awning fix

[HeadsUp]

I had a near miss today with an awning i picked up "online"

it is held together with aluminium rivets and a couple of them sheared off under light vibration

I drilled out all of them one at a time and replaced the soft aluminium rivets with 4.8 mm diameter steel bodied rivets , and used double the number of rivets too.

Anyone that has one of these wouldnt get 2 hours up the desert roads outback without them falling apart

having your awning fall off your vehicle is one thing , having it spear through somebodies windscreen is another.

I am not sure it matters what brand of chinese awning you have , 90 % of them have identical extrusions and identical construction , the only difference is the label.

 

[stevo]

Good catch, in the market myself for a awning for my roof rack, having second thoughts now.. :lol:

 

[HeadsUp]

i emailed my photos to the ebay seller

but i am still wondering if i should notify Dept of Fair Trading to do a recall ?

:| ?

am i over the top or doing the right thing ?

i have only done a month of light driving with it so far , no heavy offroad bouncerama's at all

 

[stevo]

I think I would just notify the seller like you have done and leave it at that, its up to the seller to make sure his wares comply with the ADR. Just keep an eye on yours and see how it fairs over the coming months.

 

[axeman]

I've got a canopy the ute, was going to get an awning, but I had some sail track so I riveted that on the side and and got a tarp made up for it.
Mick