Lifting the top of the FWC

[benburnett]

roof load

The snow load on the camper is 1000 pounds. That is approximately 3 1/2 to 4 inches of snow.

As to a limit on the weight, I personally would not put more than a 100 to 150 pounds in one area. The roof is designed to handle a load when it is up and when it is down. It is not designed to be lifting any thing close to the load rating. Get too much weight on it and try to lift it and you will end up with a bent roof.

Also be very careful when pushing it up with your new tool. If you have a clamp that is not unhooked outside you could cause some serious damage. Same damage could occur if you don't have the door open for the air to come in while lifting the roof. Just a couple of points to watch out for since you might not feel the resistance like you normally would if you were pushing it up by hand.

What you have made sounds like a great idea. Would like to see it if you ever get a chance to take a picture of it. Might be something we could offer customers with similar problems.

 

[camelracer]

Ben,

Thanks for the reply, I appriciate the advice on load limits. The most I would carry is 2 kayaks which should be a little over 100# plus the Yakama racks. The kayaks are usually laying on the beach before the top goes up anyway but it's nice to have the option to camp without unloading.

The pneumatic ram is pretty simple. The cylinder is 2" pvc sched 40 pipe with a cap at one end and a 2" x 1.25" sleeve at the other. The piston rod is 1.25" pvc with a cap and 2" cup seal on the end. The cap and sleeve were filed/sanded to get a slip fit. Air goes in through a metal tire valve and lift is controlled by putting my thumb over a vent hole. It is placed between the lifting plate and floor. The ends have rubber non-skid pads but I do need to come up with a better way to insure that it doesn't slip off the lifting plate and damage the headliner or roof.

On a personal note I would like to thank Ben and the gang at ATC for all the good advice and feedback. It's too bad the folks that got my money aren't as responsive. I wish I had known about ATC sooner.

 

[captainkettel]

If you get a chance could you post a photo or two of your PCV air operated top extender. Sound like a pretty cool device...Thanks...

 

[benburnett]

camper lift

Thank you for explaining how you put that together.

I really appreciate it.

One thing that you might be able to use so that it won't slip are closet rod ends or something like them. We rigged up a lift for a customer one time with a jack and used a wooden rod. On the push boards on the roof we mounted simple closet rod ends that you would buy at Home Depot so that the wood would not slip out of place as she was lifting the roof.

Something along those lines could probably be rigged up for what you are using.

If you don't have push boards in the camper I will be happy to take some photos of some in a camper for you so that you can see what they are.

 

[camelracer]

Attached (I hope) are a couple of pictures of the pneumatic cylinder in the camper and a disassembled view. Note that the threaded coupling in the cylinder is not neccessary. Since this started out as an experiment I wanted to be able to take it apart for mods and/or repairs.

 

[craig333]

Nice, I assume you have the air pressure regulated so it goes up nice and slow, just in case?

 

[DirtyDog]

Wow!

If you converted that to a potato cannon, you'd make a million bucks!!

 

[benburnett]

cannon

If you need the plans for a cannon, I have built one of those. Still have it actually. Set the neighbors yard on fire last year with it. Put a potatoe in it and then dropped a flower spinner firework in on top of that. Worked great except that it didn't go out before it hit a dry spot in the neighbors back yard. We put out fire and neighbor was ok.

Second shot worked much better, waited longer for fuse to burn down some before I shot it off. Didn't have to use water hose for the rest of the night.

 

[craig333]

Dont those palm trees burn really well? Brings back some memories I'd hoped to forget

 

[chnlisle]

We do love our toys! And I count myself among the "we".

 

[bluefly]

Damn, what I have missed in the last few weeks!

Ben, the pushbar is in, no problem and works like a charm. How could it be otherwise with the parts you provided (including spares), and detailed instructions?

craig333, thanks for the user report, I will be fearless from now on

camelracer, that is one cool pneumatic ram thingy you've built there.

 

[benburnett]

push bar

Glad to hear it worked out for you. Happy camping now.

