Awning w/poles

[Jabba]

Hi All, we are trying to find an awning w/poles to use on our "new" '55 Sovereign. Does anyone have any sources for vintage looking (or not) staked awnings with poles? The widest I've been able to source is 15' which is much too short for a 30' trailer. We don't know if we want a Zip Dee, roll-out type yet (and we need to budget for one $$$), so we are going the old style for now. Any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

[john hd]

jason

does your trailer have an awning rail?

it is a small j shaped piece that runs the length of the trailer where the roof sheet joins the side of the trailer. on the door side.

john

[john hd]

jason

duh, i looked at your original pic.

yes you do.....

love it when i answer my own questions.

you may want to save up and go with the zip dee. but the staked out awning would look cool too.

my question for everyone would be "when did zip dee start becoming the awning of choice for airstreams?"

maybe you would want something other than the standard awning for more of a 50's look.

john

[Jabba]

Yes it does, I haven't measured it yet but it does run the full length of the side panel....

[Jabba]

yep, you got it, my wife and I were looking at it and were wondering if a roll-up wouldn't look out of place. JCWhitney had 'em for $150, but they only go to 15' I know someone with a Vagabond with a real nice vintage looking awning, tassles and all, but his e-mail box is full, so I'm trying to recruit some help. We may go with a Zip-Dee, it just isn't in the immediate future...

[john hd]

jason

there are two pictured at this site.

http://www.airstreamdreams.com/generic39.html

is this what you are thinking of?

if so maybe you could get in contact with them and find out where they found them.

john

[overlander64]

Greetings John!

my question for everyone would be "when did zip dee start becoming the awning of choice for airstreams?"

I know that a member of the Vintage Airstream club who is the original purchaser of a '64 Sovereign has a Zip Dee awning that is either as old as the trailer or very nearly so. I checked the Zip Dee web site, and they indicate that they have been in business since the early 1960s. You can find Zip Dee at:

Zip Dee Awnings

It is my impression that the Zip Dee awning didn't become the primary awning of choice until sometime in the 1970s. During the 1960s, A & E, Carefree of Colorado, and several other manufacturers made awnings with arms designed to fit the Airstream. Today, most of those manufacturers have abandoned the Airstream market, and if you have one of their awning you have to hope that the arms are never damaged as replacement parts are nearly impossible to obtain. The replacement parts situation is what convinced me to switch to Zip Dee when my A & E Travel Awn 5000 (on my '64 Overlander) had the same part break for the third time in five years and I didn't want to go on another salvage yard scavenger hunt for the part as A & E no longer supported parts for most of the arm mechanism.

Kevin

[john hd]

kevin

any idea what was used before that?

jabba has an awning rail, as i pointed out to myself.

what would have been installed there?

john

[overlander64]

Greetings John!

Jabba has an awning rail, as i pointed out to myself. What would have been installed there?

That was part of the adventure of camping prior to the advent of the automatic retracting awnings. You could purchase an awning, with poles and sometimes a frame. This assemblage of parts had to be manually set up when establishing camp and then taken down again when breaking camp. There are a number of VAC members who have original or copies of original "pole type" awnings for their units.

One of the most memorable for me belongs to the Scheuermann's. They own a 1960 Overlander that is a family legacy. Part of their restoration was to create an awning duplicating the orginal pole awning utilizing modern Sunbrella fabric that appears to be identical to that used for the Zip Dee awnings that are found on most Airstreams. In addition, they have created some very unique window awning/shades as well from the same fabric for which they won a "unique innovation" award at the 2000 International Rally in Bismarck. (I checked all of my links to Rally photos on the Net, but couldn't find any of the Scheueramnn's trailer with its awnings displayed.)

The only drawback that I can see to the pole type awning is that it nearly requires two people to set it up - - especially on a larger trailer. As a Free Wheeler, I knew that setting up a pole type awning would be something that would rarely get done on my coach so I stayed with the automatic roller type awning - - but I do admire the timeless style of the pole type awnings.

Kevin

[john hd]

kevin

i have seen two 60's trailers with boat cleats mounted at the end of the awning rail.

any idea what they would have been used for?

stowage of the awning? or are they for the tie down ropes?

anyone got a pic of an original 50/60's non zip dee awning?

john

[Jabba]

John,
Yep, that's exactly what we are looking for. JC Whitney carries them in their catalog, just not long enough for ours. I might try giving them a call to see about having a custom awning made. (I just remembered reading about someone with a SOB doing that). I will also try contacting the people in the picture. I never noticed those pictures before. The aqua color would work reall well!

[overlander64]

Greetings John!

I have seen two 60's trailers with boat cleats mounted at the end of the awning rail. Any idea what they would have been used for?

I have seen the devices that you are describing used for two different but related purposes. Where the awning was simply one flat cloth with no side panels, the cleats were used to keep the awning material streched tightly between the ends of the awning rail. With awnings that have side panels, I have seen the cleats used to secure the side panels so that they aren't beating against the side of the trailer.

stowage of the awning? or are they for the tie down ropes?

The awning material is usually removed from the awning rail, folded and stored in one of the exterior compartments, an interior cubby, or sometimes in the tow vehicle. On several older Airstreams that have had these "pole type" awnings since new, I have seen round storage tubes mounted either ahead of or behind the axle(s) for storage of poles, stakes, and ropes (these storage tubes look very much like the sewer hose storage tubes having similar mounting characteristics.

Kevin

[silverhawk]

Hey, Everyone...//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// This is my kinda topic. My 64 Safari has the cleets you are discussing. Somewhere down the line though it was fitted with another sort of contraption. This is more along the lines of an older store front awning. It has a hook that you catch onto with a crank and then you prop up with adjustable poles. I would say that this is old custum vintage, a lot more suited for the more arid climes. One good thing is that there are no extentions to the bottom of the trailer. If I was'nt such a computer retard I would already have a photo album. Ya learn something new every day so, one of these days. Silverhawk

[john hd]

kevin

the tubes for the awning and poles makes sense, often wondered what they were for.

silverhawk,

posting pics is easy once you get the hang of it. check the faq page. the two big rules to remember are size and format.

size must be 450x600 pixels

format must be a common one like jpeg or gif.

i would really like to see the awning contraption, shoot me a private message i might be able to help with the photo's.

john

[InsideOut]

size must be 450x600 pixels

Actually the .jpg/.gif size doesn't have to be exactly 450x600, just not larger.

Shari

[john hd]

shari is correct, 450x600 is the max.

looking in the ambassador today found poles but no awning.

any one else got one?

john