Brief Description: Prepared canopy for help-opening handle.
The RV sliding canopy opens by being pushed back and up a 45 degree bend in the slide rail. This makes it very hard to open from the outside because there is nothing to grap hold of to lift as you push back. It is no problem from the inside since all you have to do is push up on the center bow as you push back. I saw on the internet where another builder had installed a drawer handle on top at the back of the canopy to have a lift handle to help in opening from the outside. I decided to do the same. I bought the stainless steel curved kitchen cabinent handle at Home Depot and had to purchase some machine screws (8-32x1 1/2") since the screws that came with the handle weren't long enough to go through the center bow tube, plexiglass, and the top center cover strip.
I used two of the rivet holes at the back of the canopy and had to enlogate one of the holes that I had already drilled. I used a file to elogate the forward rivet hole in the tube and the hole in the plexiglass. The plexiglass holes will be drilled to 3/16" but will probably have to be even larger. The handle will be held in place by the two screws coming through the tube from the inside. Once the holes were located, I drilled all the way through the steel tube. The screws will probably have a couple of washers to shim for the correct length when threaded into the handle through the tube, plexiglass, and cover strip.
