the pole. It protrudes a bit beyond the light. I might make another that hugs the trailer body more tightly, but this one seems to work well as it is. If I decide this is the right mount, I'll need to remove the light and put in some proper anchors in the trailer wall. Those screws won't hold for long if I use the awing as I anticipate:

The front mount simply attaches to the aluminum debris box. I drilled it for 2 rivets. It's far enough forward so the awning pole doesn't touch the side of the trailer corner molding. I'll need to make a different door holder but have that worked out. With the awning deployed, the door opens about 3/4 of the way.

Here's a basic idea of the total profile of the awning. It is higher at the front for reasons of clearing the door and a few other things. At its widest point, it will be about 40" from the trailer. The keder rail will stretch from the edge of the rear awning, forward to where the awning pole intersects the corner trim. Total length of the keder rail is 111", give or take an inch. I couldn't order a single piece of keder rail in the style I want and at that length so I'll have a joint in it somewhere. The outside radius of the awning fabric will have a running length of just about 12.5'. The last 40 inches of the awning from the back of the keder rail down to the pole mount will be free-hanging so I'll need to incorporate a piece of shock cord in that. The shock cord on both ends will have a loop that goes over the end of the awning pole to keep it all snug.

I've made my order for all of the bits and bobs for the project from Sailrite this morning.
Here is the keder rail (FYI...Sailrite doesn't call it that. It's called "Awning Track"):
https://www.sailrite.com/Awning-Track-Aluminum-96

And the fabric insert for the Awning Track:
https://www.sailrite.com/Keder-Awning-Rope-Black-5-16

I also ordered the fabric, basting tape, thread and a few other things. Should have everything I'll need to finish the assembly.
I hope to see it next week sometime. According to them, it's all in stock as of order time.
Now it's a matter of waiting for FEDEX.....

WilliamA

WilliamA

I spent the past couple of days on domestic duties as per my contractual arrangement with Kathy, but managed a bit of time between lawn and garden chores to work on the awning details. Most things are simple "in principle" but the details can be..... adversarial.
The known unknown was how to attach the awning spreaders to the keder rail in such a way as to be simple but strong and adjustable. I made the 2 spreaders by shortening one of my aluminum shock cord poles into 2 poles 44" long each, then reattaching the shock cord inside. Now they fold up just as the long pole does. To attach them to the keder rail, I found some friction clamps in my bucket of bits. The clamps came off of a bicycle tail-bag rack that I discarded. I've worked out how to attach the small clamps to the keder rail and also how to attach the outer end to the awning. It "should" work. The bicycle clamps are adjustable but have allen screw adjusters. I don't want to have to use a tool to make it work, so I need to find some thumb screws to replace the allen head bolts. Of course they're metric so that's another scavenger hunt. Probably have to order them online. For the nearterm, I have the allen head bolts so the project can proceed. My order via FEDEX is scheduled for delivery today. The next step will be to install the keder rail and then start fitting the cloth. I anticipate that it will go quickly until I get to the sewing.

WilliamA

LuckyJ

About finding metal thumbs screws, I know it can be done, but you could simply tap the holes to a slightly larger standard tread size and use comon size thumb screws.

But maybe it would be hard to do.

WilliamA

Made some progress this afternoon. I'll be doing a more complete post as I get time but here are a few photos for now...

Here's the keder rail on the trailer. It's 116 total inches from end to end. I did it in 2 pieces so there's a seam in the center flat spot on the roof.

Here's the insert I got to go with the railing. It slides in nicely and fits great. Well worth it.

The center splice with the insert installed. I was afraid there might be some snagging at the joint but it slides in with no problems.

Tomorrow I will start cutting and sewing the fabric, assuming it isn't raining. Should be interesting....

Michigan_Mike

Looking forward to your work here William and I like the attachment points, but hope you don't skin your knee up. Very innovative and I remember contemplating similar things on my former Little Guy trailers to facilitate ropes, attachments, etc. Something I did on some of my trailers was to use install a small, stainless pad eye along the edge of the roof in various spots that allowed me to attach ropes to the trailer for tarps, side tents, etc.

