Expanding Roof with mounted kayaks? Ideas?

[deathbywanderlust]

We are working on our design for the camper we are going to build on our new Fuso and one issue we are running into is we want to do an expanding roof but we also want to carry 2 sea kayaks on top. Each would be about 16-17ft long and about 60 lbs. Plus we will have a few solar panels on the roof as well. We are trying to do a second floor bed so being able to raise the roof a few feet is necessary if we go with that design. Any ideas of an easy way (as in easy to build yourself) to expand the roof and have it still be able to support that kind of weight? Or are we out of luck and just need to change the idea? Thanks!

 

[Haf-E]

Lots of lifting roof schemes handle the types of weights you are considering - the overall roof will weigh several hundred pounds most likely so the additional 60 lbs is not that much.

It is easier to home build a tilting type roof than a vertical lift type. A tilting roof can also make loading / unloading the kayaks easier and allow the solar panels to be tilted for better performance if the vehicle is oriented the right direction. The trick is figuring out the best way to tilt to meet all of the different requirements involved.

There is a good thread on here about a tilting roof build on a land rover defender in the UK - nicely done with good results in a much smaller vehicle. I'd start there and also look at the J30 from Ursa Minor - again smaller but well done.

 

[dlh62c]

Expanding roof, second floor bed, solar panels, and two 16' 60lb kayaks, my head is pounding trying to take it all in. I'd go with a tow behind trailer for the kayaks. The loading height would be lower and the trailer could do double duty carrying all the other kayak related gear. It doesnt take much of a shadow cast on solar panels to reduce their effectness.

 

[Haf-E]

It is a lot - but I think its doable. The solar panels are really only for extended stay locations as the batteries will be fully charged when you stop for a short period - such as overnight.

That said - I opted for a sprinter van to eliminate the need for a lifting roof and I put my solar array on the side of it to allow it to work with the canoe / kayaks on the roof - makes it easier to tilt the modules and to keep them clean.

 

[1aquaholic]

I'm looking in the same direction and have been looking at Linear Actuators. Anyone have experience with these?

j

 

[kerry]

I carry three kayaks or two canoes on our Northstar T1000 pop up roof. It has the Heco raising system and apart from making a longer crank handle out of a sailboat winch handle, it's all original and handles the load quite well. It's at least 160lbs of boats up there and I've had it up and down at least 50 times with no problems. I talked to Heco about it a few years ago. They didn't recommend it. I needed a place to carry boats so did it anyway thinking I'd replace the mechanism if it didn't hold up. Not sure how obvious my system is but I have four load bars attached to gutter brackets which are bolted to the sides of the roof. I use Quick n Easy feet and 2" square steel tubing for the bars. Coated the bars with PlastiDip. The kayaks sit on all 4 load bars. The canoes only rest on two. I slid a section of 2"ABS plastic drain pipe over the back bar. It makes sliding the boats up from the back much easier. I use a folding ladder stored inside a section of 8" (?) PVC pipe and strapped to my back bumper to access the boats. I'm very pleased with the system. We've driven many miles with it and had those boats on and off innumerable times.

 

[Maninga]

I'm doing a lifting roof on mine with allowance for a couple of kayaks to be on top. Going for 4 industrial actuators/heavy duty linear actuators that'll do ~650lb each with a 2ft stroke length. Overkill for the weight of the roof, but don't want to be anywhere near their load limit. That way, a little weight will have negligible impact on lifting speed, though I'm getting a circuit built to adjust speed to keep them in synch. Whether they're there or not, it's not really going to matter.

Westyss (Yves) build is a really good home build expandable cabin that looks quite happy with a couple of kayaks on top. I've taken a lot of inspiration from his build when planning mine.
http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/threads/48351-out-with-the-old-in-with-the-new