Alternative to Wind-out awning?

[thegreenman]

Hi
I am the happy owner of a California Beach, having bought it a few weeks ago. There are lots of things still to learn, but I have discovered that as well as fitting a solar panel, the previous owner also fitted a second leisure battery under the driver's seat.

the van came without the wind-out awning, although it must have been fitted because we have the handle and fixing brackets in the under-seat drawer.

I would like to have a sun canopy of some sort, but I'm not a massive fan of wind-out awnings. Having searched the forum, I cannot figure out what I need to fix a fabric shade onto the accessory rail above the door. Do I need an adaptor or do some of them slide straight into the rail?

I have seen the thread on the Decathlon tarp, and I do have a 'Fresh' tarp. Not sure my sewing skills are up to modifying it, but if I knew what to add to make it fit, I could persuade someone else to do it.

For longer camping trips, I would also be taking a Berghaus Air Shelter, if there was an easy way to fix one of the door flaps to the rail as well, then we have a nice setup.

As you can probably tell, I have done a lot of camping, but mostly tent based.

Many thanks

 

[Perfectos]

There are various options.

For a start look at
Club Shop
&
"stitches and steel"

The Black anodised channel mounted to the side of the roof will accept a Kador strip , some products require an adapter strip some will fit directly to the channel. Kador strips come in different sizes, invariably when fitted to a generic product tge size may not be correct for the application (in this instance Cali awning rail)

I cannot remember the size of the awning rail channel Kador required.

Try the search function top right of the banner.

Edit awning rail adapter specifically for California:

 

[Perfectos]

Congratulations and To the Beach Club

Post some pictures and an intro in a new thread

 

[Perfectos]

Good general info in this link

VW Campervan Connection Guides - How to Connect a Drive-Away Awning to a VW T4, T5 or T6 – Which Drive-Away Kit?

‘How do I connect a drive-away awning to my VW campervan’ & ‘Which Drive-Away kit do I need to connect to my camper’ are the most common questions we get asked here at Funky Leisure. So we have put all our knowledge into this ultimate guide for...

www.funkyleisure.co.uk

 

[Perfectos]

There are inserts that fit into the awning rail, they are supplied with roof toppers , they are derived from industrial fixings with a plastic thumb screw attached. The thumb screw provides the opportunity to attach ties / bungies etc to the thumb screw

They could be used to attach an awning to the van albeit they would not seal along the body line like using the Kador or Adapter options.

I'll find a pic of the fixing and post here

Edit: image from club Shop for reference (derived from an industrial fixing )

 

[FivetonesCali]

I was wondering this too. My take on this in summary.

In short there’s an OEM slide in adapter for the factory Cali T-Track to provide a C-Channel for the usual ‘Kador’ slide in that’s on most awnings and tarps.

https://www.lllparts.co.uk/product/7H7875303/holding-strip-for-awning-br-see-photo

Part number is 7H7875303

I’d probably look at Stitches + Steel first, their products are well thought out, good quality and don’t cost the earth.

 

[FivetonesCali]

Link for the thumb screw above:

Side Mounting Thumb Screw for VW California Awning Rail - CampervanBits

These side Mounting thumb screws have a variety of uses, from using in conjuntion with roof toppers or for making your own washing line.

vwcaliforniaclub.com

 

[FivetonesCali]

This gives you an idea of what’s possible.

 

[Outdoor Time]

Hi
I am the happy owner of a California Beach, having bought it a few weeks ago. There are lots of things still to learn, but I have discovered that as well as fitting a solar panel, the previous owner also fitted a second leisure battery under the driver's seat.

the van came without the wind-out awning, although it must have been fitted because we have the handle and fixing brackets in the under-seat drawer.

I would like to have a sun canopy of some sort, but I'm not a massive fan of wind-out awnings. Having searched the forum, I cannot figure out what I need to fix a fabric shade onto the accessory rail above the door. Do I need an adaptor or do some of them slide straight into the rail?

I have seen the thread on the Decathlon tarp, and I do have a 'Fresh' tarp. Not sure my sewing skills are up to modifying it, but if I knew what to add to make it fit, I could persuade someone else to do it.

For longer camping trips, I would also be taking a Berghaus Air Shelter, if there was an easy way to fix one of the door flaps to the rail as well, then we have a nice setup.

As you can probably tell, I have done a lot of camping, but mostly tent based.

Many thanks

 

[pchmlk]

Interested to hear if there is a fix for the Air Shelter too...

 

[thegreenman]

Thanks everyone. I like the look of the S&S awning. If it fits directly to the rail then it could be a winner, I reckon it could easily attach to the Air Shelter as well, making a covered walkway.

I will also invest in a couple of the thumb screws. I have some threaded eyelets which might use the same thread.

 

[secret lemonade drinker]

Isabella make a shadow canopy in a variety of lengths

 

[Perfectos]

Thanks everyone. I like the look of the S&S awning. If it fits directly to the rail then it could be a winner, I reckon it could easily attach to the Air Shelter as well, making a covered walkway.

I will also invest in a couple of the thumb screws. I have some threaded eyelets which might use the same thread.

Could potential use Uni Strut type channel nuts with screw in eyelets etc

Can remove the springs if required or purchase without springs, available in Stainless and Zinc plated various metric thread sizes.

I have my solar panel mounting frames attached to the roof channel with this type of fixing.