Awning Bracket Options For Chevy

[jamesm113]

Hi There,
Was wondering what options there are for mounting an awning to a Chevy Express van without installing a roof rack.

Doing a little searching around here, I found these: https://www.blingmyrig.com/collectio...39973501075617 These seem like they'd work, but there are only 2 brackets, and they are on the pricey side. Could probably get a full roof rack setup for that price.

I've also seen these used on an express out in the wild, but I'm weary of drilling through the sheet metal: https://www.gowesty.com/product/awni...rain-gutter?v=

Any other options I'm missing?

[1der]

I am the BlingMyRig.com guy - happy to answer your questions!

If you have a stock roof van then going with a two to four cross bar/tower solution is a great way to go. You add lots of mounting and load carrying capacity. The awning will mount to the bars with some type of L bracket and the top of the awning case will be about the height of the bars. zoe you can go with a gutter mounting solution just for the awning.

If you have a raised fixed top roof then you can opt to mount the awning to the side of the fiberglass or you can go for a gutter mount bracket solution if the gutters are not covered by the fixed top.

If you have a pop top then you are going to have to go with a gutter mount bracket set.

The gutter mount brackets for the Express vans require drilling into the body due to the geometry of the gutter vs side of van. Each bracket has a securing clamp to the gutter and it requires a Plus Nut set into the body at the B pillar between the side doors and a second one about 18 inches aft the side door/doors. These two brackets provide excellent stable mounting points for a Fiamma or many other 10 ft long awnings.

The GoWesty brackets you linked to will not work for your van. The forward bracket requires special bending to go behind the door on the B Pillar and then follow the contour out past the door before going vertical for the awning mount. The GoWesty brackets are designed for the VW and use the exposed B Pillar sheet metal between the front and side doors. Your Express does mot have the exposed B Pillar.

The brackets I sell are CNC bent, professionally welded and powder coated and come with SS hardware. These are made in small batches.

The tools required are a drill, drill bits, allen key set, Phillips screw driver, a wrench and a tape measure. A utility knife will likely be needed to remove some of the putty in and below the gutter. A 6 ft ladder gets you to the proper height.

Here are some pics of the brackets installed:


Let me know if I can help! Thxs!

[marret]

Thanks Ray, excellent information.