Jo Ann,
Poles that you would purchase from, say Wal-Mart, are not heavy duty. Those
are made to hold the weight of the plastic tarp, not a fabric one. I just
looked for a name on my poles. I could not find any but I do have a couple
of others made by Astrup that I would trust. These are made from noticeably
thicker, heavier metal than the Wal-Mart variety.
When I made the plastic tarp awning I sewed a rope in one end to fit the
awning rail on the trailer. With the fabric awning, there was a commercial,
vinyl thing...I think that it is called a welt, that fits the awning rail
perfectly. Either way would work, but using a rope would wear the fabric
each time you set up or took down the awning.
The number or grommets (and poles) would depend on the size of your awning
and conditions you expect to have your awning endure. I have a 26'
Overlander, so the awning is about 18x7 feet. I put grommets in so I could
either use 3 or 4 poles. I have almost always used 4 poles, so they are
about 4 or 5 feet apart from each other. If I remember right you have a 16
foot Bubble. This would mean that you have about 8 feet of awning rail on
your trailer. My awning is rectangular in shape, but with a trailer your
size I would make it a trapezoid (a rectangle type thing with one side
longer than the other.)
_
/_\
Say perhaps, 8 foot on the trailer side and 14 foot on the grommet side. I
would make it 7 or 8 feet deep. This would give you a little more protection
from the sun and rain. If this were the case, I would go with 3 poles. I use
nylon rope, with sliders made out of an old broom handle, and metal 10 inch
tent stakes (Wal-Mart) or the dog tether things that screw into the ground.
I have found that a heavy spring between the stakes and the rope works
wonders in absorbing shocks from wind gusts. Otherwise the tent stakes get
pulled out. I got the springs from a hardware store. I found that I wanted
the heaviest springs that I could still stretch with my hands. Like I said,
my awning withstands inclimate weather very nicely. However, it does need to
be taken down when wind gusts approach 40-50 mph!
If you still have questions, perhaps I can snail mail a drawing, or email a
picture if I can find one.
I was lucky in that there used to be an awning store just 20 minutes from my
home. While they usually only made awnings for businesses and homes, they
were happy to help me with my trailer as long as I supplied them with
directions. They made our awning and we were able to get the poles from them
as well. We purchased extra fabric so my wife could make window awnings for
the rest of the trailer. If I wanted to make it myself I could of purchased
the fabric, welt, grommets and poles from them. The only thing I would of
done differently is to have included the traditional fringe that hangs down
on the grommet/pole end.
If I could locate a reasonable source for the awning sunscreen material I
would make a panel with grommets to hang over the poles and rope to give us
more protection from the sun while at international rallies. The sunlight
reflecting off all the Airstreams is quite intense!
Scott
> Scott: I know you're right about the blue tarp - that's considered the
> state flower of Alaska according to my neighbor who just moved from there.
> What kind of poles are heavy duty? Then what, grommets at two corners
> enough? Tent stakes and line? Did you have a rope sewed into the edge to
> fit in the awning channel on the roof? At least I have that! I sort of
> like the idea of having one made because then you can get the length you
> want so's more shade is possible.
> Jo Ann