Mounting RTT over the cab on Yak bars

[IggyB]

I've had my Hannibal RTT mounted on a custom rack over the bed for the past 3 years. But I just put the canopy back on the truck since enclosed bed space is a priority once again. I don't think the canopy will take the weight without additional internal support, so that's out as a mounting spot for RTT.

The truck is a 2000 Nissan Frontier crew cab, with a manual pop up factory sunroof. I have the Yakima Q-towers and Q-clips along with the cross bars.

I am a little concerned with mounting the RTT over the cab. That's 110 pounds of RTT + 250 pounds of my hind quarters, sleeping bag, 12 gauge and such.

Should I worry? Truck will be mobile with 110 pounds and stationary with 360 pounds. 110 lb should be no problem but 360lb ? Will it cave the roof in?

What do you think?

 

[alexrex20]

i doubt it will cave the roof in, but are the yakima Q towers rated for that much weight?

 

[KG6BWS]

just noticed this thread. id reccommend against it. i used the same setup on my 04 taco dc with my mombasa tent. the bars/roof held the just fine. no flexing, no dents, slept in it with no problems. the reason i changed it is that the qtowers dont hold real tight, so when id go offroading the tent would shake its way back and forth. ive got a nice gouge now where each clip rubbed on the roof. hasnt rubbed a hole yet, but if i had left it like that it wouldnt have been long before a hole appeared. the worst one was my coyote flats trip over labor day weekend. tent moved about 6 or so inches forward over the weekend.

i just put my shell back on my truck also and built a rack to go outside the shell (contractor style) to hold the tent. so far its working great. if you really want it on your roof id try to figure a way to mount very solid....no yakima or thule style bars. fab something up that will not allow the tent to move around at all.

 

[mountainpete]

Iggy,

I've had no issues with my canopy mounted Yakima crossbars and my tent it a heavy 1600 t-top. Lots of off-road miles too. I added a third crossbar for extra stability and there are no problems. No canopy cracking either.

Pete

 

[IggyB]

Pete,

Are your bars mounted to the top of the canopy or to the sides above the windows?

 

[mountainpete]

Top on rails. Some older pics when I had two crossbars are here: http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=18822

With a decent amount of nights and off-road miles, I don't really have a reason to go with the exo-style rack I originally planned. The Yakima is working fine.

Pete

P.S.: Love the new avatar pic

 

[IggyB]

Thank you, it took a while to find that pic after seeing it years ago.

Guess I'll call a buddy of mine and we'll mount the tent on the canopy tomorrow :victory: