Curved rafter for awning

[Canary Bird]

I just got a reply from Jacksons Leisure Supply that the FIAMMA RAFTER PRO is the best option for the VW awning. I assume that is the model you link to.

http://www.jacksonsleisure.com/caravan-and-camping/awnings/fiamma-awnings/fiamma-rafter-pro/

 

[WelshGas]

I just got a reply from Jacksons Leisure Supply that the FIAMMA RAFTER PRO is the best option for the VW awning. I assume that is the model you link to.

http://www.jacksonsleisure.com/caravan-and-camping/awnings/fiamma-awnings/fiamma-rafter-pro/

I see it is held on by permanently installed fittings and not recommended for extended use in high temperatures. Exactly when you are likely to be using the awning.

Why do you want such a support?
When I put the awning out I peg the poles and use 2guy ropes that attach via the awning rail. Tension these and then wind the awning back in until taught. If the legs are adjusted so that the leading edge is just lower than the Awning Cassette then you have a slope and I have never had problems with water pooling.
As for a clothes line I use. http://www.wackypracticals.com/outdoor/pegless-extendable-clothesline.html

 

[Andy]

`why do you want such a support`

To stop rain puddling in the middle of the awning ???

Sent from my GT-N8010 using Tapatalk

 

[WelshGas]

`why do you want such a support`

To stop rain puddling in the middle of the awning ???

Sent from my GT-N8010 using Tapatalk

As I said above. If the awning is properly tensioned and set up then no problem with water pooling. However, if you just pull it out and peg the legs without any guy ropes then it is impossible to tension it correctly and you will have this problem.

 

[Bramco]

WG - you may be right in light rain but in torrential rain even with a good slope, the fabric tends to stretch a little under the weight of the water on it and then the tension is lost and you're into a small puddle, then a large puddle and then a bulge. You'd have to have a pretty big slope to avoid this which wouldn't be good for the arms. Not sure what the maximum amount of play you can have on the arms - they do say you should walk the awning out to avoid the arms taking too much weight when you run out the awning, so there must be a maximum amount of slope before they are damaged.

We've had a pretty big puddle on one of our trips and fortunately with the awning back tensioned as you say any bulge tends to fix itself pretty quickly, especially in warm weather.

 

[WelshGas]

WG - you may be right in light rain but in torrential rain even with a good slope, the fabric tends to stretch a little under the weight of the water on it and then the tension is lost and you're into a small puddle, then a large puddle and then a bulge. You'd have to have a pretty big slope to avoid this which wouldn't be good for the arms. Not sure what the maximum amount of play you can have on the arms - they do say you should walk the awning out to avoid the arms taking too much weight when you run out the awning, so there must be a maximum amount of slope before they are damaged.

We've had a pretty big puddle on one of our trips and fortunately with the awning back tensioned as you say any bulge tends to fix itself pretty quickly, especially in warm weather.

I wouldn't say the last few weeks have been " Light Rain ", well certainly not round here, and I've had the awning up to provide a Porch area. You don't need that much of a slope, just some slope with a properly tensioned awning canvas and Guy Ropes. But each to his own. It works for me.
Interesting that these Curved Poles are not supplied as Standard with any of the big awning manufacturers let alone VW, whose sales are predominantly to Northern European countries where rainfall, even in the summer months can be significant.

 

[Bubba Gross]

I bought the Fiamma Rafter pro, and its works an absolute treat, the end fittings have covers, which basically give you a nice flat end (so no permanent fittings needed on the van, one end fits nicely into the awning moulding (nearest van) and the other sits nicely on the beam. You then slide out to the desired tension, and lock into position. Then gentle curve just lifts the roof enough to stop water from pooling and you do not need to put such a drop on the awning as a result, so you don't bang you head all of the time. I'll take some pictures next time it is up ... but well worth it, and it fits in the back no worries

 

[jamesclarke]

