TheSamba.com :: View topic - Fiamma Awning

Sun Apr 22, 2012 2:40 pm

We love our Fiamma awning, f35, but not sure how much we need the body mounts. After a wicked Colorado guster last summer that did some temporary damage I am not sure if the body mounts would help for those quick deployments, such as lunch stops, or do more harm by encouraging lazy awning setup.

Any advice from those with the body mounts?

Sun Apr 22, 2012 5:46 pm

I'm contemplating adding them as well since the awning (Fiamma F45s) came with them. I just cant get past the drilling into my van though...

Sun Apr 22, 2012 5:51 pm

Are body mounts still available for the F35?

Sun Apr 22, 2012 6:19 pm

Mine came with them as an optional mounting point.

Sun Apr 22, 2012 8:57 pm

My van had body mounts already installed when I bought it. I love them! Makes for a nice secure setup.

Sun Apr 22, 2012 9:15 pm

we have the dometic awning and have the mounts. like them because the dogs don't tangle up around the legs, and because they make the awning more stable in wind. so far, anyway. we have not had the awning open in a serious wind.

Mon Apr 23, 2012 6:11 am

I have awning mounts on the body and love them!

When I set up the awning I don't have to worry about staking the poles down. They are very sturdy mounted to the body. Normal winds are no issue. I have had my awning (half furled) up in a thunderstorm and it worked great. I couldn't live without them.....

Mon Apr 23, 2012 10:15 am

debbiej wrote: we have the dometic awning and have the mounts. like them because the dogs don't tangle up around the legs, and because they make the awning more stable in wind. so far, anyway. we have not had the awning open in a serious wind.

Ditto. They come in handy when you can't stake the legs.

I will say, I do prefer having the legs straight down; makes it easier/more convenient to walk in/out. At Bugorama I used buckets of sand on the pavement as anchors.

As for the wind, it's pretty sturdy. What helps even more is using those anti-flap gizmos:

Mon Apr 23, 2012 1:50 pm

Thank you all for the replies. For those with mounted brackets, did you use the supplied screws? The appear to be more wood screw and less sheet metal screw to me.

Mon Apr 23, 2012 1:57 pm

As I'm goign to mount my 10 footer F45 I'm gunna rig the three gutter mounts, and then mount the lower feet/perches.

Any guidance/install steps that are known of?

I have been bustin tail on paint prep.. this is next on the itinerary..

Tue Apr 24, 2012 7:07 am

I too would be hesitant to drill holes into the side of our van. I wonder if something removable could be fabricated to use the factory jacking points instead?

Tue Apr 24, 2012 7:58 am

No need to drill holes in your van. Use a couple of canvas shopping bags with weight (rocks, sand, etc) or in them to hold the awning down. I've also use water bags. Hang them from each end of the awning. Be sure to use the rigid rafter provided (in my opinion, it should have a rigid rafter on each end rather than just one in the center).

Note: The awning in this photo is my 25 year old Dometic, not my Fiama which is on our Casita Trailer. This photo is to illustrate how I use the canvas bags. I use them the same way on the Fiama.

The other down side to the body mounts is you are always running into the rafters.

Tue Apr 24, 2012 9:19 am

rsxsr wrote: I too would be hesitant to drill holes into the side of our van. I wonder if something removable could be fabricated to use the factory jacking points instead?

I used to have the EZ Awning from Bus Depot and it had jack point mounts that worked very well. I actually used them all the time instead of staking the poles into the ground.

Tue Apr 24, 2012 10:30 am

photogdave wrote: rsxsr wrote: I too would be hesitant to drill holes into the side of our van. I wonder if something removable could be fabricated to use the factory jacking points instead?

I used to have the EZ Awning from Bus Depot and it had jack point mounts that worked very well. I actually used them all the time instead of staking the poles into the ground.

I don't suppose you have a picture of this setup? Thank you

Tue Apr 24, 2012 10:34 am

We had an unfortunate wind storm in Florida that popped our new Fiamma right off as I was rolling it up!

Found replacement parts and all's well.

We use the GoWesty black mounts to the rain gutter.

I like the "weighted bags" idea for moderate winds, esp. if leaving the van for any period.

Tue Apr 24, 2012 10:39 am

stevegibb wrote: We had an unfortunate wind storm in Florida that popped our new Fiamma right off as I was rolling it up!

Found replacement parts and all's well.

We use the GoWesty black mounts to the rain gutter.

I like the "weighted bags" idea for moderate winds, esp. if leaving the van for any period.

Good to hear you were able to fix it. How many GoWesty brackets or mounts did you have in your awning?

Tue Apr 24, 2012 10:42 am

Love My Westy wrote: No need to drill holes in your van. Use a couple of canvas shopping bags with weight (rocks, sand, etc) or in them to hold the awning down. I've also use water bags. Hang them from each end of the awning. Be sure to use the rigid rafter provided (in my opinion, it should have a rigid rafter on each end rather than just one in the center).

I'd be very cautious using this method. It doesn't take much wind force over a large area to create a lot of force and send those rock bags flying into something or someone. A 0.1 psi force over a 6'x8' awining (about a 40 mph wind gust) is about 700 lbs of lift. Of corse, there are many complicated factors affecting this (physics and aerodynamics), but you see how a small force over a large area adds up. I'd be more comfortable if those bags of rocks were sitting on the ground as anchors with ropes holding down the top. I think so far you've been luck to not be in any high wind areas.

Tue Apr 24, 2012 10:55 am

rsxsr wrote: photogdave wrote: rsxsr wrote: I too would be hesitant to drill holes into the side of our van. I wonder if something removable could be fabricated to use the factory jacking points instead?

I used to have the EZ Awning from Bus Depot and it had jack point mounts that worked very well. I actually used them all the time instead of staking the poles into the ground.

I don't suppose you have a picture of this setup? Thank you

Straight from the horse's mouth:
http://www.busdepot.com/details.jsp?partnumber=JP7905
I thought the EZ Awning was great value for the money. My new van came with the Fiamma and it's really nice but I'm not sure I would want to pay full price for it.

Tue Apr 24, 2012 11:00 am

PDXWesty wrote: I'd be very cautious using this method. ...I'd be more comfortable if those bags of rocks were sitting on the ground as anchors with ropes holding down the top.

Have to agree; not to mention the weight potentially harming the awning. I took my van to Bugorama this year and it always gets breezy/windy there in the afternoon. I filled a couple of cans with sand, set them on the awning's feet and ran a rope from each can up around the rafters.

The wind (well, strong breeze with a good gust now and then is more accurate) did pick up in the afternoon; while the fabric flapped a bit, the legs and rafters didn't budge. :D

Tue Apr 24, 2012 11:08 am

Thanks for the link, I like the clean look of the Fiamma awning and the easy of deploying, but the EZ awning from BD looks like it would do the job. I like the jack point attachment too.

I have looked at other's Fiamma 8 and 10 footers. The mounting requires that the awning be shifted back to line up behind the rear side window. With the 8 footer, it just extends past the slide door, so in poor weather the side door is barely protected. The 10 footer would carry further forward, but seems size wise to be overkill for us. The fiamma outer legs are also on the ends. So and 8 footer would be behind the rear jack point and rear tire for that matter. Thank you for the link to BD. mark