135 replies to this topic

[Avg.Joe]

You're right. The lifters are on the long sides and the struts are on the front and back.

I like the bungee idea and I may try that. I could use the window velcro as an attachment point rather than a rivet...at least to try it out.

The strut maker said to mount them rod end down, but I think that's part of what caused the snag. The tube end pinched the vinyl. As I'm mounting them today, I'm turning them so the rod end is up. I'm also adding spacers to bump the mounts out from the wall. Pics to follow.

[WillTheThri11]

Good luck! The bungee and attaching to the lifters will reduce the amount of post-roof-lowering tucking in of the vinyl you will need to do too...might be trivial though.

[Avg.Joe]

That's a good tip Will. Tucking is an issue, especially at the corners where there's seams in the vinyl pieces.

[WillTheThri11]

That's a good tip Will. Tucking is an issue, especially at the corners where there's seams in the vinyl pieces.

 

I don't think you'll get away from it completely unfortunately.  My corners are starting to wear through and I'm sure that taking the time to make sure the corners lay nicely will help with the longevity of the vinyl.

[JaSAn]

One advantage of the speaker lift is I can stop at any point in lowering the roof and adjust the soft sides to my hearts content.

[Avg.Joe]

So with the 60lb struts I had a heck of a time lifting the roof and the solar panels aren't mounted yet. So I returned the struts and ordered 95lb ones. That should give me the extra lift I need plus handle the 50lbs worth of solar.

[Vic Harder]

So with the 60lb struts I had a heck of a time lifting the roof and the solar panels aren't mounted yet. So I returned the struts and ordered 95lb ones. That should give me the extra lift I need plus handle the 50lbs worth of solar

No panels and hard to lift with 60# struts?  That doesn't sound right.  Did you have the door open and/or vent fan running to pressurize the camper?

[Avg.Joe]

You know Vic, I was feeling the same way. My wife and I could lift the roof without too much strain when it was on sawhorses. I haven't weighed it but I can't imagine it weighs more than 150lbs, but I could be wrong. One thing to remember is that this is built with wood framing and plywood skin and has a rubber roof. I don't know what the ATC or FWC roofs weigh, but I'd imagine being aluminum with a metal roof and cloth ceiling that it'd be a bunch lighter.

To answer your question, the door was open. There's no power to the fans yet.

[WillTheThri11]

Door being open should be plenty of airflow I would think.  Sounds like you've got a heavy roof!  Also keep in mind that the lift struts push at angles in order to lift the roof vertically.  They will provide the most lift when they are closest to vertical, so when the roof is all the way up already.  If you go too big on the struts, you may need to install handles in the ceiling to pull the roof down when stowing it...probably not a huge deal 

[Avg.Joe]

Yeah Will, I don't want to pass that tipping point where I have to put a lot of force on the lifters.

In a perfect world the struts would do most of the work and lifters would just be guiding the roof up or down. The new units should be here tomorrow from Lift Support Depot. I'll let you all know the outcome.