'C' rail and awning connection width

[Alasdair]

I am going to be fitting 2 x 120cm 'C' rail soon and have been looking at awnings. I have narrowed my choice down to 2 and both of them have a connection tunnel with of 260cm.

Am I going to have to fit an extra 20cm piece of 'C' rail for the awning tunnel connection to fit properly?

[Martylew]

Much better to fit a single C rail to the correct length

[Dick Powell]

3 hours ago, Alasdair said:

I am going to be fitting 2 x 120cm 'C' rail soon and have been looking at awnings. I have narrowed my choice down to 2 and both of them have a connection tunnel with of 260cm.

Am I going to have to fit an extra 20cm piece of 'C' rail for the awning tunnel connection to fit properly?

 

[Dick Powell]

I'm about to do same.

Have you decided where you are going to mount the c rail, I'm thinking of putting it in the gutter groove (haven't got a pop top). I'd appreciate any advice on this subject.

[Mabel]

I’ve bought a Cayman midi low air awning and a single 2 metre C rail from from Amazon.

My local Bodytech garage will stick it on for me and as far as I gather it will be near or on the gutter groove. I’ve now decided I’d love a roof rail so I could carry more stuff in a roof box but now have the dilemma of how to fit both. I’ll attach a photo of someone who has..the dimensions of the awning I’ve bought and another example of where someone has put their CRail. 

[starider]

Hi,  I fitted an awning rail I purchased from funkyleisure, it comes in a strong cardboard tube so is supplied at any length required. My 2007 Alphard is fitted with a pop top so I was able to fit the rail so that when the top is down the rail is out of sight. Some folks have used adhesive to "stick" the rail in place,but I wondered if perhaps the adhesive may soften in the heat of hot summer sun?? so I used stainless steel round head self tappers + the adhesive[supplied with the rail] which not only helps to hold down the rail but also acts as a sealer.. I have used our awning a couple of times and everything is perfect. Of course you will need a Kadance joining strip and figure of 8 joiners.

When I fitted the rail last year I promised to post pictures, I apologise for not doing this and will pop the top in the coming days with pictures as promised to follow.

[Alasdair]

7 hours ago, starider said:

Hi,  I fitted an awning rail I purchased from funkyleisure, it comes in a strong cardboard tube so is supplied at any length required. My 2007 Alphard is fitted with a pop top so I was able to fit the rail so that when the top is down the rail is out of sight. Some folks have used adhesive to "stick" the rail in place,but I wondered if perhaps the adhesive may soften in the heat of hot summer sun?? so I used stainless steel round head self tappers + the adhesive[supplied with the rail] which not only helps to hold down the rail but also acts as a sealer.. I have used our awning a couple of times and everything is perfect. Of course you will need a Kadance joining strip and figure of 8 joiners.

When I fitted the rail last year I promised to post pictures, I apologise for not doing this and will pop the top in the coming days with pictures as promised to follow.

Which of the C rails from funkyleisure did you order as i am only seeing ones for VW T4,5 etc there and what length would fit the Alphard best. I am not due to pick up our Alphie until the first week of April and just want to get all the necessary bits and pieces now ready for fitting when we get the van

[Alasdair]

10 hours ago, Dick Powell said:

I'm about to do same.

Have you decided where you are going to mount the c rail, I'm thinking of putting it in the gutter groove (haven't got a pop top). I'd appreciate any advice on this subject.

I have still to take delivery of our Alphard which isn't until the first week of April as I am due to return from working abroad at the end of March. I'm just trying to get bits and pieces together ready for fitting when we get the van. It is a pop top but I see that starider has replied to the post saying that the rail can be positioned so that it is not visible with the rood down. I'm looking forward to seeing the photos that they are going to post.

[Mabel]

One Infound earlier ☺️

[Alasdair]

54 minutes ago, Mabel said:

One Infound earlier ☺️

So THAT's how the pop up hides it. That's great thank you for sharing. As I dont have my Alphie yet can you tell me what is the maximum length of C rail that will fit?

[Mabel]

I’ve bought a 2 metre c rail strip for my 190 awning it’s a cayman midi low air. Some people have managed to piece it to 2.4 which would give you more options for the awning. Not sure how they managed that. I’m also on Facebook site and got the info from trawling through comments. 

[Alasdair]

1 hour ago, Mabel said:

I’ve bought a 2 metre c rail strip for my 190 awning it’s a cayman midi low air. Some people have managed to piece it to 2.4 which would give you more options for the awning. Not sure how they managed that. I’m also on Facebook site and got the info from trawling through comments. 

Thanks Mabel, I'll have a trawl through Facebook and see what other information i can get from there as well.

[Mabel]

If you happen to come across a photo of how the c rail is fixed with a roof bar please let me know…. that’s now my issue. I’m sure you will find a solution to yours. 
 

