Visit our Popular Forums

StogieMan · 07-22-2024, 11:58 AM

I’m contemplating removing the stock Airstream awning and wondering if anyone has done so. Any tips or advice are greatly appreciated before I attempt or regret doing so. I’m considering installing some Sprinter OEM roof rack rails and it will be easier installing the awning side rail without the awning. We really don’t use the awning as the sun never seems to be in the right location to make use of it and not to mention all the trouble that it brings so I’m strongly considering removing it permanently.

JayP · 07-23-2024, 10:55 AM

I can’t imagine trying to pry the awning base off the Sprinter roof. You’ve been on the roof enough to see the entire length of the awning is attached to a base rail and that base rail has probably a whole tube of sealant in addition to fasteners no doubt holding it to the roof. It was hard enough for me to pry the flex solar panel off without damaging the roof.

I’m sure you can do it! Holy cow man, you’ve done every other mod known to man, lol.

We don’t use our awning that much due to fear it will fly over the van in a wind gust, but we still use it enough I wouldn’t consider removing it. Out west at altitude there are fewer trees and the intensity of the sun even at 70F is very strong. The awning is primarily used as shade for the van, not people. I would love it if there was a sensible mod to tie the awning down to the van side in a way to prevent it from flying over the roof.

StogieMan · 07-23-2024, 11:39 AM

JayP, thanks for the feedback. Yeah, I know that it’s going to be one heck of a project for sure. My biggest concern is will I regret not having it and you bring up a good point.   Like you, having it go up over the roof is one of my concerns and even a bigger one is it deploying while on the road as it has happened to others. Another PITA is that sensitivity sensor that makes it retract with the slightest wind and you’re constantly playing the in and out game. IMO there are more cons with this awning than pros. I have turned up the wind sensor to the max and it still retracts frequently when used.

Maybe, RigRat chimes in here as I remember reading a thread on his solution when parked and having it anchored to the ground. I remember on my previous Winnie B, I had retractable arms that I spiked to the ground which worked great all the time.

Not sure yet if I remove it but I’m really leaning toward it.

**Rocinante** · 07-25-2024, 02:47 PM

MoonShade is my current favorite candidate as a replacement for this awning. We already have the basic MoonShade, and we use it on sides of the van where the awning can't help us. It's great! They've now got a bigger one, the XL, which might be better as a full replacement for the awning that came with the van.

When our existing built-in awning finally bites the dust for whatever reason, we will probably seek to have it completely removed so we can go with MoonShade XL from then on.

https://moonfab.com/

Lineolated · 07-26-2024, 03:22 AM

We had our awning removed because we seldom used it, and the Airstream install caused water to pool on that side of the roof. Awning itself was easy. Then we discovered that the rail was attached to the roof with several carriage bolts and the nuts were inaccessible, probably between the roof and ceiling. We weren’t enthusiastic about having a row of holes in the roof so we gave up at that point.

Our model is a 2014 lounge wardrobe, YMMV.

Post results if you attempt this!

**Rocinante** · 07-29-2024, 07:33 AM

So, your awning is gone, but the underlying rail remains? Has that still proven useful from time to time? Would love to see a photo here showing the remaining rail. Maybe I need to re-think my nefarious plan of eventually removing that existing awning and going without one? Maybe when ours eventually dies I could replace that existing awning with a more reliable one by using the same rails? Thanks!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lineolated

We had our awning removed because we seldom used it, and the Airstream install caused water to pool on that side of the roof. Awning itself was easy. Then we discovered that the rail was attached to the roof with several carriage bolts and the nuts were inaccessible, probably between the roof and ceiling. We weren’t enthusiastic about having a row of holes in the roof so we gave up at that point.

Our model is a 2014 lounge wardrobe, YMMV.

Post results if you attempt this!

StogieMan · 07-29-2024, 09:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lineolated

We had our awning removed because we seldom used it, and the Airstream install caused water to pool on that side of the roof. Awning itself was easy. Then we discovered that the rail was attached to the roof with several carriage bolts and the nuts were inaccessible, probably between the roof and ceiling. We weren’t enthusiastic about having a row of holes in the roof so we gave up at that point.

Our model is a 2014 lounge wardrobe, YMMV.

Post results if you attempt this!

I will for sure!

Yes, it looks like two separate parts to me. The bottom looks like a custom rail and the awning is attached to it which makes sense if you needed to replace a broken one.

However, I don't like that bottom rail has the carriage bolts on it as that will be work to remove and require major surgery. During my screen door mod, I can see where I can get access to the front side of the van but then toward the back will be a PITA due to the cabinets.

Maybe I can get that same rail and put it on the drivers side and build a bracket off both of these that can work with the awning removed. I've already seen where I can ca install some bolts in the front middle and back. One near the locker area, one where the refrigerator is, one under the bathroom fan, one where the access panel is in back of the bathroom sink and the last one near the end of the locker. The rest of the slots will get Rivet Nuts (Rivnuts)

Again, a lot of pondering and planning before I tackle this one.

Lineolated · 07-30-2024, 09:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rocinante

So, your awning is gone, but the underlying rail remains? Has that still proven useful from time to time? Would love to see a photo here showing the remaining rail. Maybe I need to re-think my nefarious plan of eventually removing that existing awning and going without one? Maybe when ours eventually dies I could replace that existing awning with a more reliable one by using the same rails? Thanks!

Photos attached. I thought about using the rail for my moonshade, but haven’t seen the need to do so yet.

