Attaching Dometic Arms

[Willuz]

Does anyone here have experience attaching a Dometic 8500 awning to a cargo trailer (12ft, v-nose, square top)? I have no problem attaching the top brackets since the frame runs the entire length of the top so there's plenty of support at the top for both the brackets and the awning rail. The problem is with the bottom brackets since they only allow set lengths and don't reach the 7' to the bottom rail. The length of the awning does not match the vertical rails either so at least 1 bottom bracket would have to be mounted on the skin which could easily tear or leak.

The easiest solution I have considered is running a piece of flat steel bar between the vertical supports then mounting the lower bracket to that. If this had been done before the insulation and e-track it would be easy to pull the luan off the inside and just put a piece of wood behind the skin to attach to but it's too late for that to be easy.

[lrrowe]

How about a bracket which is really just a long wide (wide as the arm base) piece of metal bolted to the bottom frame and extending up to where the arm lowers to? On the exterior that is.

[Padilen]

I wondered about this to. I'd hoped just to extend my arms up further. Could you bolt through to the interior and add reinforcement like plywood?

[Willuz]

The vertical support is doable but it may not be easy to find a 7' piece of metal that isn't too heavy. My project is based mostly around keeping it light for pulling behind a Wrangler.

The wooden support inside the wall was my first idea but unfortunately I already installed cabinets up front and they're anchored to the wall. I thought maybe I could cut a 4" x 12" hole in the wall with a jigsaw, insert a 2x4, rotate it 90 degrees then anchor it to the interior luan from the inside. I could then take the plywood cutout and put it back in to cover the hole. This would provide support inside the skin but would be covered up when I put carpet on the walls.

[lrrowe]

The vertical support is doable but it may not be easy to find a 7' piece of metal that isn't too heavy. My project is based mostly around keeping it light for pulling behind a Wrangler.

The wooden support inside the wall was my first idea but unfortunately I already installed cabinets up front and they're anchored to the wall. I thought maybe I could cut a 4" x 12" hole in the wall with a jigsaw, insert a 2x4, rotate it 90 degrees then anchor it to the interior luan from the inside. I could then take the plywood cutout and put it back in to cover the hole. This would provide support inside the skin but would be covered up when I put carpet on the walls.

I understand your concern about weight, but for a 12 foot CT, I suspect the weight of outside steel would not be noticed. And then you could also consider aluminum.

[dales133]

Why not opt for a bag awning,half the weight or less under half the price;go up in a similar time and do the same job

[aggie79]

I would consider using aluminum angle instead of steel or aluminum strap. If the awning arms fall between spans of your vertical framing the angle will minimize deflection. The protruding "leg" can be at the bottom.

[Willuz]

I'm following up with the results now that the install is complete. It turns out that the Dometic 8500 has no problem with a 7' mounting height despite that being more than recommended in the specs. This allowed be to mount it into the frame at both the top and bottom of the trailer. It also still has enough height to clear the door but only after the secondary support arms are moved into the top position. The only issue with mounting is that the legs are supposed to lock in 2" vertical increments when closed for the maximum amount of safety when driving but that may not align with your horizontal beams. One of the arms doesn't quite lock when closed but it's a triple redundant system with safety locks and the roller spring keeping it closed so it's really not a problem.

Deploying my awning is now a simple 1 person job and I don't even break a sweat.

[McDave]

I am not familiar with those specific arms, but I wonder if you could modify the arms to lock in closed position by drilling holes in the appropriate spot? Maybe a "pin" to lock them?

[Padilen]

Pics

[Willuz]

I am not familiar with those specific arms, but I wonder if you could modify the arms to lock in closed position by drilling holes in the appropriate spot? Maybe a "pin" to lock them?

That could work as long as it doesn't overlap with the top of another hole. If it overlapped the then the arm could still lift up and be unlocked. The lock works by lifting the arm about 1/2" off the top of the top bracket then it falls inside. The holes are at the bottom of the arm and keep it from lifting back up out of the top bracket. I'll try some measurements to see if that will work.

As for pics, I'm taking it out for a weekend trip today so if I don't get them up today I'll post them next week.

[Padilen]

Thanks