How to install this cheap metal curtain rod?

Question

I bought one of these cheap curtain rods for my home theatre blackout curtains:

But it doesn't appear to have come with any instructions. I mean it appears that I'm supposed to just screw those little hook ends into the wall and then set the rod upon the hooks. But this strikes me as odd for a couple reasons:

1. The hook itself is pretty long, and the end of the rod (as you can see in the picture) is curved anyway, so it seems the rod will hang way far out from the window when installed. I could perhaps find some shorter hooks.
2. It doesn't look like it can hold a lot of weight. In fact it doesn't even look like it can hold even the weight of the curtains (which are pretty heavyweight being blackout curtains).

To further complicate things, my apartment uses metal studs, not wooden ones, and they're a major pain to drill through. Moreover, there is basically a 4-inch section of wall on either side of the window where the rod pretty much needs to attach to, and I don't know if there's a stud there or if it's just drywall (haven't checked with my studfinder yet).

The window takes up pretty much the entire wall, and is about 10' across, minus the few inches on either side already mentioned. So in theory I could install the curtain rod onto the side walls, though I don't think this particular model would work very well (perhaps a tension rod would have been a better idea--do they come in 120" long versions?).

In short, is there any way I can install this in such a way that it will support the weight of my curtains? Will I need to buy some different hardware (if so, what kind of things will I need)?

Answer 1

You're not showing all the pieces. What we see is a curtain rod and the center support.

There are brackets for the end that the rod hooks over.

Pictured is a dual curtain rod hanger bracket. The hole in the rod catches on the tang and it drops down onto the bracket.

The answer to your problem might be shown in the picture, use a nice board that spans across the window opening about six inches above. Use screws to hold it to the studs and then mount the curtain to that using stronger screws than came in the hardware pack. Graininess of the cellphone picture doesn't do the spar varnish finish on the hemlock board any justice.

For spanning that window (10') there are heavy-duty three piece curtain rods constructed exactly like these but with two of the screw-in supports available in addition to the end brackets.