Snow: how much is too much?

[smlobx]

According to this website and depending on the size of your roof and type of snow

https://www.vcalc.com/wiki/KurtHeckman/Snow+Weight+-+Area

It looks like the weight of 8"'s would be between 180 and 450 pounds evenly distributed...

 

[Herve]

Would there be any risk damaging the roof if trying to raise it with lots of snow on top of it and using the speaker stand and a drill to raise it? (I have not tried this)

 

[Mickey Bitsko]

The original question , how much snow is too much ?
Simple answer is , when the roof collapses.
Use your own judgement don't expect people to give you your judgement call.


Mickey

 

[Horseshoe]

Well, I ended up with maybe 5” on the roof, and everything felt structurally sound. Dropping the roof wasn’t the scary experience I had feared, although I don’t think I would want to do that without the lift struts. I did have to lift the rear up a bit to adjust the vinyl and that was tricky. I don’t think I could lift the roof solo with that weight. Of note, I was totally comfy all night, and this was my fifth or so night down in the teens. While I would not mind an arctic pack, it isn’t the necessity I thought it was going to be.

 

[Bill D]

The original question , how much snow is too much ?
Simple answer is , when the roof collapses.
Use your own judgement don't expect people to give you your judgement call.


Mickey

FWC rates the roofs safe limit to be 1000 lbs of evenly distributed weight.
They give this number knowing that if can handle more.
In my opinion "too much" is a value in between 1000lbs and the point of failure (which is way too much).

Regarding judgement, not everyone knows how much snow weighs, especially given the weight of snow per inch can vary. Some people have never even experienced snow. I honestly think most people would have a tough time guessing the accurate weight of 6" of snow on the roof of their camper.


Horseshoe,
One thing that can be used to help control the rate to decent on the roof is if you have a speaker stand jack. The jack could also be used as a failsafe while you are sleeping.
Keep in mind if you are using the jack and there is a lot of weight up on the roof that the jack is absorbing most of the weight in the center portion.

 

[JaSAn]

Would there be any risk damaging the roof if trying to raise it with lots of snow on top of it and using the speaker stand and a drill to raise it? (I have not tried this)

Horseshoe,
One thing that can be used to help control the rate to decent on the roof is if you have a speaker stand jack. The jack could also be used as a failsafe while you are sleeping . . .

Be aware that the speaker stand https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000CD3QYW/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o05_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
is rated at only 80 lbs capacity.

 

[Bill D]

Be aware that the speaker stand https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000CD3QYW/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o05_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
is rated at only 80 lbs capacity.

That's a very low rating.
Mine doesn't have a tripod base. I'll have to check out what it is rated at.

 

[PackRat]

I would suggest a call to FWC to get clarification on the "1,000 lbs evenly distributed" figure.....

I get the feeling that might be what the roof can hold in the DOWN position. If in fact it does mean it will stay UP with 1,000 lbs (or less) without collapsing that's fine. I would then ask them what kind of weight will the roof support during the LOWERING operation, and how much will it handle in the RAISING of the roof sequence.

It seems foolish to me to try to either raise or lower the roof with a heavy snowfall on it, especially a wet snowfall. It doesn't take that long to get up high enough to remove two feet of snow along either side with a plastic snow rack to relieve the weight somewhat. That would be close to 2/3rds of the snow I think. One will have to know where solar panels or vents or antennas or other obstructions are located though.

 

[klahanie]

1,000 lbs was the number I was given, 20+ years ago. A nice round number, irrespective of camper roof size. But if you had a problem how would you prove the weight ?

Seems to to me having the roof collapse while you slept would be a pretty lousy way of finding out someone else was wrong, LOL.

In the absence of experience, I'd rather err on the side of caution. Especially when away from home.

 

[rotti]

These campers are tougher than one might imagine.

 

[Wandering Sagebrush]

These campers are tougher than one might imagine.

There must be a heck of a story here...

 

[trikebubble]

There must be a heck of a story here...

