Fiamma awning

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Oct 21, 2019
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I currently have a four wheel hawk with fiamma awning brackets, no awning. The owner I purchased my camper from kept the awning. So that being said and with the brackets already mounted looks like the best way to go is getting a fiamma awning. Does anyone have any advice on these in regards to where to buy from, price, and overall experience with them? Or if any used ones might exist?
 
We like ours. We were heavily considering getting the original batwing they were offering in 2018, but they talked us out of it after talking about our planned use, which included winter/storm camping, and that batwing was not designed for high wind. The Fiamma we got instead works great. It's very quick to deploy and put away, and it seems to be built well, and it offers adjustable coverage in case we ever have to park close to something. Fully extended, it is a nice big area that is well suited to cooking/dining/sitting for 2 people because it is a rectangle.

Another Pro was when I backed into a very tight parking spot in a basement parking garage. I had my mirrors tilted down so I could make sure my fenders didn't scrape the large stucco pillar I was parking next to on my passenger side. I didn't notice the sloped asphalt on my driver side, and I wasn't paying attention to the upper limits of the camper, so when my driver side went up 3" on the asphalt, it swung the passenger side of the camper towards the pillar, and because the awning sticks out a few inches, it hit the pillar. I thought for sure I would have damaged the awning or the bracket mounting. Turns out the poorly-maintained parking garage took the brunt of it and I knocked a large piece of stucco off the lathe of the pillar. There is a scrape/rub on the paint of the awning, but there was no other damage.

Cons we have experienced:
The rear end does not close fully. Initially, the rear tended to be about 1/2 inch "open" when the awning was closed. I eventually figured out that cranking it all the way closed and then opening it a few inched and then closing it with a little more force took care of most of the problem, but it still hangs open about 1/8". One time when we were driving about 70 mph, I looked in the side mirror and saw that one of the legs was hanging down. I think I forgot to do the secondary closing step and the wind/vibration had caused the awning to open enough for the rear leg to drop down. I probably didn't clip the rear leg into place securely as well, because the legs are pretty secure when you press them all the way into the clips.

I did not clear off the leaves and sticks that had landed on it one time and unknowingly rolled it closed with a small oak stick (1" long, 1/8" diameter) on top of the fabric. We probably did about 300 miles with the stick in there, so the driving had caused the stick to rub/press into the fabric almost to the point where it put a hole in it. The fabric is so thin in that one tiny spot that it is slightly transparent, but it still does not pass water. The fabric is very robust, so I don't know that another similar awning would not have this problem. It was a lesson that I need to lower the legs far enough before I close it so I can sweep the fabric off completely before rolling it in. Even with that step now added to my routine, I can close the awning by myself in 2 minutes.
 
I have been thinking about adding a Fiamma awning to my Grandby but I am trying to not add any height to the camper as I can still get it into the parking garage at work. It loos like FWC uses the mounting brackets to get the awning higher up and away from the camper body. Does anyone have an opinion on mounting the awning directly to the camper and not use the brackets? I think the top of the awning would need to sit below or about level with the top of the sidewall and below where the roof seals. Does this sound possible?
 
Imwilco -- I ordered my Fiamma and installed it on my flatbed hawk using the stainless brackets. I wanted to do a flush mount and even with the roof height but after taking a closer look, the offset horizontally is needed. You may be able minimize the height to clear your garage opening but eyeballing at least for my flatbed, the top of the f45s would protrude about 1 to 2" above the roof.
 
Love my Fiama on my Hawk. I've had many different awnings over the years for different applications and this is my favorite. I have a 23Zero awning on my Tacoma... I like it too but wish I had a Fiama even for my tent camping :) I accidentally broke my hand crank for my Fiama so if you find a good local supplier I'd appreciate the link :)
 
FiremanWanderer said:
I currently have a four wheel hawk with fiamma awning brackets, no awning. The owner I purchased my camper from kept the awning. So that being said and with the brackets already mounted looks like the best way to go is getting a fiamma awning. Does anyone have any advice on these in regards to where to buy from, price, and overall experience with them? Or if any used ones might exist?


I have one on my Grandby and it functions well for my needs. Some good advice and comments already offered and true for my experiences as well.
Regarding purchasing a new one, you can order from FWC of course, or I found another supplier, Panther RV in Washougal, WA. They do installs too but looks like yours would be a pretty straight forward DIY. Their pricing is competitive and offer a choice is sizes and color options. Enjoy the shade!
 
