Piercing the shell

[Donkey]

Gday Folks

I just purchased a 1985 single owner Rader from Wisconsin and drove it up to a small town in Manitoba, Canada. We were (and are) excited as all get out with our purchase. As we go through the unit, it is fun to see what great care the previous owners took in maintaining the vehicle.

We are thinking about installing an awning on the side as the one that exists is one of those "pull the canvas encased rope through the channel" types that never seem to stay in the channel. We would also like to install some type of racks for a canoe on top. The sides of the unit are aluminum, and the top is fibreglass. I am always nervous about puncturing the outer envelope for fear of water damage in the future. Is there a product or method of installing screws/anchoring hardware to prevent future water damage?

Thanks

[86rader]

Wow!!! That is possibly the cleanest looking toyhouse I have seen. Is rader affiliated with sunrader? It's of a different construction type than any sunrader I have ever seen.

While on the topic of shell piercing, I have a question. I would like to install a rear bumper stuff carrier. But, rather than having the entire load hang out there where it attempts to rip the bumper/frame extentions off, I was thinking of placing cables, 1 on either end of the shelf, about 2/3 of the way out from the bumper. Each of these cables would extend up to the roof of the camper to seperate anchoring points. For anchoring point, I was thinking of running a decent sized bolt through the roof. I would put 3/4 plywood pieces on both the inside and outside of the roof to spread the load out.

The sunrader seems to have a very stout roof, so I don't think this would present much of a problem.

Has anybody out there ever tried something like this?