I removed my awning and Eli brackets today. They've been on the van for 18 months, and have seen some serious off-roading. There is absolutely no damage to the van. These are definitely the way to go for Fiamma awnings.
I took the brackets to RockSlide Engineering today to have them recreated to my specs. The kit will include THREE brackets for extra durability, will be powder coated black, will include hardware and may even be Plasti-Dipped to protect the side of the van. I dipped my original Eli brackets and it worked well, though the sun has been hard on it.
RSE will use their new laser cutting machine:
and their new CNC brake machine:
to make our new awning mounts for us. They also do powder coating in house.
Tom