# How to fix awning to motorhome



## 88816

Hi
I have just purchased a Khyam Motordome Exelsior freestanding awning to fit to my Swift sundance 590RL
My problem is that there is no where to connect the awning door tunnel to
on the motorhome, all I got with the awning was a figuire eight plastic channel where one side slides on to the awning bead and presumeably the other side is supposed to clip on to a awning rail of sorts.
I have been in touch with the outdoor megastore where I purchased the awning and they informed me that I need a 'KADAR' strip?
Has anyone heard of this 
and if so where can I get one 

Termie


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## 89122

*Awning*

Hi Termie, The figure of 8 plastic rail will fit over the edge of the roof gutter if you have one on your motorhome
Eddie


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## Anonymous

*Awning Rails*

If you have a coachbuilt you won't have a gutter so you need to fit an awning rail which needs to be screwed to the side of your van at an appropriate height. 
It is not the same as caravan awning rail as the figure 8 strip clips over the top rather than the "slide all the way through" caravan type. It comes as a j section strip and is sold by most motorhome dealers. My awning came with two lengths of it in the bag.
As with all screw on bits water-tightness is essential. I got mine fitted by a dealer to keep the warranty valid, but if you have an older van you can easily do it yourself.


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## 88816

Thanks
It is indeed a coachbuilt, and does not have a gutter or awning rail
according to Khyam I need a Cadre rail ? which the plastis figure 8 strip then attaches to.

Termie


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## Anonymous

*hi*

hi termie, would of thought the shop that supplied the awning had ought to supply the rail or at least no where to get it from
pete


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## 88816

Yes so would I!.
They told me to get in touch with Bradcot
Who do not now make awnings for motorhomes.
Today I went to United British Caravans near to where I live
and bought some standard awning rail that looks as though it wil do 
the job perfectly.
Thanks for the advice everyone

Termie


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## 89555

*awning fixing*

I have a Swift Kontiki and r ecently bought an awning on Ebay. It is a Royal Camper free standing I have a similar problem as how to fix the door canopy to the MH.The canopy has a strong black cord but I have yet to fathom how to attach it to the MH any advice please would be most welcome :?


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## 88816

Hi
In the end I fitted an awning rail strip from my local caravan accessory shop
But unless you get the Motorhome exactly the right distance away from the awning you end up with a sagging entrance to the awning so when it rains you have a large pool above your head.
So in the end we did not bother fixing the awning to the motohome and used it like a tent.
Much better!!


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## 89555

*awning fixing*

Thanks Termie I had come to this conclusion to leave it as free standing awning I just wondered what you did with all the excess material from the canopy


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## 88816

On my awning it comes with adjustable straps to tie it down

Termie


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## VanManWomanTwins

*Fixing a stand alone - our solution*

My wife, and our toddler twins have a rear entry Autohomes Highwayman that we purchased with a wind out Omnistor side awning, great in low wind conditions for BBQ or sun shade, but only used a couple of times so far this year.

What we have bought is an Apache stand alone frame tent style awning for erecting at the rear of the van over the door once we have removed the bike (twin buggy ) rack. We have also invested in the bedroom annex.

The awning is fixed to the rear of the van by sliding the tunnel piping into a length of awning rail attached to a length of timber (2"X1"X6 footish), vine eyes are attached to the timber on the opposite to the awning rail to use shock cord to fix the timber to the roof of the van. The timber then simply rests on the roof of the van with some 'Karrimat' trapped underneath it to protect both van roof and awning fabric. The sides of the awning are then pegged into the ground beside the rear steadies. This seems to work okay but if high winds are coming head onto the van it does tend to cause the awning to billow at the sides, this is partly cured with some extra guys, at worst you can disconnect the tunnel and close up the rear door of the awning so that it effectively becomes a frame tent pitched to the rear of the van.

To disconnect the awning and drive away you only need to undo the shock cord and pull out a couple of pegs, great for marking your pitch. Repositioning of the van is reasonably easy with enough flexibility for the van to be a couple of inches forward or aft, left or right and still being able to tension up the tunnel with the wood/shock cord arrangement.

The bedroom annex makes a great playroom for the girls when the weather outside isn't too good and also doubles as a guest room if required! The awning is great for storing all those toys and the great accumulation of gear.

The awning takes about an hour for me to erect on my own and a little longer to take down and pack away (canvas into seat locker, poles and awning rail/timber into roof box or toilet compartment) so it is proving well worth the effort if you are on site for more that a couple of days.

Cheers 
HighwayManWomanTwins


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## Anonymous

I have just bought this awning. Put it up in the garden over the weekend without too much difficulty but no room to try attaching it to the van. I am very grateful for the benefit of your experience.
I was planning to just guy the sleeve over the top of the van. What do you think?

Andrea.


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## VanManWomanTwins

*Re Just Guying Over*

We are new to the motorhoming game and in coming up with our solution to fixing the awning we brought to bear our vast camping experience and decided that we wanted to spread the load over as greater area as possible.
Previous experience of eyelets pulling out of fabric and tents ripping :x adjacent to overstressed guying points lead us to our solution. We did contemplate adding more eyelets but this seemed like the easiest solution.
We have however bought some extra 'clip on guying points' (Name??) from Somerset Camping and Leisure when we were browsing their shelves last month, we have not had time to try these yet but they may be a simple way to add the extra eyelets we consider necessary. They are fitted by clipping to the edge of the fabric and therefore if the solution does not work we have not added extra holes to the tunnel of our awning.
Whatever solution you eventually come up with be sure to share it :!:

HighwayManWomanTwins


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## Anonymous

Taking it away weekend after next. No doubt it will be a saga :lol:  
Andrea.


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