Pop Roof Actuators

[bptp7270]

Hi All,

I am sure this has been covered here, but I can't find any references to specifics. I am looking for a set of actuators to lift the roof on my pop top slide on camper. It is currently a hinged arrangement, but I am thinking that a full horizontal lifting mechanism would provide a lot more space inside and make things like the shower compartment easier to work with. Is there an off the shelf set of lifters available for this purpose that someone can recommend.

Thanks

 

[Maninga]

I got mine from http://lifteasy.com.au/. IP66 rated, 300kg lift force each, control box that'll synchronise via manual adjustment. They're work well, biggest gripe with them is they're slow and noisy. It's 2 minutes to travel 600mm. 6 actuators (I only used 4), control box, remote came to around $2k.

Linak LA36's are pretty popular too.

 

[SkiFreak]

Linak LA36's are pretty popular too.

Linak actuators are very nice, but be prepared to reach deep into your pockets if you go down that route.

 

[pugslyyy]

It's an interesting tradeoff between cost, power, accuracy. Hydraulics are better at self balancing than electric motors, but ultimately I think it depends on the complexity of the feedback loop.

Do you want to know exactly where each corner is, or do you want a system that will exert equal pressure on each corner until a limit switch is hit?

Like I say, it is an interesting discussion because I don't think there is any right answer, just different points of view.

 

[SkiFreak]

My personal opinion is that electric actuators are normally better suited to lifting a camper roof.
A screw style electric linear actuator is, by its design, self locking at any point of its travel. This negates the need to incorporate any other safety devices to stop the roof from any undesired lowering from the extended position.
My Linak LA36 Chinese clone actuators have inbuilt hall sensors, so it is possible to detect if any of the actuators fail when lifting/lowering the roof. If one actuator were to fail, all actuators will be stopped, reducing the possibility of doing damage to the roof. Incorporating a similar safety feature into a hydraulic or pneumatic system would be far more complicated, as detecting a leaking actuator and/or line is much more difficult.
If you size the capacity of the actuators correctly, speed issues between electric actuators should be minimal. My actuators are rated at 3500N each, meaning that they should only operate at about 20%-25% capacity, which will also extend the actuator's life. At 25% load I do not expect that 30-40KG difference in corner weight will have any significant difference in actuator speed, but this is yet to be tested.
Also, running electrical cable is far less complicated than running hydraulic or pneumatic lines.

 

[pugslyyy]

My personal opinion is that electric actuators are normally better suited to lifting a camper roof.
A screw style electric linear actuator is, by its design, self locking at any point of its travel. This negates the need to incorporate any other safety devices to stop the roof from any undesired lowering from the extended position.
My Linak LA36 Chinese clone actuators have inbuilt hall sensors, so it is possible to detect if any of the actuators fail when lifting/lowering the roof. If one actuator were to fail, all actuators will be stopped, reducing the possibility of doing damage to the roof. Incorporating a similar safety feature into a hydraulic or pneumatic system would be far more complicated, as detecting a leaking actuator and/or line is much more difficult.
If you size the capacity of the actuators correctly, speed issues between electric actuators should be minimal. My actuators are rated at 3500N each, meaning that they should only operate at about 20%-25% capacity, which will also extend the actuator's life. At 25% load I do not expect that 30-40KG difference in corner weight will have any significant difference in actuator speed, but this is yet to be tested.
Also, running electrical cable is far less complicated than running hydraulic or pneumatic lines.

My issue with a screw type linear actuator is that once it is out of alignment it will always stay out of alignment, compared to a hydraulic (or pneumatic) that you can just pump until known overpressure and equalization.

Don't get me wrong, I'm a big fan of linear actuators (I have then on my CNC mill, after all), but once they get out of calibration there is no good way to self-correct without a bunch of sensors. Pneumatic/hydraulic pump-until-it-locks is more robust.

 

[SkiFreak]

If I were stopping the actuator mid stroke then I might agree with you, but I sized my actuators so that they would run from limit stop to limit stop (both are internal to the actuators). There is an adjustable rod eye at the ram end, which allows for some fine tuning of positioning. The dual hall sensors are not being used for positioning, only to tell if any of the actuators stop unexpectedly. They are just a safety mechanism.

 

[ripperj]

I like the idea of the actuators. I ordered a set of 4 plus a controller and two remotes for my Alaskan build, but the controller arrived broken and everything seemed cheaply made. The remotes were a joke. I sent them back for a refund, I was too lazy to research better ones, the little bit of looking that I did showed that quality stuff was real pricey.

I ended up ordering new larger size cylinders and an electric pump, but now I am stuck with balance valves and messy oil. I bought balance valves and bypass valves for both an up and down loop. Once I get it dialed in it should be smooth in both directions assuming I remember to swap the valves

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