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Damn, that sucks. A seller definitely shouldn’t be claiming to be making a bracket for a specific awning if they don’t have any way to verify their bracket is going to work. Or, at least be up front as say “hey, I’m going off their published specs, but you’re my first customer for this, so if there’s any fitment issues, we’ll work them out”. Depending on how long it’s been, you may be able to do a chargeback with your credit card company since you were sold a defective product and then show them your attempts to resolve the issue with the seller if they ask.
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Unfortunately, I sent the payment through zelle. I have already filed a complaint through zelle and planning to file a complaint through local agency and FBI internet claim center. Although I don’t want to get to that point I hope the seller can just provide a refund.
YIKES!
He tried to get me to buy a whole build out for the back for nearly $2000 
.
He jumps forums also. Saw some of his posts on the SP forums over there trying to sell the same product. The biggest turn off for me is when he started bashing the GFC as a whole….
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Jeez. That dude seemed sketchy from the beginning.
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Opposing viewpoint… knowing the struggles with aftermarket “bolt on” accessories in the overland community. I view having to oversize a few holes as minor inconvenience and moved on. The vendor would have been better off to provide the bracket without holes and leave it up to the end user to get it exact. Maybe the awnings are not exactly the same? Shitty it didn’t fit but at least you didn’t have to plug in the welder.
I’d be more upset someone charging me 2 hours to open up a couple holes with a die grinder. 
No I agree with you, drilling a couple holes shouldn’t take that long. The challenge is identifying the right area to drill when there are already holes and channels in the wrong spots. He should’ve just sold it without any holes.
If kinsmen is selling their bracket for $180, I assumed a $300 bracket would be perfect and the markup is for low production and r&d. Didn’t expect it to require that much work.
It’s actually much easier to build a cabinet that sits in the bed of a truck (see our cabinet work here: www.Van-Mod.net) then trying to design a bracket to align six awning holes when a) I don’t own the awning and b) Alu-Cab and their dealers provided zero help because this is for a GFC (their competitor). I did reimburse this customer $100 for the cost of drilling the four holes needed. In hindsight it would have been better to leave the metal without the holes and the big slot, but that would not change my materials cost or the price.
GFC was super helpful in getting me information for the holes needed to fit their extrusion T-slots and as I have shown in previous posts, the GFC dogbones fit perfectly.
Do I participate on the SP forum? Yes, why shouldn’t I? I don’t bash GFC other than to comment on the tent needing design work compared to the SP tent. GFC is a great company and they make a great product for the money.
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It’s not a $300 bracket, it’s a $249 bracket made to order in very small batches (3-5 units at a time). Kinsmen has economies of scale (and probably in-house fabrication) that I don’t have.
In retrospect I probably should not have offered this product as designed and called out that it requires drilling on my website. It has been redesigned (two parallel slots instead of the six holes and a larger large slot for the awning bolts/nuts to clear) and the possibility of having to drill is now called out as part of the product description on my website.
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I appreciate the opposing viewpoint. When I embarked on creating this product, I knew it might take a little trial and error to get it dialed in given the lack of support from Alu-Cab and their dealers. In my defense I really thought I had everything aligned correctly based on the limited information available to me from the Alu-Cab website (you can see from the pics that it is pretty close…about .25” off horizontally). I did reimburse this customer $100 to cover the cost of drilling the four holes. Should I have disclosed this when I started selling the bracket? Perhaps. Did GFC disclose the tent leak and hinge issues when they started selling their product? No. Perhaps it was because they didn’t realize they had an issue. Neither did I.
It might seem expensive at $249, but the reality is that I’m not making any money on this product. The entire build (metal, laser cutting, bending, welding, and powder coat) is subcontracted out to small businesses that are expert in what they do. That plus working in small batches of 3-5 units creates zero economies of scale. If I had a hundred people coming to me looking for this bracket, the pricing would be lower.
I’m making this bracket because I saw a need for this in the GFC community. It wasn’t perfect at the start (neither was the GFC), but its much better now.
After reading this whole thing, the person/company making it should at least get their hands on the product that they claim their bracket would fit and perform a test fit before selling it out in the market. Your argument is weak AF imo comparing it to GFC’s water leak issue because it’s not all GFC’s that leak and they at least tested their product whereas you did NOT. Your bracket straight up did not work or fit as claimed. That in itself is fraudulent. The simple fact you claimed that Alu cab didn’t give you specs of dimensions is pathetic. you could have A) bought an Alu Cab awning or B) ask for a volunteer to come by and have you take measurements.
