FWC New Awning

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Here was my rear awning solution. I mounted a regular aluminum awning rail from any rv store for a bag awning. I turned it upside down and mounted it with butyl tape and stainless screws on the top edge of the roof hanging the rail track over the edge. I finished with self leveling lap sealant. When the camper is parked with the top down and I need to access the interior, I just flop the bag awning over on top of the roof and there is no interference with the camper door. The bag awning is very easily removed also if desired. The awning is a shademaker 6 foot and has the legs that can be staked to the ground or mounted to the camper somehow. This model has plastic sockets for the horizontal beams that mount just below the rail and I glued and screwed them to the rear face of the roof. Works very well so far. Bag awning was $250 on ebay, rail was $10, sealant was $10. I also added a King Jack tv antenna via Ram ball and cable inlet in back wall. Both shore cable and antenna use the same jack. If money and space wasn't an issue, you could do a portable satellite dish also.

P.S. not sure if I loaded pics correctly...
 
cerve137 said:
Here was my rear awning solution. This model has plastic sockets for the horizontal beams that mount just below the rail and I glued and screwed them to the rear face of the roof. Works very well so far. Bag awning was $250 on ebay, rail was $10, sealant was $10.
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Cerve...very nice.

One thing I can't discern, Did you mount any part of the rear awning bag into the sail track FWC installs at the factory? Or did you do all the screw all the fasteners into the metal roof molding just above the sail track?

Thanks!

Bill
 
There was a drip rail type thing on the rear vertical face of the roof. I removed that, caulked the holes and replaced them with stainless screws. The awning rail is actually mounted up on the roof horizontal plane and I screwed into the rear frame member. Bear in mind, my grandby is a '94.
 
Rhino Rack majes a "Flat Wall" bracket that should work with their awning. I plan to use them to mount my Rhino Rack Sun Seeker awning to my Grandby. The Flat Wall bracket rivets to the awning and then you have screw holes in the bracket above and below the awning to mount the awning to the camper. They say to use 2 brackets with the Sun Seeker, but I bough four just in case. My plan is to put silicon between the bracket and the camper wall as well as in the screw holes and over the screw heads.
 
maheil, you would be better served to use tape caulk between the camper and bracket and then caulk around the bracket. You might want to consider something other than silicone. FWC uses tape caulk everywhere. Jd

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gitout said:
My buddy and I purchased 2 of these awnings. We concluded, they are poorly made. No where near the quality of ARB awnings (for comparison). The storage bag is cheap material. It is heavier, longer, wider than specs we found listed online. The unit will provide shade but specifically states not "waterproof" and not intended to be used in windy or wet locations. The canvas material somewhat cheap quality. We returned them.

I'd say to look at it in person before buying. Maybe it will work for you. At least compare with ARB quality (way less $$$ too).

Here in the NW rain protection is more important than sun. :(
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Hello Gitout

Did you order the Eezi-Awn Brand from South Africa / Paul May @ Equipt Outfitters ?

Or maybe the similar Foxwing awning sold through Rhino Racks ?

We got both brands in here at the factory to do testing before making our final selection.

We are just now installing the first couple of Eezi-Awn Batwing Awnings and are checking feedback from any source we can get.

I talked to Paul May (the exclusive importer for the Eezi-Awn products here in the USA) and he said he has never had any returns ?

Just curious?

Good to know either way, and we thank you for the feedback.

We aren't expecting any problems, buy we will have our eyes & ears open on the forums to see how our customers are doing with this new product.

Happy Camping!

:)


.
 
Four Wheel Campers is very excited to now be offering the Eezi-Awn Bat 270 Degree Wraparound Awning on our campers !
smile.gif


We have custom ordered our first batch with grey fabric to better match our pop-up camper fabric.

The Bat Awning option price for new camper orders = $ 1400.00

Our service shop can probably (maybe?) install them on most of the older four wheel campers too (on a case by case basic).

If you would like an aftermarket install price for an older FWC, please call our service department for additional details & pricing.