If you go to their website I think they have a dealer search. I remember searching at some point and finding the nearest dealer to me, or online.
 
Rushalong said:
I have one on my Grandby and it functions well for my needs. Some good advice and comments already offered and true for my experiences as well.
Regarding purchasing a new one, you can order from FWC of course, or I found another supplier, Panther RV in Washougal, WA. They do installs too but looks like yours would be a pretty straight forward DIY. Their pricing is competitive and offer a choice is sizes and color options. Enjoy the shade!
I ordered my Fiamma from Panther and am happy with everything from price to packaging. Still pretty new so final conclusions on the Fiamma but looks good. I am glad I used the offset brackets to mount them and not flush mount for my case.
 
CharlesECheese said:
I ordered my Fiamma from Panther and am happy with everything from price to packaging. Still pretty new so final conclusions on the Fiamma but looks good. I am glad I used the offset brackets to mount them and not flush mount for my case.
My camper has a flush mount awning, and I find it traps dirt, leaves and needles. The offset brackets may be a good solution for that issue.
 
Yep. The offset should help or eliminate the debris. FYI - I got my three offset brackets from FWC in woodland but the backing plates they provided were the wrong size (hole locations) for my f45s.
 
Yes and no on offset....on my '16 Hawk the right side mounted Fiamma [from FWC] is just a tiny bit below the roof but right against the side of the camper...

This Spring on the NW end of the White Rim Trail [road] I scraped the Fiamma awning housing against an overhanging rock [my miscalculation] it put about a 3 foot scratch on the housing with a very slight indentation. I got VERY lucky; my point about an offset...either out away from the side or above the roof-line it would increase the chance of contact with anything you were going through.

Honestly, the damage to the Fiamma was cosmetic and I felt very happy that I did not crease or tear the outside of the Hawk. No real damage but one hell of a lesson. Like not forgetting that my Warn winch tray sticks out beyond the front bumper and below my line of sight.

Phil
 
Phil,

You might be able to fabricate a mount on your winch tray that could support a bike safety flag that sticks up enough to indicate where the tray is located.

Paul
 
You can call Fiamma USA in Orlando. They will freight ship to you. I had a great experience with customer service and shipping.
 
PaulT said:
Phil,

You might be able to fabricate a mount on your winch tray that could support a bike safety flag that sticks up enough to indicate where the tray is located.

Paul

Paul,

Thanks...just the stick would do it! Need to not put that off and get it done.

Phil

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Oh, FYI the top of my Fiamma awning case is just about flush with the seam between the top and the side of the camper...just me as I stated but less height or width means less to hang up...or tear up.
 
lmwilco1 said:
I have been thinking about adding a Fiamma awning to my Grandby but I am trying to not add any height to the camper as I can still get it into the parking garage at work. It loos like FWC uses the mounting brackets to get the awning higher up and away from the camper body. Does anyone have an opinion on mounting the awning directly to the camper and not use the brackets? I think the top of the awning would need to sit below or about level with the top of the sidewall and below where the roof seals. Does this sound possible?
Imwilco1, If you have a Flatbed Camper, adding the Fiamma awning WILL increase the over-all height (the awning sticks up above the camper roof line).

But if you have a regular slide-in FWC, adding the Fiamma awning won't add any extra height to the roof line. Awning mounts flush against the side of the camper.

Hope this helps.
 
Stan, Thanks that helps, I have a slide in so I will mount it directly to the side.

Louis
Stan@FourWheel said:
Imwilco1, If you have a Flatbed Camper, adding the Fiamma awning WILL increase the over-all height (the awning sticks up above the camper roof line).

But if you have a regular slide-in FWC, adding the Fiamma awning won't add any extra height to the roof line. Awning mounts flush against the side of the camper.

Hope this helps.
 
I had a Fiamma awning installed onto my 1993 FWC Ranger camper after trying to unsuccessful pitch a Moss zing wing awning solo. The Fiamma awning is simple to deploy so I end up using it more often. It added no additional height to my camper and projects just a bit past my corner jack brackets.
 
Looking at doing a F45S install on our flatbed hawk. Anyone know if brackets are available from the factory? Or even better have a drawing or picture with dimensions so I can fab myself?

Thanks
 

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