 

[larry.m]

jack

I just bought one. It works perfect for my Gramby. I thought I would need an extension for the ratchet for extra leverage, but worked fine. I'm recovering from neck cancer with litte strenth in my right arm. Thanks for the tip, now I don't have to trouble strangers to help me lift!

 

[flinchlock]

I just bought one. It works perfect for my Gramby. I thought I would need an extension for the ratchet for extra leverage, but worked fine. I'm recovering from neck cancer with litte strenth in my right arm. Thanks for the tip, now I don't have to trouble strangers to help me lift!
Speaking for all ATC/FWC users, we are not strangers, maybe a little strange, but friends you have not meet yet.

Please see the post about the new "LQ Roof Lifter" http://www.wanderthewest.com/forum/showthread.php?t=680

Mike

 

[DLN]

Guys,

Thanks for bringing the thread forward. I missed it somehow when I was reading all past posts after joining the forum. Great Stuff.

 

[mht]

Other Lifting Devices

Greetings,
I try not to carry too much on top of my 2001 Granby but on trips to Mexico I have no choice but, in addition to a 70 W solar panel, load up a locally fabricated roof rack with a "soft bag" full of stuff we "can't do without"!
I use one of the corner jacks with a drill and adapter which gives me a nice controlled accent and decent. The lowering can be just as important if you don't want to lift the edges of the (loaded) roof from the outside to stuff in the excess liner...ouch! Just before final touchdown I go around and easily insert any liner hangin' out.
I have added a triangular brace to get the jack drive below the head liner enough not to damage it, to "load" the jack not the gearbox cover, and also to provide a vertical lift on the forward push board which happens to be somewhat over the front seat instead of the floor.
I've also been looking for a lighter solution than that jack but the ratings on the ratchet holders don't seem adequate. If I can come up with a surplus unit, I want to try a screw actuator from an large, older (read obsolete) satellite dish. I used to install these dishes and the actuator sized for the 6' dishes seem about right. They'll run on 12 Volts DC and I think they might just be short enough to fit between the floor and push board when fully retracted.

Ben has a very good description of how to push up the roof, unloaded. It seems, however, at a little over 60 years and 6' tall, it's still awkward for me to "assume the position" so to speak, especially in the front. What I do is take off my footwear, crouch (feet on the front seat) under the front push board and push up with my back until I can push the push bar into place. Works well for me.
A bit OT but I need to add a kayak rack (more stuff!) and, if necessary for space considerations, Ben, do you think it's OK to add gutter clips to the edge of the roof (seems the most solid part of the roof) in order to support that type of rack?

Lots of great info on this forum!

Marty

 

[DLN]

mht,

Great idea. Of all the rising/lowing techniques mentioned here no one has suggested a standard camper jack. I just happen to have four. This would be the emergency solution to lowering the top with large snow load on it. Thanks for posting.

 

[Mark W. Ingalls]

Dear mht--

Regardless of how smart I *think* I am, it took DLN's response for me to fully appreciate what you were conveying.

Thanks! (And also thanks to DLN!)

MWI

 

[benburnett]

gutter rack

If I am picturing what you mean by gutter rack, I would not recommend it on the side of the roof.

All the Yakima systems that we have installed are track systems that mount on the top of the roof. You have the tracks that go on top, then the towers that slide in the tracks and then what ever type of saddles that you want for what you are carrying.

Stan may know more about the gutter rack that you are talking about. We never used them while I was at FWC.

 

[bobg333]

Brute force approach

Since adding a rack and solar panel earlier this month I have been studying all of the various submissions on this forum about raising the roof. I have also been trying to pay attention to what happens while I am struggling with the top while trying to get it up. I noticed that I had a big urge to stand on the settee to give myself leverage. Having dealt some already with the underpinnings of the settee and being on the far side of the 200# mark myself, I was reluctant to do that.

So I found some scraps of 3/8" flooring material and beefed up the settee foundation. I've done four roof raisings so far with this set up and it works pretty good. I take the cushions off the settee, stand on it, crouching with my shoulders against the inside of the roof and just stand up with a little push on the D handle.