How to mount a Kings awning to a Rhino-Rack, Yakima, Rola or Prorack roof rack system.
Author: Tom
A common question we get asked is if you can mount an Adventure Kings awning to one of our roof rack systems from brands like Rhino-Rack, Yakima, Prorack, Whispbar, Rola. The short answer is yes, you can install a Kings awning onto these brands, but there are a few things to be aware of before you make your final decision of which bracket to use and how to mount it.
Mounting a Kings awning to roof racks when you have a Kings awning bracket.
Kings awnings should come with a bracket. We don't sell Kings awnings ourselves so can't comment on whether that has changed or not. If your Kings Awning does come with a bracket than all you will need is a couple of channels bolts and nyloc locking nuts. This is where the first of the common problems comes about. The holes on the Kings awning bracket is drilled out to support an M6 bolt, but most brands of roof rack will recommend the use of M8 bolts. There are two easy solutions available to you here.
- GOOD: use an M6 channel bolt. Rhino-Rack make an M6 channel bolt (also known as T-bolts) that will work with most styles of roof rack from brands like Rhino-Rack, Yakima, Prorack, Thule and Rola. This solution will also work for the Rhino-Rack Pioneer, Yakima Lock n Load and Rola Titan Tray platform systems, It is important to note that this solutions will not work for heavy duty roof rack systems. The M6 channel bolt will slide straight into the accessory channel of compatible roof racks and through the hole in the awning bracket. Fasten it down with a nyloc nut for security and you're off.
RHINO-RACK M6 CHANNEL BOLT - BEST: Use an M8 bolt and drill out the holes on the awning bracket. Our installers prefer to use M8 channel bolts when installing a Kings awning to one of our brands of roof racks. What the workshop team will do is use a step drill bit or 8mm drill bit to make the hole in the Kings awning bracket slightly larger. This is enough to allow you to use the standard Kings awning bracket with the preferred M8 channel bolt. Same story as the M6, put the M8 bolt down your roof-rack's accessory channel, put the bracket over the top and sandwich the bracket with an M8 nyloc nut to secure it all together.
RHINO-RACK M8 CHANNEL BOLT
What about heavy duty roof racks?
Heavy duty roof racks need a slightly different system and will require a channel nut and a bolt running through the bracket. Thankfully, Rhino-Rack make a kit that will work for most popular heavy duty roof rack systems on the market. If you have a Yakima Lock n Load roof rack bar, Rhino-Rack Heavy Duty Bar system or Thule ProBar, you can use the 33101 Heavy Duty hardware kit to mount your Kings awning using the Kings awning bracket.
BATWING HEAVY DUTY HARDWARE KIT
Mounting a Kings awning to roof racks when you don't have a Kings awning bracket.
If your Kings awning doesn't come with brackets you will need to purchase universal brackets from one of our Roof Rack brands. The most common options here are the Yakima Lock N Load Awning Bracket, the Rola RHSAB Awning Bracket and the Rhino-Rack 31126 Awning Bracket.
The same as with the Kings awning bracket, there are a couple of things to be aware of with each different type of bracket. We'll go through them for each of the 3 most popular awning brackets below.
Yakima Lock N Load Awning Bracket.
The Yakima LNL awning bracket has a really long arm and provides a significant amount of strength for off road runs. While the Yakima brackets comes with everything you need to mount the bracket to your roof racks (both heavy duty, consumer and platform), the holes on the awning side of the bracket don't match up directly with the channels on the back of the Kings awning. This means you will need to drill out the holes slightly to get the bolt to line up with the channel. It's not a major issue, but it is still worth knowing if you're trying to piece it all together.
Rhino-Rack 31126 Awning Bracket.
The Rhino-Rack 31126 awning bracket is our most popular aftermarket option for mounting Kings and other brands of awnings to popular brands of roof racks. As with the Yakima, the Rhino-Rack awning bracket comes with all the bits you will need to fix the bracket to your consumer roof racks, heavy duty roof racks or platform. The down side (also the same as with the Yakima bracket) is that the holes on the bracket don't exactly match up with the channels on the back of the Kings awning. This means you need to drill them out to get the bracket to fit.
UNIVERSAL & SUNSEEKER AWNING KIT
Rola RHSAB Awning Bracket.
The Rola RHSAB is the only truly universal awning bracket that our brands offer. It has many different holes to match up with all the different channel spacing distances available from different awning brands. The bracket is very, very strong and you won't have a worry on-road or off-road if you use this bracket and install it and your awning to the manufacturers specifications.
"That strength and versatility must come with a downside" I hear you say. Well, it does. The bracket is chunky and due to it's versatile nature, will often protrude above your awning leaving the top of the bracket poking out the top of your awning. This doesn't look great but that's not the biggest issue. It makes your car taller by a good 70mm. This won't worry most casual users, but if you've got a lift on your ute or 4WD, you might want to think twice about visiting that underground car park or multistorey at the local shopping centre. Again, the Rola bracket will come with all the nuts and bolts you will need to install it on your roof racks and to install your awning to it as well. This includes for heavy duty, consumer or platform roof rack systems.
Can you mount a Kings awning to a Rhino-Rack Pioneer Platform?
Yes, you absolutely can. All of the options I've listed above will also work on a Rhino-Rack Pioneer Platform.
Can you mount a Kings awning to a Rhino-Rack Pioneer Tradie or Tray?
Yes, you can but you need make sure your bracket will clear the side rails on your Pioneer Tradie or Tray. Many of the awning brackets with a long arm will work but if in doubt, feel free to contact us and a member of our team will be happy to help.
Do we recommend the Kings awning?
Let me see if I can channel my inner politician.
The Kings awning is insanely popular. There is no doubt that the price of the Kings awning is hard to beat which means you'll see plenty of them out on the road and at the camp site. We've installed more Kings awnings to roof racks than we care to count and we've seen them in all conditions, and in all stages of wear and tear. There are a few guys in our team who have Kings awnings as well.
As I've mentioned a few times, we don't sell the Kings awnings. I don't like knocking brands that we don't sell (it seems disingenuous to do that) so I'll leave my thoughts there.
Out of all the brands of awnings we've used, installed, tested and sold, it is very, very hard to go past the Rhino-Rack awning for strength, reliability, usability and functionality. As far as doing what an awning is supposed to do (keep the sun away), the Rhino-Rack is the only awning on the market backed by the Australian Cancer Council. For those who buy an awning for the primary purpose of looking cool, it's also hard to beat the clean, black finish of the Rhino-Rack awning and it's perfectly sized bag.
The Rhino-Rack awning is available in two sizes, the Sunseeker 2.0m Awning (32132) and the Sunseeker 2.5m Awning (32133), and it includes all the brackets, nuts and bolts you'll need to install it to your roof racks or platform.
What if I need more help installing my awning?
You can always contact us if you need more advice on how to best fix your awning to your car. Our team have probably fitted exactly the same awning as yours on to the same racks as yours so I am sure we will be able to guide you in the best direction for your situation. You can contact us here.