Air compressor lift system for roof

[philos65]

So I finished basting together six panels with windows today. Tomorrow I sew them up and then wait for the next batch of basting tape to come in - I used way more than I thought I would. Then comes sewing it all together.

I'm still looking for different approaches to lifting and lowering the roof. I cruised the web and found this.

i'm thinking it would actually be pretty easy to rig up four pvc lift tubes connected to a small and inexpensive air compressor. Once the roof was raised, vertical emt braces could be situated to maintain stiffness of the sidewall, which apparently is totally necessary to buffer against wind.

Has anyone tried this?

Jeff
Laramie, WY

 

[Wandering Sagebrush]

The old speaker lift assist is going to be your simplest option.

 

[dharte]

You could use electric linear actuators. I made a lift with one and it works great. I just plug it in to a small inverter that plugs in to the 12v power port inside the camper. Takes about 30s to lift each end of the roof.

 

[philos65]

electic linear actuators? If you want me to follow your thinking I need a bit more than that... Got a drawing and web reference?
Jeff..

 

[PaulT]

The old speaker lift assist is going to be your simplest option.

How long does it take to raise one end using the speaker stand and a cordless drill?

Paul

 

[Squatch]

How long does it take to raise one end using the speaker stand and a cordless drill?

Paul

Actual lift time? 10-15 seconds. Add a minute or 2 total for setting it in place at both ends.

The biggest issue is usually moving gear around for access.

Once the latches are open and I'm inside the camper. Time from grabbing the lift and drill and setting it in place at both ends and lifting and retracting. 3-4 minutes or less for both ends.

I do like the idea for an air lift or the actuators. But both would take up some space that you may or may not have to use.

 

[Squatch]

So I finished basting together six panels with windows today. Tomorrow I sew them up and then wait for the next batch of basting tape to come in - I used way more than I thought I would. Then comes sewing it all together.

I'm still looking for different approaches to lifting and lowering the roof. I cruised the web and found this.

i'm thinking it would actually be pretty easy to rig up four pvc lift tubes connected to a small and inexpensive air compressor. Once the roof was raised, vertical emt braces could be situated to maintain stiffness of the sidewall, which apparently is totally necessary to buffer against wind.

Has anyone tried this?

Jeff
Laramie, WY

I think it's very workable. I see 2 issues. Especially on an already built out camper. Allocating the vertical space for the lift pistons. Much easier in a stripped shell. And air volume. Most small compressors like we tend to carry are designed for pressure at moderate volume. The have very small pistons. A small storage tank would likely be required for that. And probably a better compressor. Something a touch out of the inexpensive range that cost a few hundred dollars.

 

[Vic Harder]

I think if adding it to a "shell" build, you could run air lines and install 4 pistons, one in each corner. I also imagine they would be sturdy enough to hold the roof up without needing any other supports. Maybe a "pin" or locking mechanism of some kind to keep it in the UP position until removed.

 

[takesiteasy]

2 puzzles to solve from my point of view:

1) I suspect syncronizing the rate of rise/fall of the individual pistons will be a challenge;
2) You will still need some diagonal bracing to resist wind shear.

While I'm a sucker for ingenious mechanics, the FWC/ATC system is deceptive in its simplicity. Especially when combined with the spring-loaded lifters, it works well, has no mechanics to break or malfunction and it takes no space when deployed. The speaker lift that many use is also a simple add-on if weight is an issue. We have not seen a need for it.

 

[Squatch]

As long as all 4 cylinders are charged from the same airline. Then air pressure itself should synchronize them well enough. But the cylinders will need to be identical.

 

[ckent323]

I have experience floating precision testing tables on air in a lab environment. A difference in load at each lift point can make a big difference. All of our table air lift legs had individual regulators on them.

Now the difference is we did not want the table to be tilted when it was "up on air". On the camper all you need is to get the top up far enough to engage the lift panels. So if one or two corners go all the way up and one or two corners don't quite make it you probably won't care as long as you can engage the lift panels.

However, you probably want to be careful, no mater what the cause (be it rain, solar panels, tree branch or anything) that one corner does not wind up with a much higher load than another and create a potential for damage to the roof or the siding material or the lifting mechanism.

I think that without regulators on each leg it will be difficult to make them rise identically or respond to differing loads in a predicable repetitive manner. A failure of the lifting mechanism could lead to personal injury so I recommend caution and seek out engineering advice.

Craig

 

[takesiteasy]

As long as all 4 cylinders are charged from the same airline. Then air pressure itself should synchronize them well enough. But the cylinders will need to be identical.

And carrying equal weight, and not suffering any differential leakage or friction, etc. I'm just guessing, theory aside, that it won't be as easy as it seems, especially with potentially random things on the roof.

edit: Craig beat me to making the same point, and better said as well.

 

[Squatch]

Points well made!

Which brings us back to Kiss principle. Gas struts a maybe a speaker lift with drill!

 

[Atlin]

I built a "chuckwagon" mobile kitchen several years ago that was about 12x8 feet and we found some small-diameter air cylinders that we operated on a fairly small air pump (similar in size to the automotive cheapies). Took only a minute to raise the roof (which was probably 150 lbs) and all the cylinders were running on a common air line. But the roof was reasonably well-balanced, no heavy corners and such. Once up, we used a pin in the extended cylinder to make sure it stayed up after the pump was off. But I've also seen where folks have cut a slot lengthwise in a piece of PVC so that it fits around a lift cylinder. Once the cylinder is up, slip the PVC around it and release the pressure so that the weight is on the PVC.

For our campers, however, I have to agree with Squatch and the KISS principle. Unless you have a lot of weight on the roof that makes it difficult to raise manually.

 

[photohc]

electic linear actuators? If you want me to follow your thinking I need a bit more than that... Got a drawing and web reference?
Jeff..

This might help: https://youtu.be/hpZl77cYBxo

 

[dharte]

electic linear actuators? If you want me to follow your thinking I need a bit more than that... Got a drawing and web reference?
Jeff..

See my photos and discussion on this thread. One of these days I will post a video of it in use. It separates in half and I store it in a soft case rifle bag.
Electric Roof Lift
in Four Wheel Camper Discussions
Started by dharte, 06 Aug 2017

 

[philos65]

CKent's post here, helped.

http://www.wanderthewest.com/forum/topic/14992-electric-roof-lift/page-2

I love learning about new ways of doing things. While it might be around $350 for four, it doesn't seem difficult to mount them on the jack brackets "outside" the camper. The WindyNation description says that the actuators are suitable for outdoor use. As my Keystone is gutted, they could go in the four corners inside as well.

Dharte's description seems reasonable and doable, and simpler...

Interesting idea!

Jeff