Topic: Awning on factory rack

[USN X]

Was wondering if anybody has mounted a awning on factory roof rack, I have a 00, couldn't really find much information online. If so what size awning you guys have? Thanks in advance!

-Carlos

[XXXTerra]

Hi Carlos, I'm fairly certain it could be done with some light fabricating and some imagination. You will just need to get the awning of your choice and then either find, make, or re-purpose some brackets that will secure the awning to the factory roof rack. Also, when mounting the awning, keep in mind of anything else that you mount to your roof rack (i.e. storage basket, recovery gear, off road lights, etc.), so that you can still use those items when the awning is mounted. Good luck and make sure to post pictures when it's done!

[JFanaselle]

Carlos - those brackets I sold you for the shovel/jack mounts work GREAT for mounting awnings to our factory roof racks. They clamp firmly to the OEM roof tubes and have a hole in them that can nicely hold bolts for the awnings. Here's a write-up to an article where someone used the same brackets to hold an ARB awning to their roof: http://www.thenewx.org/forum/showthread.php?t=100585 This was a second gen, but the only real difference is that your roof rack tubes have a slightly smaller diameter, and those clamps adjust by more than enough to work with both 1st and 2nd gen roof racks.

Each awning mounts a little differently, but they're all pretty "universal" and fairly easy to work with. As was already mentioned, you might have to get a little creative once you have an awning in hand. Usually a trip or two over to Home Depot with a general understanding of how your awning mounts will lend you some ideas. I'm a big fan of the ARB awnings. The ARB 2000, specifically, is a GREAT size for our Xterras and is very nicely made from high quality materials for under $300. There are quite a few options out there, and none of them are really "bad." You may want to consult this thread from a few weeks ago, it's got some great info in there: http://www.sccxterra.com/smf/index.php/topic,3281.0.html

[USN X]

Carlos - those brackets I sold you for the shovel/jack mounts work GREAT for mounting awnings to our factory roof racks. They clamp firmly to the OEM roof tubes and have a hole in them that can nicely hold bolts for the awnings. Here's a write-up to an article where someone used the same brackets to hold an ARB awning to their roof: http://www.thenewx.org/forum/showthread.php?t=100585 This was a second gen, but the only real difference is that your roof rack tubes have a slightly smaller diameter, and those clamps adjust by more than enough to work with both 1st and 2nd gen roof racks.

Each awning mounts a little differently, but they're all pretty "universal" and fairly easy to work with. As was already mentioned, you might have to get a little creative once you have an awning in hand. Usually a trip or two over to Home Depot with a general understanding of how your awning mounts will lend you some ideas. I'm a big fan of the ARB awnings. The ARB 2000, specifically, is a GREAT size for our Xterras and is very nicely made from high quality materials for under $300. There are quite a few options out there, and none of them are really "bad." You may want to consult this thread from a few weeks ago, it's got some great info in there: http://www.sccxterra.com/smf/index.php/topic,3281.0.html

I didn't even think about that! Thank you guys for the input, it is greatly appreciated. I will definitely post pics once I get this to work!