Canopy handle question.

[Charles in SC]

I have seen some rvs with a small handle on the top rear center to help with opening, closing, and lifting the (slider) canopy. What kind of handle is suitable for this and where do I get one if it is something special. I would prefer stainless so it does not rust.
Thanks!

 

[odlee]

Try the aviation department

@ Lowes (or Home Depot, if you must). A variety of stainless handles available.

David

 

[yakdriver]

Yep, Lowes has a whole section of canopy handles. I don't know why they call them drawer pulls though. Don

 

[RV7ator]

Why thank you! I just installed my 6th handle! Most of these "canopy" handles have screw spacings of 3 1/4"; avoid the few that are different. Your fingers will appreciate it. Take care when drilling the holes through the frame and keep them normal to the handle's mounting boss, not the canopy frame. The slight frame curvature tends to throw your perception off. It's a long reach, you'll need slightly shortened 8-32 x 1 1/2 screws, so any misalignment can make for slotted holes if you aren't careful.

John Siebold

 

[Rick_A]

You only need a little bit of lift to dis-engage the rear pins on the slider canopy. Rather then using a real handle, I made a small handle from a piece of angle, about 1" long, mounted on the pilot side of the canopy skirt. It's located about where the pin goes into the plastic block.

I saw this type of "handle" on a number of other RV's so it's not an original idea. It's easy to make, unobtrusive, low drag and does the job.

 

[flyboy1963]

canopy rear lifterizer

Just another data point...I guess my slider 'wedges' itself in there, so I often wish my handle was a bit bigger than 3 fingers wide, and in winter with gloves, it's even more fun. This is with NO weatherseal of any kind, so if you added that, I could see it 'sucking' shut with some serious friction.

I find I need to rest my elbow on the rear deck, and kind of jiggle sideways, then lever the back of the canopy up and then back.
....from the inside, it doesn't seem to require much force at all, it's just awkward when balancing with one foot on the step to exert much oomph!

 

[mcattell]

I also just fabricated a pull bracket using a piece of angle and drilled a hole to insert your finger. Works great. I then attached it by using two of the rivet holes from the center canopy frame bow and tapping them for countersunk screws in the angle. I've also have a couple little angles on the bottom of the canopy so I lift and pull back at the same time. I anodized those brackets along with the exterior latch handle and slider rails to match the paint scheme. No need to worry about corrosion on these now and no paint to rub off. I think it was only about $50 for the anodizing for the whole batch of parts. It's hard to get an exact match when anodizing color but it's close enough.