FWC Service Department = (800) 242-1442


Here is the new introduction video . . .

https://vimeo.com/161834375


If you don't happen to own a Four Wheel Pop-up Camper but still might like something like this, please contact Paul May @ Equipt Expedition Outfitters, or visit his website.

http://www.equipt1.com/

Pay May is the exclusive importer & distributor of the Eezi-awn products here in the USA.


Thank you.

Happy Camping !



.
 
Stan,

Is there any reason why this couldn't be mounted on the driver's side? To work alongside my existing awning?
 
OK...Hopefully my comments will only prove my ignorance and in fact this new product for FWC is nothing less than outstanding.

#1 Look at the singular pivot point for all of the awning arms and material; yes, the pivot is "sturdy aluminum" but it is attached at a single point on the FWC frame. Watch the pivot point flex when Paul is setting it up and taking it down in the video. Just my take but that is a lot of leverage on a single point on the frame. Get any wind and the constant flexing up and down on the horizontal frame arms will significantly work that pivot point attachment over time.

#2 Perhaps I missed the demonstration of how the main horizontal support arms could be tilted down to drop the downward slope of the awning. When vertical "legs" were tucked away the unsupported horizontal arms do not seem to drop down more than a couple of inches. Being able to slope the awning downward is not just to shed water but to shed high wind forces and compensate for changing sun angles.

#3 The expansive Bat Wing awning surface area provides a lot of shade around the camper; but it also presents a lot of surface area for wind energy to act against and including winds coming from differing directions relative to the camper. Stowing the awning in a high wind would be exciting and perhaps challenging.

#4 Yes, unless you are tall like Paul a stool will be needed to deploy and retrieve the awning. Plus just for my taste, rolled up and stowed it looks, well, like a canvas awning stuck on the side of an otherwise sleek looking camper. Just my tastes.

I can see the usefulness of a lot of shading for the camper in a high heat, lots of direct sun environment to help keep the inside the camper a little cooler. In a windless day in 100+ heat; more shade would be appreciated.

Not trying to dissuade anyone from getting a Bat Wing. Everyone should get what best suits their needs and what strikes a cord with their sensibilities.

And as always, I could be wrong.

Phil
 
Wallowa said:
OK...Hopefully my comments will only prove my ignorance and in fact this new product for FWC is nothing less than outstanding.

#1 Look at the singular pivot point for all of the awning arms and material; yes, the pivot is "sturdy aluminum" but it is attached at a single point on the FWC frame. Watch the pivot point flex when Paul is setting it up and taking it down in the video. Just my take but that is a lot of leverage on a single point on the frame. Get any wind and the constant flexing up and down on the horizontal frame arms will significantly work that pivot point attachment over time.

#2 Perhaps I missed the demonstration of how the main horizontal support arms could be tilted down to drop the downward slope of the awning. When vertical "legs" were tucked away the unsupported horizontal arms do not seem to drop down more than a couple of inches. Being able to slope the awning downward is not just to shed water but to shed high wind forces and compensate for changing sun angles.

#3 The expansive Bat Wing awning surface area provides a lot of shade around the camper; but it also presents a lot of surface area for wind energy to act against and including winds coming from differing directions relative to the camper. Stowing the awning in a high wind would be exciting and perhaps challenging.

#4 Yes, unless you are tall like Paul a stool will be needed to deploy and retrieve the awning. Plus just for my taste, rolled up and stowed it looks, well, like a canvas awning stuck on the side of an otherwise sleek looking camper. Just my tastes.

I can see the usefulness of a lot of shading for the camper in a high heat, lots of direct sun environment to help keep the inside the camper a little cooler. In a windless day in 100+ heat; more shade would be appreciated.

Not trying to dissuade anyone from getting a Bat Wing. Everyone should get what best suits their needs and what strikes a cord with their sensibilities.

And as always, I could be wrong.

