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Awning Bracket Rust
Any experience dealing with rusting awning roof brackets? Replace? Sand & paint in place? Use rust conversion product? Do nothing?
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8 Replies
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Doug, my guess is this applies to Girard, and is it possible to get a photo so folks know where to look?
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Doug, Xtreme Paint and Graphics has a source for stainless steel brackets that are the exact replica of the ones Marathon uses. Pricey but you will never have to worry about rusting again.
Or, just sand and paint white the current ones.
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Marathon advises replacing them with newly fabricated aluminum brackets using the original Marathon drawings. Pricey. Concern is to prevent damage to the aluminum roof when removing and reinstalling the awnings and brackets. All 12 brackets look like this.
1984 96" with 8V92TA
(remodeled Liberty Coach)
Greenwood, MO -
https://sanitred.com/shop/permaflex/-quart-can/
Doug and Mary,
Considering the age and value of your coach, replacing the brackets with stainless or aluminum may make the most sense. However, your concern with intrusion into the roof is certainly a legitimate one.
The link at the top is for the best rust encapsulating coating i have ever used. It is a bit more difficult to use than regular paint because of the 2 part formula but well worth the results. If you are up for a day of cleaning, protecting the coach etc. this coating will stop the corrosion in its tracks and prevent any further corrosion. Because of the sealing properties of the coating its uv stability is not very good. It will start to dull after a few years but will not affect its performance. Top coating with epoxy paint is recommended. Good luck. Jeff
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Doug I had that situation on my XL. They looked pretty bad and I kept cleaning and re spraying them with rust oleum. They never leaked but for peace of mind I had them all replaced with aluminum replacements by marathon but I had them replaced the same time I had them install the sprayed roof insulation. It was a while ago I don’t remember the cost but I’m sure it wasn’t cheap.
Jeff and Lindsay
91 Marathon XL -
Doug, I don’t think there is a good answer. It looks like removing and replacing them is going to entail a lot of time and effort and unless great care is taken you could end up with leaks where there are none now.
But apart from the cosmetic issues I would have a concern about steel brackets and an aluminum skin setting up a very corrosive condition with the end result being perforation of the aluminum top skin.
Where I straddle the fence on the best approach is as long as the brackets were secured to the roof surface, and both had a good paint protection it is entirely possible where the brackets meet the roof their condition is as new, and the rust is only external and superficial. With the availability of products that will deal with rust on steel and some time cleaning the steel and applying protectant such as paint that may be the end of your problem.
For those that replaced the brackets was there any corrosion between the brackets and the roof skin?
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Great input. Thanks. Jon’s last question is really what I’m concerned about. Never thought about a steel on aluminum reaction problem. I want to do this right.
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I sanded and hand painted mine a few years back but earlier this year got Marathon to replace while doing the roof coating like Rick describes above.
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