Awning mount at rub trim

[Hochstrasser]

My front awning lower mount is pressing the outer skin in at the rub trim. It's mounted over a rib there.
There is quite a gap at that spot. Anyone else have this problem? I don't know if this is normal or not. The rear mount doesn't press in like the front.
Also, does the pic of roof rivets look okay, or bad?

[bkahler]

First. On the rivets thats a good indication the rivets are loose. In theory they should be drilled out and replaced with olympic rivets dipped in vulkem 116 or tempro 635. My preference is Tempro.

On the awning mount, from looking at the picture I'd hazard a guess that your rib has been crushed or dented slightly probably from a downward force of the awning arm. It's not uncommon to see the skin bulge outward slightly from a rib but yours does look excessive.

However I don't think it's anything you should worry about mainly because I don't think there is anything you can do about it short of removing the outer skin, straightening the rib and putting the outer skin back on. Personally I don't think it would be worth the effort.

Brad

[bkahler]

Looking closer at the picture it doesn't appear like there's any damage to the skin which would be an indicator that the rib is bent. It just might be the way it came from the factory.

Regardless, I wouldn't worry about it.

[Kvsterling]

Can do a suction cup test: Stick suction cup over the rivet and see if it sticks or breaks loose. If it quickly breaks suction, it’s probably letting water in. My impression is rivet seals should be checked every couple years to spot unseen failure/leaks

[fwjumper]

Looks to me like the screws are on either side of the rib. Who knows whether they are into structure or not. Probably not a factory installed awning. It's an A&E, not a Zip Dee. They are fine awnings, but the installer could/should have done better. I would remove the screws, one at a time to verify whether or not they are into structure. If they are, leave it as is. If not, the right conditions could RIP it out. When you reinstall them, be sure to reseal them. Good luck.

[kidjedi]

It's hard to tell from the pic, but if we're looking at those rivets from the inside of the trailer (interior skins removed), they can basically just be bucked "the rest of the way." There were a lot of rivets in my first AS that hadn't been "fully bucked" at the factory (likely workers wanting to *go fast*), so they just needed a little more love, and that's probably better than drilling them out. Also, a buck rivet is better than a pop or Olympic rivet. If I'm misinterpreting the photo, sorry to take up space!

[kidjedi]

Looking at the pic again, it looks like that is the outside, so sorry about the previous irrelevant info. It looks like on the one rivet the skin hole has actually become larger than the rivet head. If you were to drill this out and replace, you will need to use a larger rivet, and perhaps even a washer. If it's just a couple of rivets like this, and the worry is only water ingress and not the skin actually pulling away from the rib, I would just hit them with TremPro 635. But don't use "regularv silicon caulk. You need the good stuff for it to last!

[ROBERT CROSS]

Originally Posted by fwjumper

Looks to me like the screws are on either side of the rib. Who knows whether they are into structure or not. Probably not a factory installed awning. It's an A&E, not a Zip Dee. They are fine awnings, but the installer could/should have done better. I would remove the screws, one at a time to verify whether or not they are into structure. If they are, leave it as is. If not, the right conditions could RIP it out. When you reinstall them, be sure to reseal them. Good luck.

I would also remove the screws and check that there is structure under them.
If there is replace without the 'bridge'.

Ours mount directly on the molding.
Note...the extra screws are because our lower mount had to be moved because the support was not plumb.



Bob
🇺🇸

[Hochstrasser]

Been trying to reply for a while now. I cannot seem to get one sent thru here. Wanted to thank all who gave me tips.
Damage to the upper arm caused a leak and the gap at the rub trim. I discovered the mounting bracket was bent up and several screws were missing. I repaired and sealed it as best I could for now as I have an upcoming trip.
Thanks to all for the tips!