I damaged a section of the awning rail on my caravan and need to replace it. I can buy a straight replacement length. Anyone any advise on how to bend it so it does not kink. Thanks. Charlie52
Awning rails do bend quite easly , here's one i managed to bend back into shape .
I would try warming the rail and if you need to add a curve either find something the size of the curve that you can gently bend it around , or just gently bend it by hand . I haven't had to bend a new rail from scratch but that's how i'd try to do it .
Years ago I watched my father making a wooden jig to form the awning rail shape. From memory he bent plywood and fitted to a base with blocks of wood and then used that to shape the aluminium rail. I have an idea that was the way the manufacturers used to do it as well.
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You can bend awning rail with a plastic number plate inserted into the awning channel. It fits snugly and by screwing one end of the rail down to a flat board it can be slowly teased into shape.
Just draw the shape you require onto cardboard and bend slowly to match template.
If you stand the rail on its side,how do you bend it ? You have two corners that come down from the roof,one at the front and one at the back and also a turn at the front windows like the picture.
Many awning rails are in two parts with the join towards the middle of the roof. The jig my dad made laid on the floor of his workshop and he positioned the fixing blocks according to a cardboard template. I think he may have put something in the rail to stop it closing up when bending it around the former but as it was about 40 years ago I can't remember too clearly :( and its no good asking him as he has been dead for 13 years.
Only need to make the jig once as the offside is just a mirror of the nearside. Its a lot easier to take the trouble to get it right first time as its expensive to replace a section that has kinked or been bent and the aluminium stretched incorrectly.
------------- 'A sure cure for sea-sickness is to sit under a tree'
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Topic: Bending an awning rail