WilliamA

3 hours of sewing and things are starting to shape up. I have a couple of kiln bricks hanging on it to stress the awning and see how much it will handle and how much the frame deforms and sags when stressed. The bricks are 4lbs each.

I have much "process" to share (with photos!) but first I need a well-deserved cup of coffee and a break to tidy up.

I am beginning to suspect that the invention of the sewing machine, growth in popularity of insane asylums and the search for a cure for tetanus share more than a coincidental relationship.....

WilliamA

LuckyJ

Looks good William!

WilliamA

Thought I'd post a few "during" photos. I'll do a write-up when I get the rest of the photos downloaded. The whole thing was a bit complex in the follow-through. I'll try and do a more thorough job of explaining when I get the photos all sorted out.

After getting the awning sorted out on the keder rail, the rest was pretty straightforward. Even though the curves are complex, a bag of clothespins and a bit of time just tweaking each one soon had the whole thing pretty straight.

Here's the awning after marking for the cut. As you can see, there's no standard curve. The trailer is something of a geometry nightmare so far as laying out the curves. Much better to simply fit it and tweak, then mark it for cutting. The marker I used to write on the material is a bar of soap. The double line you can see is where I traced both the top and bottom of the keder rail.

After some more late afternoon massaging, I have it pretty much fitted. I still need to add stays at the bottom front and bottom back, then add some pockets for the stretcher poles to sit in, then do the final sewing of the whole works. I am also going to add some gussets in a couple points that I feel need a bit of strength or wear resistance. I'll detail that once I get to it.

I'm really happy with it and feel satisfied with the design. There are a few other details to work out that I didn't foresee, but there always are...

More soon.

WilliamA

Sharon_is_SAM

Nice work @WilliamA! Will you add tie downs to prevent the wind from flipping up your visor?

WilliamA

Thanks Mike,

I have used those pad eyes before on my LG too! Since I got the T@G, I have used the roof rail where the crossbars mount to put all sorts of stuff on and as attachment points for temporary rope ties on this project. Very handy for that. I was just looking at line handling hardware the other day for sailboats. Those guys have the BEST and coolest hardware. Like this guy:

https://www.westmarine.com/buy/harken--micro-carbo-cam-matic-kit-wire-fairlead--10421931

Makes me want a sailboat just for the cool hardware!

WilliamA

WilliamA

[{"insert":"\n"}]> @LuckyJ said:

About finding metal thumbs screws, I know it can be done, but you could simply tap the holes to a slightly larger standard tread size and use comon size thumb screws.

But maybe it would be hard to do.

Luc,
I thought about retapping the hole for 1/4" NC threads. That would make sourcing the bolt much easier. But I have another idea...

WilliamA

WilliamA

@Sharon_is_SAM said:
Nice work @WilliamA! Will you add tie downs to prevent the wind from flipping up your visor?

Thanks Sharon,
No tiedown ropes. I HATE tiedowns! I carry a couple with tent stakes just in case, but have not used them. The awning has internal stay poles that go from the trailer roof to the awning to tension it so it can't flip up in the wind. It's completely self-supporting. I don't use tiedowns for 2 reasons; first, a properly designed awning doesn't need them and often, I'm camped where I can't put stakes in anyway. Second, I don't block my trailer or use landing jacks so the trailer bobs around on its suspension.
I'll be posting detail photos of that soon.

WilliamA

Michigan_Mike

Awesome awning and you picked the right color too! GO BLUE!

WilliamA

I thought I'd post a few detail photos to finish out the project.

I'm not sure what the sewing term is for this, but I added a gusset to each corner and every place I thought might be a wear or stress point. Forgive the sewing job. Counting this job, I've done 1 sewing machine project.
Here's the gusset laid out and seam sealed with basting tape.

