Reimo Gutter Rails...

[Nick Thorp]

Hi all, first time I've posted on here so hopefully I've gone about it the right way!

Anyways, looking forward to a second Spring/Summer camping in the bus with the wife and kids. Looking at making some tweaks to our setup though. I'm considering removing the Thule Omnistor as I've found it to be impractical whilst camping. My main gripe is the fit of our drive away awning to the Omnistor. It attaches to the rail in the unit really well but rainwater gets behind the gap between the Omnistor and the van and gets inside if the side door is open.

I've been looking at getting Reimo gutter rails fitted so that the awning will fit flush to the van and solve the problem. It will also stop the issue of rain water pouring into the drivers and passenger side windows (I think?) from the SCA roof.

Does anyone have any thoughts on this? Am I daft getting rid of a handy sun canopy for short trips?Also removing the Omnistor to accommodate the rails is a big job and I've been quoted £700, which could increase if there is body work to do to cover holes in the van. I guess I could flog the Omnistor to cover some of this. Can't help thinking Reimo gutter rails are the way forward though.

Any advice appreciated.

Cheers
Nick

 

[Nick Thorp]

Hi all, I'm reposting this in the camping section as I've only just spotted that it exists! Figure I might have more luck here.

Anyways, looking forward to a second Spring/Summer camping in the bus with the wife and kids. Looking at making some tweaks to our setup though. I'm considering removing the Thule Omnistor as I've found it to be impractical whilst camping. My main gripe is the fit of our drive away awning to the Omnistor. It attaches to the rail in the unit really well but rainwater gets behind the gap between the Omnistor and the van and gets inside if the side door is open.

I've been looking at getting Reimo gutter rails fitted so that the awning will fit flush to the van and solve the problem. It will also stop the issue of rain water pouring into the drivers and passenger side windows (I think?) from the SCA roof.

Does anyone have any thoughts on this? Am I daft getting rid of a handy sun canopy for short trips?Also removing the Omnistor to accommodate the rails is a big job and I've been quoted £700, which could increase if there is body work to do to cover holes in the van. I guess I could flog the Omnistor to cover some of this. Can't help thinking Reimo gutter rails are the way forward though.

Any advice appreciated.

Cheers
Nick

 

[stuart-t6]

Hi I can only comment on the reimo rails,
I also have a sca roof and I was fed up of the water running off the roof and into the van!
So I bought 2 reimo rails and fitted them my self.
They are a great bit of kit the only issue I had was the original fixing screws started to corrode on there face, so I cleaned them off and coated the face with Silkaflex.
I also re applied some silkaflex to the top of the rails stopping any water from getting under the rails.

 

[Phil_G]

Hillside fit a rubber seal between the van & the awning to prevent water running between, would be an easy DIY job...
Cheers
Phil

 

[Loz]

***Topics Merged***

 

[Fish]

Water noodle..
Modified fiamma rain guard?

 

[airhoguk]

Some people use pipe lagging in the gap or as Fish or Phil G said a rubber strip. If you remove the mounts for your omnistor then there will probably be holes to fill but might hide under the reimo rail when fitted. If it was me i would sort the gap out with the foam or rubber strip and keep the flexibility

 

[Nick Thorp]

Hi I can only comment on the reimo rails,
I also have a sca roof and I was fed up of the water running off the roof and into the van!
So I bought 2 reimo rails and fitted them my self.
They are a great bit of kit the only issue I had was the original fixing screws started to corrode on there face, so I cleaned them off and coated the face with Silkaflex.
I also re applied some silkaflex to the top of the rails stopping any water from getting under the rails.

Hi I can only comment on the reimo rails,
I also have a sca roof and I was fed up of the water running off the roof and into the van!
So I bought 2 reimo rails and fitted them my self.
They are a great bit of kit the only issue I had was the original fixing screws started to corrode on there face, so I cleaned them off and coated the face with Silkaflex.
I also re applied some silkaflex to the top of the rails stopping any water from getting under the rails.

Hi Stuart, sounds like you had similar issues. Reimo rails obviously working well for you. What awning do you use when you camp? When we camp for weekends I don't want to put up our family awning (it's a Kampa one) as it's not worth the effort for short stays. It's the only scenario where I would miss the Thule awning I guess. Sorry feels like a big decision for this year. Cheers for the reply btw.

 

[Nick Thorp]

Hillside fit a rubber seal between the van & the awning to prevent water running between, would be an easy DIY job...
Cheers
Phil

Hi Phil, thanks for this. Just googled Hillside leisure. Some great companies out there you only find out through a forum like this. Will give them a call as not too far away. My DIY skills not great I'm afraid but happy to pay people who. Do stuff right. Cheers

 

[Nick Thorp]

Some people use pipe lagging in the gap or as Fish or Phil G said a rubber strip. If you remove the mounts for your omnistor then there will probably be holes to fill but might hide under the reimo rail when fitted. If it was me i would sort the gap out with the foam or rubber strip and keep the flexibility

Cheers for this. Feeling like there might be a solution to this without spending a load of cash. As you say the flexibility is a good thing and the Omnistor is good bit of kit. A simple bit of rubber, who knew. I guess it won't solve the waterfall into the front windows when it rains though. Bloody SCA roof! Options though, thanks fellas.

 

[Northern Monkey]

Cheers for this. Feeling like there might be a solution to this without spending a load of cash. As you say the flexibility is a good thing and the Omnistor is good bit of kit. A simple bit of rubber, who knew. I guess it won't solve the waterfall into the front windows when it rains though. bloomin SCA roof! Options though, thanks fellas.

Would some wind deflectors stop the water from hitting the windows? I know they aren’t everyone’s cup of tea.

 

[Phil_G]

I think most of us have fitted rain guards - just a self-adhesive strip above the window - read here: Reimo Roof Add-on Gutter Channels To Prevent Wet Seats!

 

[DaveyB]

Got a Reimo multi-rail to attach my driveaway awning to the van. It’s great. And in normal drive mode you get no noise from it and it blends seamlessly into the side of the van.

 

[stuart-t6]

Hi Stuart, sounds like you had similar issues. Reimo rails obviously working well for you. What awning do you use when you camp? When we camp for weekends I don't want to put up our family awning (it's a Kampa one) as it's not worth the effort for short stays. It's the only scenario where I would miss the Thule awning I guess. Sorry feels like a big decision for this year. Cheers for the reply btw.

Hi Nick
I haven’t brought an awning yet it’s on my to do list.
Looking at the other posts about the rubber seal and I have seen it in person, it looks like it will do the job for very little cost.
For me I wanted an awning rail and also the (rain gutter function) the reimo offers.
Also when using an awning there will be no gap between the van and awning allowing rain in

 

[Nick Thorp]

Some great advice here, really appreciate the input. In an ideal world I think personally I'd prefer to run without the Omnistor and have Reimo rails both sides. I think it's a simple streamline look and really practical to stop water ingress and attach your awning to. But it's going to cost a fair bit to do so I think it's well worth giving the Reimo gutter channels a go at the front and trying a rubber seal between the Omnistor and the van (cheers Phil). I'll post some images when it's done. Roll on the Spring.
Cheers again.