Fiamma f40...

[Crispy68]

Hi Ian ,

I was always a little concerned because of the small gap between the awning and the roof, I just decided to remove to have a quick look and found white scratches on the awning bottom and some scratching on the roof. Fortunately the scratching in the roof wasn't deep and with a little care came out.... happy about that.
I used to work at a motor caravan dealer some years ago and have fitted lots of other Fiamma awnings and products, which was handy when the supplier tried accusing me of incorrect fitment... what a load of B...ocks, as you are probably aware it can only be fitted one way and as awnings go is extremely simple.

No I didn't have the rain guard as at present there isn't one available for the L/H sliding door.

As posted the dealer was clueless and offered me an exchange in the first instance, however I did say to them that if Fiamma hadn't done a mod to the new one the issue would still remain,
so stating the awning wasn't fit for purpose got be the refund.

Some people may not be bothered by the scratching, however I am and what also annoyed me was the rattling when driving along, yes all awnings rattle a little however the rattling combined with scratching was not for me.

Personally I would never leave a F40 on my van as it now appears Fiamma are aware of the flaw, get yours checked, I honestly believe you will find scratches....sorry, but if caught early however it is not the end of the world and can be easily rectified.

Let me know how you get on....who did you buy the awning from?

 

[tim allsop]

Hi Ian ,

I was always a little concerned because of the small gap between the awning and the roof, I just decided to remove to have a quick look and found white scratches on the awning bottom and some scratching on the roof. Fortunately the scratching in the roof wasn't deep and with a little care came out.... happy about that.
I used to work at a motor caravan dealer some years ago and have fitted lots of other Fiamma awnings and products, which was handy when the supplier tried accusing me of incorrect fitment... what a load of B...ocks, as you are probably aware it can only be fitted one way and as awnings go is extremely simple.

No I didn't have the rain guard as at present there isn't one available for the L/H sliding door.

As posted the dealer was clueless and offered me an exchange in the first instance, however I did say to them that if Fiamma hadn't done a mod to the new one the issue would still remain,
so stating the awning wasn't fit for purpose got be the refund.

Some people may not be bothered by the scratching, however I am and what also annoyed me was the rattling when driving along, yes all awnings rattle a little however the rattling combined with scratching was not for me.

Personally I would never leave a F40 on my van as it now appears Fiamma are aware of the flaw, get yours checked, I honestly believe you will find scratches....sorry, but if caught early however it is not the end of the world and can be easily rectified.

Let me know how you get on....who did you buy the awning from?

hello Crispy68, just about to fit the F40 to my new caravelle soon, i want to put it on the passenger side and wondered as one bracket was longer than the other if they can be used on the passenger side and which one should go at the front? I think i will put some protective film on the roof under the awning to protect the paint! Also where do you think your one rattled from, was it internally parts rattling or the whole thing hitting the roof of the van? last question did it whistle or make any wind noise when driving on the motorway? cheers Tim

 

[Crispy68]

Hi,
The fixing kit comes in two formats, LHD and RHD, the longer fixing bracket goes on the near side front for a RHD vehicle with the sliding door on the nearside.

The whole awning rattled due to the inner folding arms banging against the outer casing, it even managed to crept it's way out on a long drive.. Protective film is good however due to the amount of flex on the awning it will eventually wear through.

Honestly I wouldn't bother with the f40, the f45 is a far superior item, the only downside is it doesn't look as streamlined as the f40.
I have an F45 now with none of the f40 issues.

 

[Ian_T6]

Hi Ian ,

I was always a little concerned because of the small gap between the awning and the roof, I just decided to remove to have a quick look and found white scratches on the awning bottom and some scratching on the roof. Fortunately the scratching in the roof wasn't deep and with a little care came out.... happy about that.
I used to work at a motor caravan dealer some years ago and have fitted lots of other Fiamma awnings and products, which was handy when the supplier tried accusing me of incorrect fitment... what a load of B...ocks, as you are probably aware it can only be fitted one way and as awnings go is extremely simple.

No I didn't have the rain guard as at present there isn't one available for the L/H sliding door.

As posted the dealer was clueless and offered me an exchange in the first instance, however I did say to them that if Fiamma hadn't done a mod to the new one the issue would still remain,
so stating the awning wasn't fit for purpose got be the refund.

Some people may not be bothered by the scratching, however I am and what also annoyed me was the rattling when driving along, yes all awnings rattle a little however the rattling combined with scratching was not for me.

Personally I would never leave a F40 on my van as it now appears Fiamma are aware of the flaw, get yours checked, I honestly believe you will find scratches....sorry, but if caught early however it is not the end of the world and can be easily rectified.

Let me know how you get on....who did you buy the awning from?

Hi @Crispy68 - Thanks for the feedback, I’ve had my head in the sand after fitting the F40 and I nervously took it off this evening - after being on for a couple of months and doing around 3000 miles.

I was expecting to see horrors underneath but there’s not a mark! I need to say that I’ve got a dual slider and have it fitted on the RHS with a rain guard too, so maybe that has helped...

It’s not much hassle to take it off, so I’ll check again in a couple of months and update again... I’m hoping it’ll be fine as I don’t like the way that the F45 fits to the van, in terms of the brackets being all but permanent and it being less streamline...

So, jury’s still out for me, and will report back in a couple of months...

Thanks again... Ian

 

[James roberts]

Hi guys,
I'm looking at getting the F40 but after reading the above I'm now not sure!
Does anybody know if the issue has been sorted with it? Are people still having problems with it?
Thanks
James

 

[Ian_T6]

Hi guys,
I'm looking at getting the F40 but after reading the above I'm now not sure!
Does anybody know if the issue has been sorted with it? Are people still having problems with it?
Thanks
James

No issues with mine... very happy with it.

