Quick attach awning
Posted: Sat Jan 27, 2018 9:36 pmWe are ever so slowly getting our Wee-Go ready for our Alaska trip. My wife will be officially retired February 5th giving us a few months to finish organizing our lives to take on this 2.5 month trip.
One of the things I have been thinking about was adding an awning to the Wee-Go. I didn't want to drill holes or added permanent mounts as I would only use it for rainy weather which we are sure to encounter. While walking around in Harbor Freight yesterday I saw these double suction cup handles for $7.99 and thought that might work. I bought two of them, a small tarp, 50' of cord, and some tent stakes. I had two telescoping aluminum poles I made back in the mid 90's for a tent trailer we used to pull with our motorcycle. Kept the poles when I sold the trailer.
So the problem is storage. My only storage is the small lock box on the tongue and anything over 3' long won't fit. I added a joint in the upper slide pole to make a three piece pole. I cut slots in the end of the female so I could compress it for a clamp type fit. Then I cut two slots about 3/16" apart and pried the center part out enough to slip a hose clamp through. That made the clamp captured to the pole. Now by loosening the hose clamps I can separate the pole into three pieces that will fit in my tongue box.
Next I cut two 18" long pieces of 3/4" aluminum tube from a 3' piece I bought at Lowes. The handles of the suction cups were a little to big for the tube so I heated some 1/2" pvc and pushed the aluminum in it about 1" to make it large enough to fit the suction cup handle. I did have to turn them down just a little to get the fit right. Then I drilled a 1/4" hole through all of that to lock it into place. Next I cut a piece of wood to fit the inside of the tube and drove that in leaving it 1/4" below the end. I drilled a hole in the wood and screwed in a hook. Mixed some JB Wield to fill in the end. Now I can attach these to the side of the Wee-Go to hook the tarp to. I did add a new grommet to the tarp to match my supports.
Next I cut 4 pieces of 1/8" abs 1/2" wide and 1 1/2" long. I drilled a 3/16" hole in each end and laced my cord through both holes. I tied one end of the cord to a stake and the other end got a knot at the abs slide adjuster. Loop the cord over the pole and pull tight easy as can be. Doesn't take much room to store and I can pick up those tarps all day for less than $5.00.
I hope this gives others some ideas. I even thought about using a longer tarp and a second set of suctions to cover the whole trailer so I could use the roof vent in the rain.
Anyway, no thread is good without pictures so here they are.
One of the things I have been thinking about was adding an awning to the Wee-Go. I didn't want to drill holes or added permanent mounts as I would only use it for rainy weather which we are sure to encounter. While walking around in Harbor Freight yesterday I saw these double suction cup handles for $7.99 and thought that might work. I bought two of them, a small tarp, 50' of cord, and some tent stakes. I had two telescoping aluminum poles I made back in the mid 90's for a tent trailer we used to pull with our motorcycle. Kept the poles when I sold the trailer.
So the problem is storage. My only storage is the small lock box on the tongue and anything over 3' long won't fit. I added a joint in the upper slide pole to make a three piece pole. I cut slots in the end of the female so I could compress it for a clamp type fit. Then I cut two slots about 3/16" apart and pried the center part out enough to slip a hose clamp through. That made the clamp captured to the pole. Now by loosening the hose clamps I can separate the pole into three pieces that will fit in my tongue box.
Next I cut two 18" long pieces of 3/4" aluminum tube from a 3' piece I bought at Lowes. The handles of the suction cups were a little to big for the tube so I heated some 1/2" pvc and pushed the aluminum in it about 1" to make it large enough to fit the suction cup handle. I did have to turn them down just a little to get the fit right. Then I drilled a 1/4" hole through all of that to lock it into place. Next I cut a piece of wood to fit the inside of the tube and drove that in leaving it 1/4" below the end. I drilled a hole in the wood and screwed in a hook. Mixed some JB Wield to fill in the end. Now I can attach these to the side of the Wee-Go to hook the tarp to. I did add a new grommet to the tarp to match my supports.
Next I cut 4 pieces of 1/8" abs 1/2" wide and 1 1/2" long. I drilled a 3/16" hole in each end and laced my cord through both holes. I tied one end of the cord to a stake and the other end got a knot at the abs slide adjuster. Loop the cord over the pole and pull tight easy as can be. Doesn't take much room to store and I can pick up those tarps all day for less than $5.00.
I hope this gives others some ideas. I even thought about using a longer tarp and a second set of suctions to cover the whole trailer so I could use the roof vent in the rain.
Anyway, no thread is good without pictures so here they are.