**Rocinante** · 07-30-2024, 02:04 PM

Thanks for sharing! Yeah, I can definitely live with that if the alternative is to take the interior of the coach apart so we can remove those carriage bolts. It's so high up there that it wouldn't interfere with a MoonShade, though we could probably find some kind of a use for it. Base for a clothesline to a tree? Base for stringing up a Ham radio antenna?

Boxster1971 · 07-30-2024, 03:14 PM

Hey StogieMan what is your goal in removing that awning and installing Sprinter OEM roof rack rails? Do you want to add something else to your roof?

I've been working an idea to add larger high voltage solar to my little Interstate 19. It would require raising them over the awning, up high like member InterBlog did on the back of their older Interstate.

Attached an image of one idea I drew up in a simple sketch.

On the 19's Airstream cut a hole for one of the tank vents right through the roof rail channel on the driver side. See attached photo.

I'll have to work around that to install roof rails on that side in segments. On the awning side I would attach some hinges to the existing awning rail mount to provide a base for a structure to elevate the solar panels above the awning.

I use the awning now more than I did on our 2013 Interstate.

StogieMan · 07-30-2024, 07:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Boxster1971

Hey StogieMan what is your goal in removing that awning and installing Sprinter OEM roof rack rails? Do you want to add something else to your roof?

I've been working an idea to add larger high voltage solar to my little Interstate 19. It would require raising them over the awning, up high like member InterBlog did on the back of their older Interstate.

Attached an image of one idea I drew up in a simple sketch.

On the 19's Airstream cut a hole for one of the tank vents right through the roof rail channel on the driver side. See attached photo.

I'll have to work around that to install roof rails on that side in segments. On the awning side I would attach some hinges to the existing awning rail mount to provide a base for a structure to elevate the solar panels above the awning.

I use the awning now more than I did on our 2013 Interstate.

Mike, great idea that you’re planning and I like it. Yeah, Airstream didn’t do you any favors with putting that darn vent there. On ours, that left side is clear and probably because they still had the old build plans when they were still ordering the vans with the roof rails but unfortunately we were somewhere near that cutoff point.

I really don’t need to remove the awning if I can make it work without the extra work. That base for the awning is pretty well secured. So I either can remove the awning and use that existing bracket or build something off it like you’re planning. Ideally, I would love to install the original roof brackets but realistically it’s really going to be a lot of work and time.

I really want to lift everything off the roof a bit higher to able to keep the roof clean for inspection, maintenance and repairs. My ideal solution is two platforms. One smaller one for the front side of the van where I have the two solar panels. Again, I would keep 100w panel for the chassis battery and remove the smaller one that I have now. I also want to put the LED light bars, Starlink etc. on top of that. Easier to install items on some type of flat lightweight metal decking material. For the back I want another platform with two higher wattage about 350w walkable panels to form a small platform deck.

Like I said, I’ve scoped out where I could attach whatever I use on the other side but maybe try to match it in height with what’s currently under the awning now. Plans for now though and a lot to think about and plan. However, I do like your idea a lot.

uncle_bob · 11-05-2024, 07:54 AM

Hi

Having had a lot of "spare time" recently at JC, I spent part of it looking at inventory sitting here and there.

They put the "mounting stuff" for the awnings on the roof of the van *way* early in the process. Whatever they are doing, it's very much *not* part of the awning install itself. It goes in well before any work is done inside the van.

Yes, mostly this simply confirms what's been said above ....

Bob

NC_John · 12-31-2024, 05:02 PM

I'm working on a solar upgrade and in the process needed some info to help temporarily dismount or remove the awning to get some brackets in the factory roof rail. I found this thread during my hunting and thought I'd share what I learned today.

I removed the original 50W panel and OTA TV antenna off of my 09 and am using roof racks in the factory roof rails to mount two new 100W renology panels (just to add some more charging capability when boondocking - my old panel's output was dismal). I'm going with a roof rack setup to avoid drilling even more holes in the roof.

I bought rail mounts that are compatible with the F65 awning but found I can only slide the bottom capture side of the mount through the end of the rail to move it where it needs to be - it can't be just placed into the rail anywhere due to the tight fit. Got to be slid in from the end. I spent some time on the ladder this afternoon seeing if I could at least remove the rearmost awning mount so I could slide the rail mount I need on the other side of it in. It needs to be between the middle and rear awning mount for my install.

(Spoiler alert) It was quite impossible and not worth the trouble - I ended up buying some very expensive Owl Van capture mounts that I can fit in there without removing anything.

Here's how the awning mounts on my 09 generation AI.

The first pic should show how the awning brackets mount to the roof rail. There are three brackets affixed to the factory roof rail (so they are not bolted to the roof sheetmetal like some others have found). Two bolts per mount to the rail. (I couldn't get at the bolts trying to work overtop the awning from an a-frame ladder. Miserable access)

The second picture shows that the awning slides into two grooves on the three brackets.

The third shows a retaining plate on each mount that ties the mount to the awning so it doesn't slide out on its own.

I think to remove the awning you remove all three of the retaining plates, then slide the awning fore or aft to get it off the van. You'd have to disconnect the wiring of course and would need at least two sets of hands to manage it. Mine was so tight on the mounts that I couldn't get it to budge. I didn't want to break the plastic caps at either end either so I didn't force it. Once the awning is slid off you could easily get the mounting brackets off. There is a lot of dissimilar metal corrosion between the aluminum and steel parts on my awning mount parts so everything is really tough to work with.

On my van, with what I am working with, I'd probably not get the awning off without damaging it so figured out the plan b. If it were to fail and force a replacement though, that'd be the way to get it off.