Specs on Fiamma Awning instal, pop top bed, new batteries, rear kitchen setup

[AdventureMartens]

Hello friends,

Appreciate y'all keeping this thread alive. Love our N6 - perfect unit for our family with the following goals:  sleeps 5-6, can tow a ski boat, durable engine & chassis, easy to mod. 

 

Purchased our 2012 from Idaho - with the following mods:

- 30amp power moved to the rear

- rear ladder 

- Thule racks mounted into fibreglass pop-top

- Large Dometic refrigerator along the side - adjacent rear seats

Water system wasn't working, nor needed, so removed most components.  

 

Planned mods: 

- Fiamma awning (11'6"')

- Rear drop down kitchen table

- upgrade batteries / possibly Lithium and solar panels

 

Here's the finished results - details below...

 

UPDATE

Finally had some time to get the Fiamma awning & rear fold-down kitchen installed - attaching pics. 

Also upgraded the house batteries to high quality AGM's.  Had considered & researched Lithium, but we're in Canada with tons of cold weather, salt & sand on the roads - plus the wiring challenges discussed on this forum.  Recommend just upgrading to 2 quality 6V AGM's and buying a nice Lithium battery for the interior, that can changed by solar or your alternator.  

6V batteries, plus a Lithium will power you well for 3+ days which is all I'm looking for.  When I need to recharge, or run the microwave, I just idle the van and we're golden.

 

Here are some pics of the rear fold-down kitchen.  Fit perfectly, allowing a clean close on the passenger-side.  Had to add a new handle to allow kids to close from inside - but simple enough.

The key to these projects is the Riv-nut tool.  Do your online research, buy the right bit (9mm metric), rust-proof, silicon, and voila.  

Product installed was the Front Runner (dometic) Drop Down Tailgate Table.  LINK: https://www.frontrunneroutfitters.com/en/us/drop-down-tailgate-table-mkiii.html?gad=1&gclid=CjwKCAjw3oqoBhAjEiwA_UaLtgLvKk2m1mbTUz38VUkiD0rnYIUnA3vmkV4lJNt7jCMxB3zAfs_wABoCxqwQAvD_BwE

 

 

Installed just above the latch, allowing me to open from the inside. I preferred it a bit high to prevent young kids from touching the stove anyhow.  Note the new black handle under the wood extension - allowing the door to be pulled closed from the inside.  

 

Now to the awning - which I suspect may help many of you. 

 

Did a ton of research on this and eventually went with the Fiamma F45S - 350 (11'6"), with the VW T4 adapters (2 kits for 4 mounting brackets), plus the Rainguard kit.
Pricey but awesome. Finished product works swimmingly, and opens up a massive living area for the family.  Awning extends enough to fully cover a 6-8 person picnic table (the kind you find in provincial or national parks).  High enough for me to comfortably walk under, at 6'2".  

 

VW T4 kits are designed for the Eurovan (which I've owned) and are the closest thing to match the roofline of our NV. 

I did not want to run the brackets under the pop top - concerned about rain as we're in Vancouver, BC. 

In short - they worked perfectly.  Proper angle, very strong, length allows me to swing open the rear door fully, and the front door fully - with brackets mounted to the side of the van.  

 

Pics below. 

Part #'s: 

 

Installation was surprisingly straight forward.  Used a 12 1x4 to ensure level and mark out the holes.  

Opted to use all 4 mounting brackets as this is a large 

Van side is mostly straight, with the exception being near the front. The front bracket ended up requiring 3 layers of shim to bring it out to match the other 3 mounts.  

 

As mentioned the key is the Riv-Nut tool.  Required stainless steel #6 (9mm drill bit).  Easy to purchase on amazon.  

I found practicing on a few different widths of sheet metal helpful, to get a feel for how hard to push, how carefully to drill, etc, for a strong mount.  

All 4 mounting areas went in well, with no obvious obstructions behind the first layer of metal.  The exception was above the front door, where I was concerned about impacting the side airbags.  We did find the air bag unit (pull back the liner) - and determined that our hole was not near.  Whew.  Had the cut down the length of the bolt, however, to ensure it went in fully.  

 

Other DIY tips.  

Do this with a friend.  I ended up lifting it on my own, but it took some ridiculous physics and balance - which I would not repeat or recommend.  Our older sons are all moved out - and my 5 year old was of no help in this...

Too heavy for my wife to lift - and too impatient to wait for a friend to come by... don't follow my example.

I'd recommend using 4 brackets instead of the minimum 3.  Can't hurt and only help support the heavy awning in the case of wind or driving shear.  

No leaking - and the rain guard does seem to work to keep most of the water from dripping down in front of the sliding & passenger doors.  

Would recommend keeping the rain guard rubber clean and ensuring it doesn't cause water to pool - and end up being forced under the pop-top rubber seal - causing a leak into the van.  Not a concern for most of y'all Americans, but rain is our reality in BC, so there's that.  

Awning has 2 legs - which I opted to install mounts to the side of the van.  Spaced them perfectly, allowing the rear door to function, and the front door to fully open without impacting the legs.  The rear leg has to be unmounted from the van to fully swing the rear door open, but thats a 10-second issue that I'd only use to cook under the awning.  Normally would use the rear kitchen on the rear of the van. I did also purchase a nice light-weight portable sun shield that covers the rear area perfectly (not pictured).  

And speaking of rain - always set the awning up with a slight angle - preventing water from pooling.  These are strong units, but not designed to handle rain like a large tarp.  

 

Recommendations:

I did not purchase the 3rd awning bar that fits in the centre of the awning when fully extended.  I'd recommend this and will probably purchase before next season.  Definitely will help with any moisture & wind. 

Remove the middle seat (if yours has that option) - makes the van soooo much more functional when camping.  Easy to store under the awning (or another tarp) and mounts in 30 seconds.  

 

I've not noticed any sound or anything unusual in the past month of driving with the awning - so happy with that.  

 

Here are a few close-ups of the install to help you in your project.  

 

Any Q's, send my way and I'll try to answer.  Not an expert, but am pleased with how this project came together.