RE: HELP..........Add-A-Room Snaps

[Foxyladies]

 
The screen room that is attached to my awning has velcros around all three sides. The only problem is that when you zipped down the door....it pulls the velcros down.
 
 I decided to buy the add -a-room snaps so it could be snapped across the front so even when its heavy due to rain it won t come off.
 
 Well I bought the add-a-room snaps that you have to rivit to the metal bar in front.....no problem for my non-camping husband to do. On his special day today, we went up to the campground to work on this. The only problem we encountered was after you rivit it, you then have to push the material over a snap and then put the cover on to snap it. My husband said that you need some tool or something to push the snap together or it just doesn t stay together. He used the term that you have to mushroom it.....hopefully you know what he is talking about.
 
 Has anyone here put the snaps on and was there a tool that you used especially? Thanks for any info.....its very important.....oh, yea, where would you find this tool?

[topcat7736]

 Foxyladies
Roseann,
 
 You can buy the anvil & punch at Home Depot. Click [link=http://www.homedepot.com]HERE[/link] and search for item # 835007.
 
 A better alternative is to remove the glue from the Velcro and awning frame and re-attach them using contact adhesive. Our Velcro hasn t move a micron in over a year since doing it! (And it s been really wet around here! LOL)

[Foxyladies]

 Foxyladies
My velcros isn t coming off.....they re both attached to where they belong. It just seperates alittle when you pull on the zipper. I looked at the tool that you recommend and I didn t see where it clips the snaps together. Am I looking at it wrong? I hope this is it.......I will be so appreciated[]

[sandykayak]

 Foxyladies
Roseann, I m almost finished my home-made screenroom.  Since the Jayco already had a strip of velcro in the inside of the front flap, I added more to the sides.
 
 Because of concern for the weight problem, I made some ties out of fabric and have sewn them to the top of the screen room.  Now I can tie the screen room to the top poles.
 
 not sure if this will help
 

[topcat7736]

 Foxyladies
Roseann,
 They have these things in the tool department, if memory serves me right. Go to a Home Depot and look in that section. They have grommets and snaps hanging in the same area and use similar kits for doing the job.
 
 The donut shaped block (anvil) is where you put one metal piece, cloth and other metal piece (into a hole in its top). The punch (long thing) presses the metal pieces together (inside the hole) forming a flange (when you hit it with a hammer) thus locking them together with the cloth between.
 
 Somewhere, I ve got the kit and a bunch of snaps. I bought all the stuff to attach clear vinyl to the outside of the AAR during colder and rainy weather. Of course, in her infinate wisdom, Peggy nixed the idea of putting the snaps on the AAR, so I m stuck using Velcro and binder clips forever. []

[sandykayak]

 Foxyladies
okay, i give in...where d you get the AAR snaps?  Are they made especially for the AAR or are they just large (what size?) metal snaps?
 
 topcat, you mentioned attaching the vinyl to the outside, but I remember someone saying that it s best to have it on the inside...I mean, you d have to get wet to go outside to lower the vinyl, wouldn t you?
 
 Next question:  where d you get the vinyl?  Is it the full width of the AAR?  how thick (i.e. mils of plastic) is the vinyl?
 
 please explain the velcro and binder clips - what do you clip it to?  the side of the awning?
 
 

[topcat7736]

 Foxyladies
Sandy,
 
 When we originally bought the popup (in 2000) I loved all the windows. But, when the colder weather came along they got zipped up. Wanting to see in winter too, I came up with " clear vinyl storm windows"  that I would attach to the trailer in the colder months.
 
 With the AAR we bought, the screen is on the outside and solid vinyl privacy flaps are on the inside. Wanting to see through the AAR too, but not be cold, I install clear vinyl across all the screening on the outside. When the wind blows they just get tighter against the AAR. Inside privacy panels bellow inward when the wind blows. So, they actually help to seal the AAR and keep out the wind in the winter while letting me look through the screening at the woods.
 
 The clear vinyl I bought came from a large craft/material store in town. It s very thick (about 12 mils) and about 4 feet wide. They sell it by the yard at a cheap price too. I have enough to do the entire AAR and all the bunkend windows of the popup. When mounted, it s about 3 inches above & below the screen opening.
 
