Mounting awning to ARB roof rack question

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fjdemon

fjdemon

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Is there something I missing here? I am pretty computer savvy, yet I can't find a definitive answer on this subject. My next step is to reach out to ARB. It has been a long week and maybe this is premature, but any feedback would be great.

I see all these different mounts, but none see to fit my application specifically. The ones that do look like they would work are $200 and no way am I paying as much for a mount as I do for an awning.


This is basically the roof rack I have:

ARB-Roof-rack-image.jpg


Has anyone mounted an ARB or other awning to a rack like this?

What brackets are available?

It's frustrating that these awnings don't come with mounting brackets and it's even more frustrating that it is so difficult to find a bracket from one ARB product to another ARB product. None of the awnings I have seen, other than Smittybilt have mounting brackets included and I question their quality.

I'm tempted to go Tepui or another vendor still. I like that ARB has accessories for their awnings.
 
what size awning is it? I have the 2000, and the instructions say you don't want more than 24" of the awning hanging off either end.

Can you drill through those the 3 vertical supports and run longer mounting screws through the supports?

Other than that, any welder can easily zap on a few L brackets on there for you....
 
vman07 said:
what size awning is it? I have the 2000, and the instructions say you don't want more than 24" of the awning hanging off either end.

Can you drill through those the 3 vertical supports and run longer mounting screws through the supports?

Other than that, any welder can easily zap on a few L brackets on there for you....
Click to expand...

I was looking at the 6' version which wouldn't overhang. I think the roof rack is 87" x 49" so no issues with 6'

I saw a video on youtube where a guy was making supports to mount by drilling through the vertical supports, but when you look at the rack it's angled so you can't mount direct or your awning will be canted up (unless that slight angle doesn't matter??)

Here is what I saw :



I'm just at a loss for why it's so difficult to get an off the shelf bracket that doesn't require drilling the rack that isn't $100+ Here are the other kind I found.

fourtreks-modular-awning-mount-.JPG




I don't want to weld stuff on unless it is a last resort in case I decide to change things.
 
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Rhino Rack mounts are pretty solid. This is meant for mounting a Foxwing to an ARB rack, you would just have to drill a couple holes on the bracket since the Foxwing has a wider channel to mount vs. the ARB awning.

Foxwing ARB and TJM Fitting Kit - #31103 | Rhino-Rack
 
This is what I did.

ARB Awning Mount

As suggested in the thread you could eliminate the blocks and just use channel and save some money. It's still probably going to coat at least $50. Lots of potential functionality. Some day I hope to add a ladder that attaches by channel to the blocks.
 
Shoredreamer said:
Rhino Rack mounts are pretty solid. This is meant for mounting a Foxwing to an ARB rack, you would just have to drill a couple holes on the bracket since the Foxwing has a wider channel to mount vs. the ARB awning.

Foxwing ARB and TJM Fitting Kit - #31103 | Rhino-Rack
Click to expand...
I saw these too, but $59 a piece.... pricey.

TomH said:
This is what I did.

ARB Awning Mount

As suggested in the thread you could eliminate the blocks and just use channel and save some money. It's still probably going to coat at least $50. Lots of potential functionality. Some day I hope to add a ladder that attaches by channel to the blocks.
Click to expand...

That is a pretty slick idea. Thanks. I actually saw your thread when I was searching.

I understand awnings are universal, but isn't it a little odd even ARB doesn't have a bracket specifically for their ARB awning to ARB roof rack?

I feel like a pretty popular accessory costing $300 would create the need to have more options for brackets, especially since most of these awnings are very similar in design.

GZila Designs - FJ Cruiser Accessories


These look pretty nice too, but again $85 + shipping for a mount on a $300 item......
 
The Rhino Rack mounts are $59 for the pair. Theyre plenty beefy, hold my 8' Foxwing which is like 50# on solid. I used to have a Baja Rack and Tepui awning and made my own bracket that held the awning on but wasn't ideal. I've seen all sorts of forms used to mount awnings to vehicles. None simply seem to just bolt straight up. A friend even used hose clamps I remember to mount his awning!
 
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TomH said:
That's a really good point. It's the reason I had to come up with my own plan.
Click to expand...

Maybe you should make kits and sell them haha.

Honestly the Smittybilt awning is looking more desirable to me just because it comes with brackets. For $199 I can get a 6' version versus $299 + brackets cost ($60-70). So in my mind if the Smittybilt does it's job and it makes my life easier I might just go that route. I know the quality won't be the same (even though many claim they are identical, likely made in the same factories in China, just the QC process that is less). As long as it lasts me a few solid years it's money well spent.

This is something that all the mud vendors should look at for everything they sell. Since we are normally working to keep our vehicles alive and on the road, it sure would be nice to have accessories turn-key to be able to focus on bigger things. These days my free time is very limited so I have to be a smart consumer.

I will reach out to Tepui and a few other companies to see what they offer and will report back.
 
These are very nice, but I think you need crossbars, as I do not think they would work with the rack tubes that run the length of your rack.
Unless your awning is longer than the rack, and you could utilize the racks tubes that run the width of the rack both front and rear.
Awn-Lock

They are around $200, but they are built great, as I own his Shovelock mounts that go on my Hi-Lift to hold a shovel.

DSC_0440_1_1024x1024.jpg
 
Corey said:
These are very nice, but I think you need crossbars, as I do not think they would work with the rack tubes that run the length of your rack.
Unless your awning is longer than the rack, and you could utilize the racks tubes that run the width of the rack both front and rear.
Awn-Lock

They are around $200, but they are built great, as I own his Shovelock mounts that go on my Hi-Lift to hold a shovel.

DSC_0440_1_1024x1024.jpg
Click to expand...

Those look incredibly robust, but like you said, I would need crossbars so they don't fit my application. Not to mention they are $199 :eek:
 
Great thread - I didn't find a lot of info in first searches.

Related question, I introduced a CVT Shasta RTT to my rack system - opens to the back and now overhangs both side of the rack by 2-3 inches. Previous owner had ARB awning mounted with some "Stanley National" steel L brackets (x3). I'm going to change the orientation to get a bit further out - but don't want to get too far out to catch branches etc.

Any advice for extending further out from rack to minimize conflict with RTT zippers?
 
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