remounting awning

basshuntin · Jul 31, 2014

Hello everyone! Im sure one of the experts can help me on this one. I have a 1993 Coachman Catalina MH. My awning is pulling away from the body where the frame mounts on the bottom. This is due to some wood rotting. It mounts right at floor level. My idea was to have a new bracket made that would extend it out 4 or 5 inches to each side to find solid wood. The wood is still rotted out that far. I used 3 inch screws to attempt to remount it. In doing this I discovered there is steel behind the rotted wood. My question is could this be the chassis and would it be ok to pre-drill and screw into this steel. Im really nervous about drilling blind into it not knowing what could be hidden. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

mikef · Jul 31, 2014

I had a similar problem with my MH. Surprised, heavy snows piled on my opened awning, pulled the bracket from the bottom on my rear mount. It was mounted right behind my standup shower. I removed the shower, including shower paneling to get a clear picture. The original bracket was screwed in the side, going through 1 1/2" insulation, and into a 1 X 1 wooden strip. There was a thin metal layer under the outside covering, but most of it had rotted away. I cut it out and used "L" brackets to support it in the floor. The brackets were pre-drilled and luckily, the holes were perfecting spaced for the awning bracket. It ain't purtty, but it's strong and I won't be fixing it again.

basshuntin · Aug 1, 2014

Thanks for the info. I think if I can't get up the nerve to mount directly to the steel then I'll make another bracket that will allow me to go through the wall into a plate inside. On my MH this would be back in the bedroom area and hardly noticed.

remounting awning

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