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From what I understand that is what kinsmen did- had GFC v2 owners swing by the shop so they could take measurements then make a bracket to fit.
The kinsmen bracket is burly, everything about it and the awning screams quality.
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If you don’t own the awning or at least put your hands on one, why are you selling a product that claims to support it? That is stupid at best, and fraudulent at worst. Nowhere does your product page say that you haven’t confirmed fitment, that it was only based on drawings and that little disclaimer at the end about drilling is a laughable way to try to push your bad design off on your customers.
Blockquote NEW: Alu-Cab Shadow awning mounting bracket for GFC RTT
The Shadow is a fantastic 270 awning. Unfortunately, mounting it to a GFC RTT requires a bracket at the rear pivot point that isn’t provided by Alu-Cab or GFC. This product solves the problem and eliminates the need for a third GFC universal mounting bracket.
- Mild 12-gauge steel
- Works for both V1 and V2
- Slot for Shittco tent pole pass-through
- Mounting holes and slots correspond to GFC extrusion T-slots and Alu-Cab Shadow mounting locations
- Large slot to clear awning assembly bolts/nuts
- Uses standard GFC bolts, T-nuts, and “dogbones” for attaching to RTT
- Textured matte black powder coat finish
- GFC and awning mounting hardware not included
-
Some drilling may be required
Price: $249
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I understand your concern for the community, but I don’t really understand the bitter tone. You didn’t buy one and you have no horse in the race.
I created this product as a service to the GFC community because GFC owners were looking for a bracket that would allow the Shadow to be installed safely and correctly. Alu-Cab doesn’t provide one and in fact is not interested in supporting anything GFC. The only alternative I saw was DIY and the bracket I created is decidedly better than DIY, even with the misaligned holes and large slot. Could it have been better if I actually owned a Shadow awning? Yes, but I was not about to buy a Shadow (retails for $1575) just to make a few brackets (I don’t own a GFC to mount it to). I did examine one mounted to a Alu-Cab camper at Overland Expo last July and took measurements that appeared to confirm my dimensions, but unfortunately had no way of measuring the bolts that connect the two pieces of the awning. The Alu-Cab dealers I spoke to there (Mule and OK4wd) had zero interest in helping anything related to GFC (go ahead and call one if you don’t believe me). Based on the learning from the first install, v2 is a redesign with two horizontal slots instead of the six holes and a larger, repositioned slot meant to clear the rear awning bolts/nuts.
Other buyers of v1 have been notified of the issue identified by the first install and the steps needed to modify the bracket to get it to fit the awning better. Did GFC take similar action when they realized the tent was leaking? Yes. Did they notify customers that the tent might leak before they bought the camper? I don’t think so.
Lastly, I’m not trying to “push” anything and other than a few posts on FB and this forum, I have not actively marketed the product. “Some drilling may be required” is a disclaimer, but I don’t actually think v2 will require drilling. If it does, the bracket is mild steel and easily drilled. If GFC owners can find a better way to install the Shadow, I’d like to see it.
If you know of something better on the market (not DIY) designed specifically to mount the Shadow to a GFC, send me the link. I’d like to see it.
$300 w/ tax and shipping. Yes, you did refund me $100, I can confirm that.
Your responses…arguing with your excuses isn’t worth my time, I lost money not going to lose time. Learned my lesson on this and hope other members can avoid my experience.
Best of luck on your business.
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So you can copy it off of an image and claim it works when you have never tested it? Just admit you’re a fraud and the community would be better for it.
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Still waiting for the link on the better product. Also, don’t tell me GFC adequately disclosed (or tested) the water leak issue…they’re still trying to fix it. Does that make GFC a fraud or does it make them a company learning from their mistakes? Keep calling me a fraud publicly in writing and I’ll sue you for libel.
Sorry you had a bad experience installing your awning, but I do appreciate you helping to make the next version of the bracket better. I’m sure GFC also appreciated all the customer complaints about leaks and hinge issues. It helps make for a better product.
Trying to justify your issues by saying another company has issues also is a really weak argument and getting old.
Mistakes happen and customers are incredibly gracious when they know you are with them and not against them. How you deal with them says a lot more than the products you make.
I don’t have a dog in this fight, other than caring about the community and the friends I have made though it, so feel free to ignore my opinion.
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