Awning & Rack Intercompatibility

[rfakhrai]

I've got a '97 FZJ80 and will be putting a Gobi Stealth rack on it. I am looking into awnings but I can't seem to find much info regarding how they mount and their compatibility with certain racks.

I'm particularly interested in the extended reach awnings like the Foxwing and Bundutec Wing Awning. Please chime in if you own one of these and can offer insight into how they mount, intercompatibility with racks etc. Also I'm open to suggestions for other extended reach awnings. Thanks!

 

[badlander]

I own a Foxwing and an Eezy-Awn K-9 rack. I ended up making my own brackets because I could not find anything that would really work well with that rack. What ended up being a real problem though was making it all work with the RTT. The Foxwing has a very tall profile and the first set of awning brackets would not work because the spring rods for the RTT fly interfered with the Foxwing since it was so high. I had to lower the Fowing some with new brackets and also bend the spring rods up a little to make it all work. Keep in mind you want the awning as high a possible for head room under neath it.

 

[rfakhrai]

Thanks for the info. Do you have any photos of how the Foxwing attaches to your rack?

 

[titanpat57]

I have ARB 2500 mounted on my Gobi....but like you, couldn't find the brackets I wanted. I also wanted to be able to mount the hi-lift to same thing...so I made them.

You could easily duplicate it them to accommodate a Fozwing. I just used shaft collars from Mcmaster Carr and some 1/4 plate.

 

[rfakhrai]

Thanks for the pics! I need to learn how to weld. I spoke to Gobi and they sell brackets for the ARB and Bundutec awnings. ~$100 for either so I might just go that route when the rack is ready to be picked up. Or maybe they could fab me a foxwing bracket.

 

[AndrewHadji]

I own a Foxwing and an Eezy-Awn K-9 rack. I ended up making my own brackets because I could not find anything that would really work well with that rack. What ended up being a real problem though was making it all work with the RTT. The Foxwing has a very tall profile and the first set of awning brackets would not work because the spring rods for the RTT fly interfered with the Foxwing since it was so high. I had to lower the Fowing some with new brackets and also bend the spring rods up a little to make it all work. Keep in mind you want the awning as high a possible for head room under neath it.

I will have a similar setup, would you be able to take a pic or three of the brackets for the foxwing?

 

[badlander]

Siflersmom,
Here are pics of the brackets.
The inner single large hole mounts to a bolt in the outer slot in the first front to rear panel on the rack.
The outer 2 small holes mount on bolts in the top of the edge rail on the rack.
I made 3 brackets for strength and redundancy. I replaced the "T" bolts supplied with the Foxwing for stainless steel bolts and nuts. I milled the face of the nuts flat and used them in the slots of the awning rather than the bolt heads to give maximum surface area on the gripping point. Same for the rack slots. All stainless nuts in the slits and bolts down thru the brackets.
The awning sits about mid line even with the top of the rack surface. In that position I have good head room rear hatch clearance. Also, the tent spring rods clear with only a little bending.
I position the tent off center to the passenger side (awning is on the driver side) to counter balance the weight of the awning (45 lb.). That also give room to work the zipper on the tent cover and lines up the edge of the tent close to the edge of the rack making the annex and cover much easier to insert and remove from the slot in the base of the tent.

 

[rfakhrai]

@badlander I can't see the pics.

 

[badlander]

Sorry I forgot to attach them. Should be there now....

 

[AndrewHadji]

@badlander thanks, this helps a lot.