Adding An Awning to a slide

[tgodrich]

tgodrich
Hi Tony,

I have been told that there is no structure behind where your topper brackets are attached (on our vintage of 303s). I have seen drawings that show this. Obviously this is not true. This is (reportedly) why my toppers were fastened to the trim piece above this. I will investigate further with Grand Design.

If you remove one of the screws holding your topper bracket, can you determine if it goes into an aluminum frame or perhaps a steel reinforcing sheet bonded to the back of the exterior wall luan ply?

Rob

If its supposed to be steel reinforcing, maybe I can see if a magnet will be attracted to it. Aluminum is non-magnetic.

I think I'll wait to see what you hear from GD before I pull a screw. If it is in just the skin, I would risk stripping it. I should mention that my trailer is a mid 2016 model I think. I bought in May, 2016. Maybe they started putting in the steel bracket mid-year?

[Cate&Rob]

tgodrich
Hi Tony,

When the awning was added to the slide, EGS (Electro Galvanized Sheet) steel backer was added to the inside of the exterior wall on each side where the awning vertical brackets attach and across the top where the wall rail for the awning fabric attaches. This is the same construction method used to attach the main awning to the sidewall. If you have this steel backer in your slide wall, you should be able to find this with a magnet from the outside surface.

Where this gets a little more interesting is that (from the drawings) there appears to be a reinforcement piece (aluminum?) in each upper corner on both the early (no awning) and later (with awning) builds. This might be what your topper brackets are fastened to, below the exterior slide perimeter trim.

See my related PM to you on this.

Rob

[Superduty]

If its supposed to be steel reinforcing, maybe I can see if a magnet will be attracted to it. Aluminum is non-magnetic.

I think I'll wait to see what you hear from GD before I pull a screw. If it is in just the skin, I would risk stripping it. I should mention that my trailer is a mid 2016 model I think. I bought in May, 2016. Maybe they started putting in the steel bracket mid-year?

Here is a couple more pictures of my topper/awning. Side view next to the door, and a straight on.

[Cate&Rob]

Here is a couple more pictures of my topper/awning. Side view next to the door, and a straight on.

Hi Steve,

Your slide topper brackets are attached exactly as mine are . . . to the structure covered by the 4" trim piece around the perimeter of the slide. I would like to know the structure of this slide wall to slide roof connection . . . but have not been able to find this . . . yet. Tony's are attached just below this which must have just caught what appears in the drawings to be an aluminum corner reinforcement. There is EGS bonded to the back of the exterior laminate to retain the fasteners at all attachment points for your slide awning. My wall structure does not have this EGS.

Rob

[Superduty]

Hi Steve,

Your slide topper brackets are attached exactly as mine are . . . to the structure covered by the 4" trim piece around the perimeter of the slide. I would like to know the structure of this slide wall to slide roof connection . . . but have not been able to find this . . . yet. Tony's are attached just below this which must have just caught what appears in the drawings to be an aluminum corner reinforcement. There is EGS bonded to the back of the exterior laminate to retain the fasteners at all attachment points for your slide awning. My wall structure does not have this EGS.

Rob

Hello Rob,
Do you think it’s possible they have some type of wood in the area where the topper bracket are mounted?
i remember when they installed the screws/mounts they went right in, not as if they were drilling through Aluminum

Let me see if I can pull a screw out.

update:

I pull a screw out. 1 1/4” self tapping. It feels like it is aluminum where the screws are drilled in.
The top screws in the bracket are less than 3/4” from the top of the slide.


i do wonder, with your 303 not having the second awning, why the topper mounts are the same location as mine? I would of thought, they would be in the corner of the flange like on the street side.

[Cate&Rob]

Do you think it’s possible they have some type of wood in the area where the topper bracket are mounted?
i remember when they installed the screws/mounts they went right in, not as if they were drilling through Aluminum

let me see if I can pull one out.

Hi Steve,

The wall framing is very thin wall square tube aluminum. Less than 1/16" wall. The perimeter tubes are stuffed with wood to give the screws something to bite into. Drilling a pilot hole with a sharp bit might not even feel the thin aluminum and it might seem that you were drilling into wood.

Rob

[Superduty]

Hi Steve,

The wall framing is very thin wall square tube aluminum. Less than 1/16" wall. The perimeter tubes are stuffed with wood to give the screws something to bite into. Drilling a pilot hole with a sharp bit might not even feel the thin aluminum and it might seem that you were drilling into wood.

Rob

Rob,
I thought I felt some wood back in there along with a aluminum tube.
I checked all the mounting screws. All right, and no heads broken.

Steve

[pendl1285]

would using a toggle bolt going into the square tubing have the same holding power as screwing into wood

[JBill9694]

I doubt, pendl1285 , that there is enough "depth" to the tubing to get the toggle properly inserted, or to fully tighten the bolt afterwards. If the tubing has a wood insert inside it then this would also prevent iuse of a toggle. Finally, this would also result in a much larger hole to try and seal around.

[Site-r]

I see that Steve has a bracket that looks like it would work on my 2022 303rls.
What brand of slide out topper works best.

[Superduty]

Site-r
My slide toppers are "Lippert Solera".
My 5er is a 18 303.

[Gene Moniot]

I have a 2021 303RLS with the side awning on the living room slide out. I want to add an awning over that slide, but the side awning is in the way. How can I do that? Recently saw a 2018 model where the side awning was lowered on the slide and the slide out awning was then put on. Is that a viable and sturdy answer?