I have had massive pooling on the awning from torrential rain one night. I had the legs level. The water pulled the roof down in the middle so the legs were all skew-whiff and the arms had both partially folded. it looked desperate and I thought the awning would be ruined. I pushed the bulge up, the water ran off and the awning sprang back into shape. Subsequently I have had no problems - very glad to find the awning is very robust! I now always set the legs at different lengths to give a good slope for rain to run off

 

[Archie]

Ensure the awning material is tensioned correctly when winding out - it needs winding back in slightly when fully extended so the material does not touch the arms. Then make sure that both arms are lower than the cassette housing so water runs away from the van. Finally make sure one leg is shorter than the other. This can result in the awning looking very strange if your pitch is sloping the wrong way and you can end up with little headroom, so we generally only set the legs up this way before going to bed if there is rain expected overnight (not as my avatar pic!). Has worked every time for us in some extremely heavy rain (and we use it every night as the dog sleeps in the awning with sides attached in his cage). If I have any doubt I will pour a 2l bottle of water on the fabric before going to bed to make sure it flows as required.

 

[WelshGas]

Using the appropriate Guy Rope/Strap set to tension the Awning against makes a big difference.

 

[briwy]

We have a curved rafter but we have a Fiamma awning. If anyone wants to see/try it in their van with the Omnistor awning we will be at the April Tewksbury meet and up at Eskdale.

 

[Bigted]

We have a curved rafter but we have a Fiamma awning. If anyone wants to see/try it in their van with the Omnistor awning we will be at the April Tewksbury meet and up at Eskdale.

I've also got the same setup and will be going to the club meet at the start of April if people want to look/try.

 

[deccauk]

I bought the Fiamma Rafter pro, and its works an absolute treat, the end fittings have covers, which basically give you a nice flat end (so no permanent fittings needed on the van, one end fits nicely into the awning moulding (nearest van) and the other sits nicely on the beam. You then slide out to the desired tension, and lock into position. Then gentle curve just lifts the roof enough to stop water from pooling and you do not need to put such a drop on the awning as a result, so you don't bang you head all of the time. I'll take some pictures next time it is up ... but well worth it, and it fits in the back no worries

I'd like to see pictures of this please

 

[deccauk]

OK - I purchased a Fiamma Rafter Pro from here:

http://www.rainbow-conversions.co.uk/awning-accessories/fiamma-curved-rafter-pro.html

It works very well.


There is a plastic cap on each end for general purpose use rather than for the Fiamma awnings.



At the van end it sits against a flat surface.


The cap from the other end will wedge below this cap to keep the rafter up against the awning.


The other end sits against a curved surface and will stay in place.



All in all a very satisfactory solution to prevent excessive ponding. Tested with a hosepipe and it works

 

[CYCLOPATH]

Ensure the awning material is tensioned correctly when winding out - it needs winding back in slightly when fully extended so the material does not touch the arms. Then make sure that both arms are lower than the cassette housing so water runs away from the van. Finally make sure one leg is shorter than the other. This can result in the awning looking very strange if your pitch is sloping the wrong way and you can end up with little headroom, so we generally only set the legs up this way before going to bed if there is rain expected overnight (not as my avatar pic!). Has worked every time for us in some extremely heavy rain (and we use it every night as the dog sleeps in the awning with sides attached in his cage). If I have any doubt I will pour a 2l bottle of water on the fabric before going to bed to make sure it flows as required.

I've just been out to test this Archie. When I do the final wind back, the awning basically gets as tight as it is possible to get it
Adding guy ropes holds it down of course, but it is not possible to add any extra tension.
So great advice....thanks

 

[Bubba Gross]

OK - I purchased a Fiamma Rafter Pro from here:

http://www.rainbow-conversions.co.uk/awning-accessories/fiamma-curved-rafter-pro.html

It works very well.

The other end sits against a curved surface and will stay in place.