 

[James roberts]

Thanks Ian, I'm so unsure as don't want scratches. I may just bight the bullet though.

 

[Ian_T6]

Thanks Ian, I'm so unsure as don't want scratches. I may just bight the bullet though.

Try dropping this guy a comment on YouTube, he must be one of the only people out there that’s fitted one on each side of his van!

Mine is on the RHS, and I do have the rain guard fitted too. I just didn’t like how the F45 is fitted to the van.

Best of luck with your choice!

 

[GS1980]

I’m also looking at the f40 as I don’t want brackets drilled to my van... I was thinking that something like the link below would prevent any scratches.

 

[GS1980]

Effetto - Shelter Roll - 1m - Off-Road - Upgrade Bikes

Effetto - Shelter Roll - 1m - Off-Road - from Effetto Mariposa

www.upgradebikes.co.uk

 

[James roberts]

Does the shelter roll get applied to the awning o just the van?

 

[GS1980]

I’d put it on the van personally... although I’ve not actually done it as I’ve still not bought the awning. I’ve used similar stuff before on my pushbike to prevent cable rub and the chain chipping the paintwork on the frame.

 

[Paul82]

Hi all. I have put 3mm tick rubber strip (cut off from my universal boot floor mat from another car) between awning case and the roof, and so far I have the problem solved. The awning profile is the same as in f45, but F45 it is much more stable in vertical position than F40 in a horizontal.. defo Fiamma should add a third/middle bracket to the f40, especially there is a place to mount it in the roof.

 

[JOG]

Hi @Olly T6 Did you have the rain guard fitted too? Just wondering if this would have helped lift the middle and stop the scratching you experienced. Looking at the F40 as I have a T6 Kombi and Johns Cross have said that the bracket I need for fitting the F45s only comes in silver - I’d ordered a black F45s so dont want to fit a black awning with a silver bracket - on my blue van.

In terms of profile I think I’d prefer the F40, now I’ve seen it, provided they’ve fixed the sagging, or the rain guard will help.

I sprayed my brackets satin black before fixing as I didn’t want the aluminium showing below the awning. Just cleaned them with a bit of thinners, etch primed them and then satin black (both primer and paint were spray cans)

 

[JOG]

Hi all. I have put 3mm tick rubber strip (cut off from my universal boot floor mat from another car) between awning case and the roof, and so far I have the problem solved. The awning profile is the same as in f45, but F45 it is much more stable in vertical position than F40 in a horizontal.. defo Fiamma should add a third/middle bracket to the f40, especially there is a place to mount it in the roof.

View attachment 97395

View attachment 97396

That’s ridiculous! If there is a mounting on the roof, why on earth haven’t they produced a bracket to assist carrying the load. (I have an F45s so can’t really comment on the F40)

 

[louisfeakes]

I have an F40 and with a little modification there is nothing to worry about.
I fitted a couple of door shut rubbers (off cuts left over from the “sounds like a Golf” kit) to the underside of the F40 then PPF’d a couple of small areas of the roof where the rubbers sit on the body work.
The rubbers sit tight and so stop any flex/movement and the PPF protects the paint.
I had my F40 fitted last year between May and September and then removed it for the winter when not in use.
There was some marks on the PPF but nothing that didn’t wash off and now can’t be seen. The PPF did its job.
I wanted a canopy that could be removed and so having read the earlier posts carried out the mods above and it was fine
I do agree/think that if fitted as per the Fiamma Manual you’ll have rubbing issues but if you’re happy to modify it slightly and want something removable don’t discount it.

 

[Paul82]

That’s ridiculous! If there is a mounting on the roof, why on earth haven’t they produced a bracket to assist carrying the load. (I have an F45s so can’t really comment on the F40)

Who knows.. Maybe they did't expect the profile in the flat position gonna be so flexible ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

 

[Paul82]

View attachment 97398View attachment 97399View attachment 97400View attachment 97401
I have an F40 and with a little modification there is nothing to worry about.
I fitted a couple of door shut rubbers (off cuts left over from the “sounds like a Golf” kit) to the underside of the F40 then PPF’d a couple of small areas of the roof where the rubbers sit on the body work.
The rubbers sit tight and so stop any flex/movement and the PPF protects the paint.
I had my F40 fitted last year between May and September and then removed it for the winter when not in use.
There was some marks on the PPF but nothing that didn’t wash off and now can’t be seen. The PPF did its job.
I wanted a canopy that could be removed and so having read the earlier posts carried out the mods above and it was fine
I do agree/think that if fitted as per the Fiamma Manual you’ll have rubbing issues but if you’re happy to modify it slightly and want something removable don’t discount it.

Good job Louis. Some creativity and the problem is solved, which doesn't mean that it shouldn't happen with this product

 

[JOG]

Who knows.. Maybe they did't expect the profile in the flat position gonna be so flexible ‍♂

I agree. I don’t think it was designed for a “flat” mounting. I think even my F45s would sag if mounted “flat”. However, given there may be a mounting point available on the roof (I have a Cali so I’m not sure) then a bracket ought not be beyond the wit of Fiamma given that they provide a bracket at either end for such “flat” mounting.

 

[CarlsT6]

Hi All, first time on the forum I'm in the market for an awning and really like the Fiamma F40, I see some of you haven't had good results. I was wondering if any of you have an F40 fitted to a LWB? I've just been told it wouldn't fit mine?