Same for the spreader bar pockets on the outside edge of the awning:

Last bit was the tie-downs at each end to keep things from moving about in the wind and weather. I still need to pick up a buckle for the front but will do that when I get to the hardware store again:

Here's the inside spreader bar. I still need to pick up a rubber end for the trailer side to keep from scratching things up. I got ready to cut a section of this to length so I could get things just right and quickly discovered they wouldn't cut with a hacksaw....They aren't aluminum....They are titanium.... I cut them with my angle grinder. No wonder they are so stiff and strong...

That's about it for this one. I'll put it to the test in the coming week by camping, but until then it's a wrap.

WilliamA

LuckyJ

You did good with the sewing. Much better than someone who would have purchase it from a shop!

And very good idea about doubling for wear protection.

WilliamA

I wanted to use up the extra bits of material so I whipped up a new generator cover. Fits much better and looks nice.

WilliamA

WilliamA

Null post...Wouldn't let me post a photo...

This page left intentionally

Blank

WilliamA

WilliamA

Let's try this again. I do tire of doing multiple posts just because the posts won't "stick" or it won't allow me to upload photos. I know....First world problems....

In any case, I am continuing to use up the remaining cloth from my eyebrow awning project. I have a few other places that could use a bit of organization but first, I wanted to start with the biggest first, and that was the generator cover. I knew I'd still have enough small stuff for making a carry bag for the awning and poles so this morning I whipped one up:

I'm happy with it. It will ride in the space directly below my pillow on the passenger side where the headboard used to reside. Fits perfectly there.

I must say, I'm getting pretty handy with Kathy's sewing machine.

WilliamA

WilliamA

As with all of my projects and modifications, I rarely finish when I am finished. I continue to look for various ways to improve and streamline whatever I'm doing.

I found some new side stay poles to replace the titanium jobs. I liked the titanium ones as they were strong and light and didn't take up much space, but they are not adjustable...so...

I found some cheapo walking sticks and cut the handgrips off of them, wrestled on a couple of rubber plug ends and put them to work instead. For keeping them stable on the trailer side, I found some cheesy plastic doorknob-stoppers like you'd use in the house to keep from poking a hole in the sheetrock, or in my experience, when you poke a hole in the sheetrock with these, you'll know exactly what size it will be. I stuck them on the trailer with 3M tape and let them sit under the tension of the stays overnight. Perhaps they look a bit out of place, but they work great and will keep the stays from wandering around scratching up the side of the trailer. Plus, there's no fastener hole so repositioning/removing them is a snap.

The poles are pretty large-ish but are so much more practical and strong than the tiny ones they replace, plus have the enormous benefit of being adjustable. They are much larger diameter on the awning end so with the rubber feet on, they are much more kind to the awning fabric than the little ones.

WilliamA

WilliamA

I had reported a bit ago that I was having an issue with the radius pole for the awning sticking and binding when I insert it into the new awning. I'm pleased to report a fix for that and potentially for any recalcitrant shock-corded pole system. After consultation with my sister in law the sewing guru, I decided to try putting some sort of coating on the shock cord pole. I grabbed a jug of Turtle Wax automotive paste Wax and coated the pole with it and that solved 100% of the issue. It slides through easily now without binding and has thus far had no affect on the awning material. Easy peasy....

WilliamA

McNutty195

William, how did you attached the keder rail? I really like your eyebrow awning and am thinking about trying to replicate it. Wifey doesn't like the idea of holes though, so I need to avoid that if at all possible.

WilliamA

Holes...Not something I shy away from making, but when I attached the keder rail, I just removed the screws from the perimeter rail and re-used those same holes with longer screws. It goes without saying that there's a need for a couple of new ones at the rail terminus. The wide keder rail I used covers the stock rub rail so you just need to fill the gap between the two. I used silicone caulk and a piece of clear tubing. The tubing compresses the caulk line and is (sort of) self-sealing. Prevents water from following the screw shank down to the base layer. I have had zero problems with it. It still works perfectly. Probably every 20 years or so it would be a good idea to remove the keder rail and re-caulk. The only maintenance task is every few times I use it, I spray on some spritz-wax for the foldy-perimeter pole so it will more easily slide through the awning. The water resistant fabric is a little bit sticky inside the fold and the wax fixes that.

WilliamA