Sometimes with a DIY project I underestimate the actually time, planning, and labor that goes into what seemingly a relative simple task. The installation of the
Shady Boy sunshade is a good example. When I set out to swap out the Fiamma F45i awning that Westfalia provisioned on Brunnhilde with the Shady Boy I thought it would be a simple cakewalk. Just fabricate an adapter for the Shady Boy and it is done.
Well once I did the initial mockup mounting I realized there are a lot of things deserve consideration. There are hidden problems that require design of solutions. A case in point from Saturday was the placement of the Shady Boy on the aluminum channel adapter. To provide more equal protection from the sun I wanted to locate the shade more center with respect to the sliding door opening. This would entail mounting the Shady Boy forward of the Westfalia factory awning's front mounting bracket. I was all set to do this but as I reviewed and checked my plan I realize doing so will cause interference between the Shady Boy cover and the top bolt of the mounting point. At the end of Saturday I located and drilled out the six mounting holes for mounting the Shady Boy to the aluminum channel adapter. It was late and I did not have the right fasteners to finish the job.
Comes Sunday I set up to finish the job. That would mean a trip to get the fasteners. By then I have pretty well settle on using stainless steel machine screws with counter sink head so they will sit more the less flush between the aluminum channel adapter and the fiberglass hightop. I cannot start the work under after the two back to back concerts on my local PBS station. The concerts was
Vienna Philharmoniker's Summer Night Concert 2013 conducted by maestro Lorin Maazel followed by Chicago Symphony Orchestra's Mahler Symphony No. 7 conducted by Pierre Boulez. Both are PBS's weekly Great Performances program spanning three hours in total. Nearly all the pieces are dear to my heart. The former features selected work of Wagner and Verdi.
the free concert in the park of Schönbrunn Palace
maestro Maazel
the open air concert took place in the night of incessant drizzle - note very few umbrellas
Canadian-German tenor Michael Schade sung Wagner
the ride of the valkyries from the ring
opening credits of the chicago symphony performance
conducted by maestro pierre boulez
what a concert hall
Mahler's Symphony No. 7 has five movements and the performance was 1.5-hour long. I have a recording of this performance which I recorded online from
Symphony Cast and must have listened to it 10 times. It is nice to see the actual performance. Mahler is one of my favorite 20th century composers.
After the concerts I washed Brunnhilde well as there are a lot of dirt under the Fiamma awning. I also want to do some other work which require cleaning off all the road dirt.
I would be late afternoon that I got my butt in gear to finish off the installation of the Shady Boy. I round up some 10-32 aviation grade locknuts and went to Home Depot hopping to find the right counter sink stainless steel screws. I did a rough measurement and determined the screws must be at least 1" long to cover the added length of the locking top of the locknuts. All is good at Home Depot. They have 1". To be safe I decide to buy the 1-1/4" ones.
I came home with six 1-1/4" 10-32 SS counter sink machine screws.
the countersink holes
When I installed the screws and locknuts it was immediately clear to me that the extra length of the 1-1/4" screws protruding above the top of the locknuts is not a good thing.it will cause chaffing to the sunshade fabric and tear it. I kicked myself that I didn't also buy the 1" screws - something I typically would do. It took a trip to Home Depot. I was not happy with myself with the lapse of judgement.
finally with the right screws the shady boy was fastened to the aluminum channel - note i am walking with my foot now that had the surgery a week ago
There are six 10-32 screws that fasten the Shady Boy to the aluminum channel. This sandwiched construction forms a structure like an I-beam turned sideways making the combine whole more resistant to twisting. While the appearance of the Shady Boy may look light and bendable. With 6-foot of projection the torque ratio placed on the mount is not trivial. The ratio is 6x12" : 2" = 36 : 1.
a bit of latex/silicone caulking to keep the water from weeping into the bolt holes
i am very happy with the factory appearance
When I was mounting the Shady Boy to the aluminum channel resting on the two saw horses I could see the deflection on the channel which I fabricated with 1/8"
6061 (I think) 5052 aluminum alloy. Having mounted the Shady Boy on my VW Westfalia Camper before I know the torque the sunshade can put on the mount when loaded with wind force or just static down force imparted by the two tiedown anchors. I begun to have doubt on the meager 1/8" thickness that I chosen to keep the cost down. It is too late now, I thought. I am hoping the sandwich structure formed by the Shady Boy housing, the spacer, and the aluminum channel will increase the stiffness significantly. This can only be tested in the actual deployment of the sunshade once it has been installed onto Brunnhilde.
here are the steps to deploy the shady boy - the center and two side battens installed
next is to add the two outer battens
all five battens inserted - yes, i can barely do all these without the use of a stepstool stretching by standing tiptoed
install two holddown lines - they are like those used for tents
this photo shows for front of the shade WRT to vehicle - i like the slight reveal (where the front edge of the shade is slightly recessed from the leading corner of the rain gutter
the two vertical poles installed - the poles prevent the shade being pushed down by the wind while the holddown lines prevent the shade being lifted by the wind
i did everything right - there is no interference with the doors; there is a 1" clearance from the top of the sliding door to the bottom of the shady boy casing
By the time I finish the installation the dusk is fast approaching. Erecting the shade can put on a lot of torque onto the Shady Boy's extruded aluminum housing. If there is any weakness in the design or fabrication of my aluminum channel adapter or mounting of the Shady Boy it will be self-evident.
Everything is good. While there is a slight twisting of he aluminum channel midway between the two anchoring points to the fiberglass top it is very slight and only detectable if you feel it with your hand.
I am very happy with the result of the installation. The installation required some problem solving and I have done well in the design and anticipated all the potential problems. The fabrication of the adapter bracket required careful work and good workmanship. Proceeded with measured care I didn't make any mistake. Without the plastic spacers the Shady Boy would not operate properly because of the V-shape aluminum adapter which is dictated by the fiberglass hightop contour. The dimensions and the fold angle of the aluminum channel required very accurate measurement as well as estimating tolerances. For example, if the location of the fold or angle is wrong I could put severe stress onto the fiberglass hightop. While I anticipated the need to use steel washers to shim the aluminum channel adapter from the fiberglass top I did not need to resort to using them as the dimensions are spot on. I firmly believe a well equipped custom shop can do better have I farmed out this project unless I told them money is no object.
As to the cost of this project. Total out of the pocket cost is just under $60 with $20 being the cost of paying for the sheet metal shop to bend the fold. (I always want a sheet metal brake and a decent shear but they are not withing the reach of a DIYer).
The best part is the awning swap is totally reversible. I didn't drill any new holes and I can return to the Fiamma awning any time.
the mop and glo i bought for experiment on the sun faded texture paint and plastic fender covers
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