....long story short, the  front bottom L-bracket piece of the bolt-on
clip on my
awning (I think its a TransAwn 2000) broke in half while going down the
road, stressed
the front section of the van's rain gutter and created a crack along the
inside seam.
I temporarily relieved the stress off the gutter by bungee-ing up the awning
to the
loops on the  front storage area of the camper. To worsen the damage, while
at camp
and the awning out, a strong gust of wind toward the passenger side lifted
the awning
off the ground and plastered it against the extended poptop and lengthened
the front crack
and created a new one where the awning attaches to the aft section of the
the raingutter.

Lesson learned: Always stake down the awning poles.

Anyway, a friend with welding experience recommends doing a stitch weld to
avoid warping
of the gutter and then use MarineTech (sp?) to do a filler of the remaining
cracks to prevent
rusting. Of course I'll have to do touch up job once the paint's burnt.
Has anyone been down this avenue yet?

Also, these L-bracket never seemed stong enough since they're made of
aluminum. They relieve
the stress off of the gutter and transfer it to a small section of the
outside paneling of the van just
below. Is there a better alternative?

Thanks In Advance,

Kevin Sullivan
'87 Syncro Westy (Baja bound in 6 weeks)
Soquel, Ca