 To mount it on the AAR, I put one side of sticky backed Velcro (from the craft store at cheap price too) on the vinyl completely across the screening, (both above and below it). I then peeled off the paper exposing the other sticky side for the clear vinyl and, with Peggy s help, slowly pressed the clear vinyl onto the back of the Velcro insuring it was straight. Once done, the " window is held in place at the top & bottom by the Velcro completely across the screen sections of the AAR. To seal the ends and at corners, I extend the vinyl around the vertical post, mate it with the clear vinyl from the side of the AAR and use binder clips to hold them together. Once all the Velcro is in place (on the window and AAR), it s easy to mount & dismount the windows. Press the two Velcro areas together or pull them apart adding or removing the binder clips! Yeah, this makes a lot of sense! LOL
 
 Home Depot sells snap and grommet kits in the tool section. I posted the link above.

[Foxyladies]

 Foxyladies
Thanks for all the helpful advice.......I had to go to Home Depot tonight but I couldn t check out the tool. I called the place where I bought the pu and they said to call Carefree....the com. that sells the awnings. I couldn t find a phone number so I emailed them to explain my problem......haven t heard from them yet. Does anyone have a phone number to this company? Carefree  sells the snaps.

[sandykayak]

 Foxyladies
oooookaaaaaaay......i think I get it, topcat.
 
 Rag Shop has/had vinyl on sale, but i think it was 8 mils..now i have a number to compare.
 
 BUT if the vinyl is 4  wide and the AAR is, say, 8  what do you do at the " join?"   overlap slightly but don t actually join together?
 
 the bellowing part does make sense - good tip.
 
 sticky velcro is very iffy in florida...the adhesive tends to dissolve in summer - my Sunpass transponder keeps falling off the front window.

[topcat7736]

 Foxyladies
Sandy,
 
 From the top to the bottom of the screening, on our AAR, it s under the width of the vinyl by about 6" . Although the vinyl I bought isn t 8  wide, it originally was about 24  long (they sell it by the yard in length and I bought 8 yards....one of my typical overkills LOL). That was enough to " wrap"  it completely around the screen portion of the AAR. I m mounting the velcro on the AAR vinyl above & below the screening on the outside of the AAR. (Click [link=http://foldingtrailers.com/ft/features_seriesft.jsp?series=destiny]HERE[/link] and move down the page & look at " Deluxe AAR" . You ll notice there s vinyl (which Velcro will stick too) above and below the screening. At the front corners are the vertical poles. I join the sides to the front there by overlapping them and clamping them together with the binder clips. At the trailer side, I wrap the vinyl around the lifter and binder clip it in position. With the Velcro holding the top & bottom, the windows don t move).
 
 Now, instead of wrapping the AAR with 24  of clear vinyl, I separated it into pieces for the sides, front door and front window, allowing a 4"  overlap at the front corners (which I join together using the binder clips) and about a foot on the trailer sides. This allows me to put up just the front window, either side window or all the windows.
 
 The front section is in two pieces; one for the door and one for the window. I didn t know how to " seal"  them together for easy in/out access, so I just overlap them about 6"  and try to keep the top overlap in the same direction as the wind when we close it up (if possible).
 
 It s really humid up here too most of the year. Almost all my AAR Velcro fell off. I finally removed it all and cleaned the glue off the Velcro & places to which it attached. I re-attached all the Velcro using contact adhesive instead (which a real hardware store owner told me to do). I ve told others to do it but no one seems to believe that it works. 1-1/2 years has gone by and the Velcro hasn t moved at all....although its been really wet for extended periods of time. Try it with your transponder and you ll become a believer! It s an inexpensive permanent fix for the trashy Velcro glue problem.
 
 You can probably use the 8 mil clear vinyl if it s soft. I bought the heavier stuff because it felt more like the windows on the trailer. I noticed that there s stiffer and softer types of vinyl. Make sure the one you get is very soft. When you roll up the stiffer ones, they tend to get creased. (I tried a couple of different types before buying the one from our craft store). I believe Home Depot sells vinyl too. If you re in their store & see it, try a crease test on all the ones they carry (who cares....you re not buying it anyway LOL).

[sandykayak]

 Foxyladies
" overkill shopping "  pays, doesn t it.  I have so much fabric and every now and again some of it comes in handy.
 
 thanks for the details....will go and get some contact adhesive ASAP