[Alasdair]

7 minutes ago, Mabel said:

If you happen to come across a photo of how the c rail is fixed with a roof bar please let me know…. that’s now my issue. I’m sure you will find a solution to yours. 
 

I'll keep my eyes peeled and get back to you if i see anything relating to roof rails fixed on vans with C rails 

[Alasdair]

19 hours ago, Mabel said:

I’ve bought a Cayman midi low air awning and a single 2 metre C rail from from Amazon.

My local Bodytech garage will stick it on for me and as far as I gather it will be near or on the gutter groove. I’ve now decided I’d love a roof rail so I could carry more stuff in a roof box but now have the dilemma of how to fit both. I’ll attach a photo of someone who has..the dimensions of the awning I’ve bought and another example of where someone has put their CRail. 

It does look like the first photo with the van and the top box actually has the awning tunnel secured to the van in various locations like the wing mirror and front grille. It doesn't look attached to a rail at all in that photo.

[starider]

Hi, Had a look at the pics of the rail fitted and I will pop the top tomorrow and take some pics of my fitment together with sections of rail to Kadance and kadance to awning porch "rope".You cannot easily slide the awning"rope" directly into the awning rail,a joining section is needed[kadance and figure of 8 joiners]. This allows the awning to be quickly seperated from the vehicle to allow drive away.

The rail is as you quoted for VW T4,5 etc. Before I ordered my rail I was assured by Funkyleisure it would fit an Alphard and you can see it fitted perfectly.

I will add the length I purchased.

I fitted the rail as far up the roof as possible otherwise the awning extension[porch] fouled the sliding door.

[Martylew]

1 hour ago, Alasdair said:

I'll keep my eyes peeled and get back to you if i see anything relating to roof rails fixed on vans with C rails 

 

1 hour ago, Alasdair said:

I'll keep my eyes peeled and get back to you if i see anything relating to roof rails fixed on vans with C rails 

You can’t is the short answer. You have to fit roof rails inside the C rail. The VW Caddy XLWB rails fit the Alphard.

[Alasdair]

1 hour ago, starider said:

Hi, Had a look at the pics of the rail fitted and I will pop the top tomorrow and take some pics of my fitment together with sections of rail to Kadance and kadance to awning porch "rope".You cannot easily slide the awning"rope" directly into the awning rail,a joining section is needed[kadance and figure of 8 joiners]. This allows the awning to be quickly seperated from the vehicle to allow drive away.

The rail is as you quoted for VW T4,5 etc. Before I ordered my rail I was assured by Funkyleisure it would fit an Alphard and you can see it fitted perfectly.

I will add the length I purchased.

I fitted the rail as far up the roof as possible otherwise the awning extension[porch] fouled the sliding door.

Thank you Starider I appreciate the help

[starider]

Hi, have taken the pics, now need the wife to put onto post! I'm not a computer wiz.Hopefully today.

[Alasdair]

Excellent...looking forward to seeing the photos

[starider]

As promised:-   Picture one and two show how neatly the rail fits out of sight,three and four the rail fitted. Five is how the awning porch rope fits to the camper using kadance strip and figure of eight joiners.

Components from Right to LEFT:-  Awning rail, Kadance strip, Figure of 8 joiners and a scrap length of "K" strip in place of Awning porch rope.

 

The process is to site the camper and if using a "blow up" awning, slide the "K" strip along the camper rail [I punched and sealed a hole in each end to feed a piece of cord to easily pull the strip along]. Erect the awning close to the camper,wriggle the awning to the right distance from the camper and using the figure of 8 joiners, join the awning porch. to the "k" strip.

The length of awning rail I used was 2.2m to ensure the strip fitted UNDER THE TOP WHEN LOWERED.

The rail will need to be curved slightly{although not too important as it is not seen when top down or awning fitted],] as there is a slight compound curve in the roof.

As I was going to use S/S self tapping screws I pre-drilled clearance holes in the rail.  Whether using adhesive or drilling as well THIS IS THE TIME YOU POSITION the rail as close to the pop top brackets as possible and check the rail fits evenly when top is down it,  stick it in position with double sided tape and mark along the back edge with a marker pen, removed the strip and tape, carefully squeezed sealer/adhesive in front of the marked line and began drilling[or not], into the roof with correct drill for self tappers, putting a dab of sealer in each hole before the scews.

The figure of 8 joiners should come with the awning.

Hope this helps,or if anyone thinks I've missed out any info please let me know ASAP.

 

 

                          

 

[starider]

PS  SORRY THE PICTURES POSTED IN THE WRONG ORDER , I'm sure you can work it out[ First is last etc].Never used pictures on this forum before!!

[Alasdair]

That is absolutely brilliant. Thank you for posting the photos it makes it so much easier to see how it was done rather than just reading text on it. Amazing just how well the pop top hides the rail. Ill be sure to follow your example it's exactly what i needed to see.

[Mabel]

Thank you that’s brilliant 😊