View attachment 13098

I bought some sugru mouldable glue from www.sugru.com, which I stuck around the 'other' end to stop it from falling out. i moulded it on to the beam, not the rafter, and it works really well. I take a photo when its next up ..

 

[deccauk]

I bought some sugru mouldable glue from www.sugru.com, which I stuck around the 'other' end to stop it from falling out. i moulded it on to the beam, not the rafter, and it works really well. I take a photo when its next up ..

I've got some Sugru! Good tip - looking forward to seeing the pic.

 

[CoboCali]

Photos would be appreciated (@deccauk and @Bubba Gross ) I bought one of these fiamma rafters for my Cali standard awning - interested if the Sugru improves the rafter fit at the far end away from the van. thanks both. Just need to work out how to wire up some LED's to it now...

 

[Teejay]

Hi All

Has any one purchased or seen in use a curved telescopic rafter made by Thule for the awning,it is designed to raise the awning fabric in the middle so that the water flows off better.
We always have one awning leg longer than the other but still last year had a rather large bulge in the awning during a downpour.

As these rafters are nearly £60 it needs to work for this price !

Dave and Lisa

I was this thinking of a slightly oversized solid fibre glass rod. It would wedge in place and bow in the middle. Comes in a range of diameters. Only issue would get the correct length. Its something that we'd get from a kite shop.
Just a suggestion.

 

[Loz]

I was this thinking of a slightly oversized solid fibre glass rod. It would wedge in place and bow in the middle. Comes in a range of diameters. Only issue would get the correct length. Its something that we'd get from a kite shop.
Just a suggestion.

You would need something to stop it spinning round and bowing down.. (just thinking along with you there

 

[Teejay]

You would need something to stop it spinning round and bowing down.. (just thinking along with you there

Yeah never thought of that

 

[RichardSweeney]

Hi All just like to confirm that the FIAMMA TENSION RAFTER FOR F45 AWNINGS 98655-087, Poles, will work on the factory fitted VW T6 awning. i have read all the contributions and very interesting that VW or another company have not designed something specific for the VW awning. I have only picked up my T6 two weeks ago and headed to Norfolk; lo and behold, the sky opened up and hence the water bulge even with one pole lower than the other etc. So if the flamma fits; will that solve the issue.

 

[DavidofHook]

Hi All just like to confirm that the FIAMMA TENSION RAFTER FOR F45 AWNINGS 98655-087, Poles, will work on the factory fitted VW T6 awning. i have read all the contributions and very interesting that VW or another company have not designed something specific for the VW awning. I have only picked up my T6 two weeks ago and headed to Norfolk; lo and behold, the sky opened up and hence the water bulge even with one pole lower than the other etc. So if the flamma fits; will that solve the issue.

Sorry to hear of the water bulge Richard.
We have a Fiamma awning which has never bulged (so far), we slope it away from the van and then with a short leg on one side which clears the water fine. The headroom can be low. We hold the edge of the awning down with a blocker from Fiamma which gives stability. We cook under herein wet weather.
Finally, I would not use this in heavy rains or storms. I wind it all in then and we sit and watch from the inside
. Have a funny feeling I have posted this before, if so please forgive me!

 

[Teejay]

You would need something to stop it spinning round and bowing down.. (just thinking along with you there

You could of course weaken one side by scoring/notching the middle on one "side"

 

[AlanC]

Hi All just like to confirm that the FIAMMA TENSION RAFTER FOR F45 AWNINGS 98655-087, Poles, will work on the factory fitted VW T6 awning. i have read all the contributions and very interesting that VW or another company have not designed something specific for the VW awning. I have only picked up my T6 two weeks ago and headed to Norfolk; lo and behold, the sky opened up and hence the water bulge even with one pole lower than the other etc. So if the flamma fits; will that solve the issue.

The VW supplied Cali awning is the Thule Omnistor 5102
G2 Thule Tension Rafter 2.00m fits it. Online price is £28.48 inc VAT

Alan