Fiamma Bike Rack for Sprinter

[ccjr]

Has anyone installed this rack without installing the four security screws? I am not too worried about theft so the key purpose of those screws for me is eliminating vertical movement. I really dont want to screw into my door. Otherwise, I like this design much better than the swing away racks.

There must be a strap solution? Thanks!

[GeorgeRa]

I don’t know if my awning leg design is applicable to solving your bike rack issue. I also didn’t want to use screws to mount leg supports so I designed larger pads to be attached with a VHB tape. Hein from DIYVan CNCed them and they work great. He sells them, I think he also has other pads but am not sure, you can contact him here or design your own. https://diyvan.com/

[ccjr]

Thanks. That's a great idea. I have not used that tape and actually tried to remove it, but I understand that it actually does come off. Thanks for taking the time to reply.

[GeorgeRa]

You can remove VHB residue with WD40, to separated items attached with can be done with dental floss and WD40. Difficult to separated are items attached with polyurethane adhesive such as 3M 5200 or 4200 and Sika. Very difficult is removal of silicone, so it is best not to use it in RVs.

[Road Jager]

After the catastrophic failure of our Fiama awning and seeing how it was designed and what it was manufactured with, I personally would not own anything they produce. "Once bitten, twice shy"
We carry out e-bikes on the following rack with great success:
https://www.kuat.com/product/nv-2-0/ Designed and built here in the US.

[GeorgeRa]

Originally Posted by Road Jager

After the catastrophic failure of our Fiama awning and seeing how it was designed and what it was manufactured with, I personally would not own anything they produce. "Once bitten, twice shy"
We carry out e-bikes on the following rack with great success:
https://www.kuat.com/product/nv-2-0/ Designed and built here in the US.

Can you share specifics, I used Fiamma for years and found design and manufacturing meeting or exceeding my expectations. Based on your short blip I could assume similar catastrophic failure as shown on the movie RV.

[Road Jager]

Failures of the Fiama shade are well documented on the Airstream forum. These failures occur either while at highway speeds or while the vehicle is stationary like our failure was. We were stowing the shade for the evening of forecasted severe storms. At approximately 85% fully retracted, aloud bang occurred and the shade rapidly and unexpectedly dropped to the fully deployed position. My wife was standing very near by and was almost struck in the head. We could not either electrically or manually retract and stow it. I had no ladder to get topside to attempt to pull the shade up. It was secured in the open position, hanging down. The forecasted evening storms were predicted to spawn tornadoes which necessitated that the failed shade be well secured. The following morning a fellow camper assisted us getting topside and lashing the failed shade for the trip home.
Once home it went to the RV shop for analysis and repair. I awaited for them to bench repair the shade unit's failed gear box. The actual failure was a split plastic pinion gear on the motor shaft. When the bench repairs were done I returned to the RV shop for reinstallation.
We now carry a telesteps ladder. When driving we secure the shade with 4 wide velcro straps to prevent a highway-speed deployment. These failures are well documented on the Airstream forum.
When activating our shade now, we stand clear to prevent being struck by a potential failure. We are now prepared to get topside, lash a failed shade in the stowed position, secure it in a stowed position and carry a box knife with us to cut the shade off the vehicle if the worst situation were to happen.
With the cost we pay for our rigs, I do have higher expectations from the individual components the Airstream designers choose to use on their trailers and motor coaches especially when safety issues are involved.
I might add that I have not ever seen a movie titled RV.

[GeorgeRa]

Originally Posted by Road Jager

Failures of the Fiama shade are well documented on the Airstream forum. These failures occur either while at highway speeds or while the vehicle is stationary like our failure was. We were stowing the shade for the evening of forecasted severe storms. At approximately 85% fully retracted, aloud bang occurred and the shade rapidly and unexpectedly dropped to the fully deployed position. My wife was standing very near by and was almost struck in the head. We could not either electrically or manually retract and stow it. I had no ladder to get topside to attempt to pull the shade up. It was secured in the open position, hanging down. The forecasted evening storms were predicted to spawn tornadoes which necessitated that the failed shade be well secured. The following morning a fellow camper assisted us getting topside and lashing the failed shade for the trip home.
Once home it went to the RV shop for analysis and repair. I awaited for them to bench repair the shade unit's failed gear box. The actual failure was a split plastic pinion gear on the motor shaft. When the bench repairs were done I returned to the RV shop for reinstallation.
We now carry a telesteps ladder. When driving we secure the shade with 4 wide velcro straps to prevent a highway-speed deployment. These failures are well documented on the Airstream forum.
When activating our shade now, we stand clear to prevent being struck by a potential failure. We are now prepared to get topside, lash a failed shade in the stowed position, secure it in a stowed position and carry a box knife with us to cut the shade off the vehicle if the worst situation were to happen.
With the cost we pay for our rigs, I do have higher expectations from the individual components the Airstream designers choose to use on their trailers and motor coaches especially when safety issues are involved.
I might add that I have not ever seen a movie titled RV.

Thank you for details, I never had electric nor legless awnings just to avoid potential issues. I have fully manual Fiamma F65 on my van and have no issues. If I recall correctly from the Sprinter Forum discussion there was a recall for Fiamma F65S; stripped gears due to the close position limit switch malfunction resulting from the awning misalignment.

RV with Robin Williams https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0449089/

[Road Jager]

Thanks for the movie link, George. Robin Williams was one of the most creative talents we have experienced. I will check it out.