Phil
Click to expand...
Phil, I don't think it makes a difference on which awning is on the camper, winds will have an impact. In 2015 while in Galveston, moderate to high winds slide the rear awning out of its track and my poor wife was hanging on for dear life. This year I didn't take the rear awning as the weather report was dry all week. Winds were in the 20+ mph range all week. The first two days had 35-40 wind gusts. Needless to say my side awning wasn't used. It is a big risk to have the awning out with that type of wind, even it you tried to stake the legs and added additional tie-downs. The company that makes the new awning has a good reputation. I would have jumped at this new awning if I was orderning the camper today. jd
 
Stan,
Would you be able to estimate the approximate labor cost for installation of this awning (and the Fiamma) on a 2015 Hawk? I like the rear awning we already have but we bought the camper knowing we eventually would get a side awning. The rear awning has pretty minimal coverage for providing shade, especially with low sun angles. As far as wind-I think all awnings need to be stowed when winds kick up-we camped in some very strong winds last month in Utah and I doubt any awning would have survived! Years ago I had a tent trailer with an awning and we came back from a hike one day to see our awning demolished, and one of the detachable legs had been flipped up and impaled through the fiberglass/foam roof of the camper!
thanks,
david
 
Good comments folks and appreciated.

The "wind factor" is a given with any awning; but the more surface area the more energy applied to the material and the frame. My trepidation about the Bat Wing in any wind was related to the movement, even slight movement, and torque applied to the single mounting post through the long horizontal lever arms used to hold the canvas. My Fiamma for example has much less surface area and three stout mounting points. Bat Wing comes from a good company but is the use of this type of mounting on a FWC prudent with the existing aluminum frame?

Yes, in even moderate winds all awnings are usually stowed; but in variable or light winds especially in desert areas the shade and wind are needed to stay reasonably comfortable. Any wind will "work" the Bat Wing pivot post via the horizontal lever arms.

As for the FWC rear awning; I have read of them failing due to the mounting system and also not really providing the protection expected.

As always, I may have missed something in my ramblings, the Bat Wing engineering and FWC application could be flawless and I could be wrong... :D

Phil
 
Just a thought-Has anyone considered the Rhino Rack Foxwing Awning? There are options available from the $500 to 700 range. I don't know yet if they can provide brackets for mounting of the sort that a FWC would require. There are 1- 2 more of this general type.


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The following link is another that is available from OK4WD.COM for 1495.00 still expensive I know

http://ok4wd.com/shop-by-category/lifestyle/awnings/alu-cab-shadow-awning.

I have seen another called the Ostrich wing from http://www.bigcountry.co.za/shop/product-types/awnings/ostrich-wing-awning/. I just saw this so I have no further info on it.

This is from Expedition Portal -
I thought you might be interested in reading this recent link to some awning postings from this web page:
http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/threads/154940-Ostrich-Wing-Awning-Experience-amp-Interest?referrerid=126131

Right now We are just sorting out what and how much we want to allocate to an awning(s).

We are just poking around and have no experience with any of these.




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I started researching awnings the day I put down a deposit on my FWC. Coming from a long list of overland built rigs, an awning is a must in my book. Not just for staying out of the sun but for creating extended living spaces. My ideal of a great awning would be one that covers the side and back, one that has optional walls and one that provides protection from bugs. The downside with most of the ones I've found is that the walls are not screened. So I will likely modify which ever one I purchase.

To be far, I've seen most of these awnings in person and hands down the one that FWC is using is the best quality. You have to understand where these awnings are made of to determine the quality. Just like with roof top tents most are made in South Africa and the others are made in China. Usually the price will determine where they are made but I've had good luck with both styles.
 
Is FWC doing anything to strengthen the rear mounting point for the new awnings?

The bat and manta are nice pieces. I just bought the Alu-cab shadow awning because it combines the best of both of the above in terms of shape and only has one support leg to deal with. This does mean additional stress on the rear attachment pivot point. The thing I like best about the shadow is how quick and easy it is to deploy and stow. So if a strong wind storm does come in we can easily put the awning away.

I would be curious to hear more about the new awning brackets and if they are doing anything to strengthen the area.


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