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Old 07-17-2019, 08:44 AM   #1
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Batwing awning on 10.5/6

Hello all -

New owner here, and I have a few questions about your experience with the Rhinorack batwing awning.

1) The awning does not reach around fully and does not cover the ramp door (10.6). There is a 2-4 inch gap. I assume in the ramp door will have to be closed in the rain as the screen covering will not keep out the rain or the splash.

Has anyone jerryrigged some kind of cover for the exposed few inches?

2) the awning seems less than robust and I’m wondering if users set it up and leave it up no matter the weather. I’m inclined to fold it up if we leave for the day or during a hard rain storm. Can you share your experiences?

3) what kind of lighting do you use on or under the awning?

Thanks everyone.

- Holly
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Old 07-30-2019, 04:17 PM   #2
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Strap and tie down

You are right it does leave a gap, but I minimize mine by pulling the top strap threw the AC unit and pull the last pole in tight to the trailer.

As for durability, I have snapped one of the pole hinges already. These are designed to fail before the pole so it can be easily fixed. Still a pain. If the wind picks up, make sure it is tied to the ground firmly. You should be okay then. You may want to order some spare hinges, part #CA1175. I'm still waiting for mine.
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Old 08-06-2019, 02:12 PM   #3
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Through the AC? I’ll have to look again for openings for this.

We actually got up there and readjusted where the awning was mounted, pulling forward a few inches. We gained two benefits by doing this: 1) closed the gap in the back quite a bit (but not fully) and 2) covered more of the kitchen area.

We couldn’t not pull the awning forward as much as we wanted because the last pole hits the back of the AC unit.

I think those who have 10.5/10.6 without AC can get this to cover fully.
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Old 08-06-2019, 11:13 PM   #4
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I did not think of the adjustments on the awning. I bet mine was a bit further ahead than yours as it does not sound like it was as big of an issue. I strapped mine threw the bottom squares of the AC just to create a strait edge and get the full 270. One strait mine is close to flush with the back.
One a side note, did you get any spare rhino hinges for the awning? I broke one already and rhino said they come with 2 (retail). They are cheap enough, depending where you live. If you don't have them, you may want to get some.
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Old 08-07-2019, 07:15 AM   #5
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We got two spare hinges with ours.

One of the videos I watched said the hinges are designed to break when the awning is stressed - this helps prevent the support poles breaking. I hope changing it out isn’t too difficult!
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Old 08-09-2019, 12:15 PM   #6
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**Important update August 2019**

Hello fellow NoBo owners -

I just got off the phone with RhinoRack. I was told (some of?) the batwing awnings were manufactured incorrectly and do not reach around the full 270 degrees.

They are working on a redesign and it should be ready in late October.

This is a problem, apparently, only with the 10.5 and 10.6 trailers.

I was told to contact the company (customer service email on their website) in early November to request a free replacement.

So, if your batwing on your 10.5/10.6 does not reach all the way around to your back door/wall, put a reminder on your calendar to contact them just after Halloween to request a replacement awning.

On a related note, the same helpful customer service rep, Rob, told me the cause for the gap on the kitchen side is that our crossbars are too long. (We have the 81” and should have the 71” he guessed).

These bars stick out away from the trailer and leave a 5-6 inch gap between the awning and the trailer roof.

He said we had three options 1) buy 71” bars ( about $230) 2) cut the awning side of the bars shorter using a hacksaw - this option loses the end caps, but he said those don’t really have function other than reducing wind noise. He also said we should not cut off both sides, only one. (I forgot why - had to do with locking them in) 3) when I mentioned that someone here had pushed their bars over (and recentered their tent), he thought that was a fine idea “if there was enough room”. Apparently the bars have some structures which block them from being moved too far. But it was certainly worth a try.


So - kuddos to Rhinorack for being so helpful and problem solving with me.

I told Rob I was going to share this info with the forums, and he just asked me to request that everyone *wait until November to request the replacements* and not to overwhelm their customer service with requests now.

I will certainly update when I get more info and will post a reminder in November.
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Old 08-11-2019, 10:57 AM   #7
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Great leg work, thanks. Where were your two extra hinges? I looked in my string bag and only found strings and pegs.
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Old 08-11-2019, 11:06 AM   #8
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Ours were in the bag with the anchor and strings and pegs. Sadly, we have already lost our two extras, so will be ordering more. <sigh>
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