Need advice-Swapping Manual Awning for Aftermarket Electric

[Jamierozek]

I have a 2008 Pilgrim Cirrus CRB 27’ travel trailer. It came with a manual dometic awning, which has the metal arms that bolt into the body in the floor and roof.

Last summer my awning collapsed and I decided to take the opportunity to electrify the awning, so I bought an aftermarket electric.

Now I am trying to figure out how to mount it, because the arms of this awning are shorter, so it looks like I will have to mount into the fiberglass wall. Using a good stud finder, I am unable to find a stud where the awning would mount. I may purchase an thermal camera to verify.

I have been reading up on this, and have even asked camping world for suggestions. 
Here are my thoughts on options for mounting this into the fiberglass body- my own, and methods from others:

1) Mount to the body using the hardware provided with the awning. Inject epoxy into the bolt holes to marry them to the sandwich behind the fiberglass. This is what camping world said they would do. I’m not a fan of this option bc it doesn’t seem like it would hold.

2) Similar to 1, but use Oskar rivets rather than provided hardware, along with the epoxy. I don’t like this either because it’s gripping the weak fiberglass.

3) Mount the new awning arms to the old manual awning arms. This would certainly secure it, but the awning arms would be sticking out quite a bit

4) Find a hollow metal bar that can be attached to the roof and floor (roughly 8’) and mount the arms to this. I like this option the best, but cannot seem to find any affordable options for bars of this length.

Are any of these viable options? Are there better options? I would prefer not to eat the cost of the aw ing and just figure out a safe and secure way to mount it.

Thanks in advance!

The original awning is similar in mounting to this:

https://www.campingworld.com/dometic-8500-manual-awnings-78613d.html

I purchased this kit: (had good reviews)

Awnlux Black Motorized Modular... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0B81XN3NW?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share

[opnspaces]

I was thinking along the lines of carriage bolts into a piece of wood on the inside. But yeah the shower would probably be a problem.
 

[Jamierozek]

Anyone have any thoughts at all?

[Jamierozek]

Sorry- there is another option I was considering:

Driving carriage bolts through the wall with a piece of oak or something on the inside to brace.

I don’t love this idea either because of the look-

plus one end has to be mounted on the wall where the shower is, so this would be impossible to work with. 

[craig7h]

I am not going to be much help to you, however you may want to think twice about electric awning. I am from the old school of manual awning. Purchased a rig that had electric awning thought wow thats nice just push a button and the awning comes out. After a year with the rig and awning purchased a rig with old manual awning boy was I happy camper. 

To me the electric just does not have enough adjustment for weather be it sun or rain, wind is awhole nother thing.  Hopefully someone with experience with change over will help you out. 

[Jamierozek]

The awning is already purchased, so not using it isn’t an option.