Slinding the awning in the rail

[Phillipcharnwoodforest]

Hiya every-one, I thought this may be of use to you if you have the problem of the awning being too high for you to slide along in the rail on the side of the 'van.

I have made a gismo for me to do mine very simple to make and use, just a brush stale with a hook made from 6m/m dia steel bonded into the handle with epoxy resin. I have cut a screw thread onto the hook and then one in the handle and glued them together using the epoxy. (The threads are cut purely to give a greater gluing surface) I then covered the hook with shrink tube to give it a softer touch.

The hook is then inserted into the awning pegging down point and away you go. I saw a similar one used in the summer this year and it was a great success so I decided to make one for myself.

I amd now going to cut the brush stale in half and make an alluminium joining piece similar to the one used on snooker cues so that it will fit into the awning frame bag.

I hope all of that makes sense to you.

 

[Suzac]

Very ingenious - Towsure do a similar hook item ref. E69 on page 25 of the 2009 catalogue. I have one similar which is more like an extended version of the Towsure P41 Peg extractor. I use this for pulling the awning and also for extracting difficult pegs. Be careful when pulling the awning though, make sure the rail is lubricated and good lady is guiding the other end into the channel as too much pressure tugging might break the stitching on the awning.

 

[Suzac]

Oh - by the way 34 years in the hardware trade and never heard of a "Stale" - had to look it up must be a regional thing

 

[Phillipcharnwoodforest]

Thanks Chris, We always call them brush stale round here where I live so you are more than likely right in it being a regional thing.

I honestly didn't know that towsure have one in their catalogue, I just thought that I had cribbed the idea from someone else on a caravan site, and yes I will have to take a little care when putting the awning onto the 'van using it.

 

[RayS]

I have made a shorter but similar item to operate the zips on my Fiamma caravanstore pull out blind. However, the trick of getting the hook into the zip eye has defeated me sometimes (don't ask) so I put a cable tie through each, made a loop and now have no trouble getting hook connected with zip.

Sounds unnecessary but gentlemen of a certain age will know what i mean.

 

[Peter_5124314]

We also know them as a stale here on the east coast. When I was in the army in the 60s & 70s they were also called stales. Still a good idea. I`ll make one. Pete

 

[BillD.]

I'm from Birmingham originally and can remember my mother calling it a broom stale. Maybe a term that died out from the 60's onward.

Reminds me (I dont know why) of an old black country joke.

An engineer was showing his apprentice his hammer (ommer) This ommer, he said. I'v had fro 30 years, my father 30 years before that and he inherited it from his father. Look at it, he said, still as good as new, only ever had a new head and new ondle.

Bill D.

 

[machighlander]

is that four candles or fork andles sir.

 

[Pat_374304630]

Great idea Philip. Methinks I'll make one.

 

[Phillipcharnwoodforest]

Pat i'm glad that it's helped someone.