"Could have been the whiskey, might have been the gin.
Could have been three or four six-packs,
I don't know, but look at the mess I'm in,
My head is like a football, I think I'm gonna die,
Tell me, me oh me oh my,
Wasn't that a party?
Someone took my camper, flipped it on it's head........"

 

[Vic Harder]

What's the story behind that picture, I wonder????

 

[Bill D]

What's the story behind that picture, I wonder????

More head height for getting in the door. Clever

 

[N'kwala]

I had about six inches of fairly wet snow on my camper one night last fall, while it was open. No problems, wasn't particularly worried. Because I once had a very bad experience lowering the roof of a VW vanagon with a similar amount of snow --ka-fwooomp!--no damage but unhappily abrupt--I went to great lengths the following morning to sweep it clear before lowering the roof. It was a chore and I got lots of snow on me but I'd do the same again. The idea of putting a tarp over the camper before the snow accumulates sounds like a good one, if I know what's going to happen.

 

[craig333]

We really needs someone to volunteer (not me) to add weight to the camper until it collapses. Theory is all well and good but real life performance is the key. Anyone want to step up ?

 

[klahanie]

^ BTDT, as I posted in the idiot thread...

One intractable spare tire, say 75lbs, positioned on roof, centered at rear edge;
One incorrigible dummy, say 160lbs, positioned spread eagle on roof, center.
Result: one rear lift panel collapse.
And that was when the camper was 2 or 3 years old. Long before any affects of age and exposure may have weakened the plywood panels.

Curious, I checked my old camper purchase file to see if there was a mention of roof rating in the original sales literature. There is not - but - from my telephone notes with the owner ... #4 Q: "How much weight is ok on roof in up position?" A: "1,000 lbs."

Using the calculator linked in smlobx post #21, I calculate 1000lbs on our granby sized roof as equating to 46" of "new snow".
Here, experience has taught me to be cautiously skeptical.

btw I still remember Mr Burnett's answer to #5 Q: "How does the mechanism to lift the roof work?" A: "You are the mechanism to lift the roof !")
Now, this I believe !

 

[Bill D]

From FWC FAQs


How much weight will the roof hold?



The lightweight aluminum roof will hold 1,000 pounds of evenly distributed weight in the raised position (example: snow load of 1000 lbs.). If you plan to carry luggage, coolers, kayaks, canoes, etc. on the roof, we usually recommend keeping the weight to approx. 100 lbs. (+ or -). The roof has a very strong design, but does have some basic limitations. We offer an aluminum roof rack and also Yakima roof racks for customers that want to carry larger items on the roof that might not fit inside the camper while they are traveling.

 

[JaSAn]

We really needs someone to volunteer (not me) to add weight to the camper until it collapses. Theory is all well and good but real life performance is the key. Anyone want to step up ?

I'll volunteer to do the testing. In a previous life I was a shock and vibration engineer, so I am experienced in testing to failure.

Can't use my camper though, it has rebuilt, reinforced lift panels which would give erroneous results (darn!). I come from the 'if in doubt build it stout' school of engineering.

jim

 

[Randonneur]

I'm also interested in this topic-- we purchased a Fleet shell two years ago and mostly use it for 3-season use although we go skiing a lot as well. So far, I've used it on two ski trips to varying success. At Mount Baker last year we were there for one of the storm cycles that left about 18 inches of heavy snow on the ground during the night. It was blowing hard so it was anyone's guess as to how much accumulation there would be on the roof. Around 1am I woke up and told my wife that we had to collapse the top which we were able to do before it got too heavy and we organized some bins and cushions to sleep down below. It mostly worked except for the snow that built-up under the Fantastic Fan vent that I had running on low to keep condensation down. That ended up pouring down on us when our heat melted it in the morning.

Couple questions:

Are there any covers that can be placed over the Fantastic Fan vents to prevent snow from building up in there? I only had the vents cracked a tiny bit so wind caused the snow to blow in there and build up.

I saw that someone here tried throwing a tarp over the camper and then shifted it back and forth to remove snow. This seems okay in theory, but when I tried it at home in just a mild breeze it was pretty unmanageable. Has anyone tried something like a camper cover for this? Not sure how much you could shift it back and forth though.
https://www.campingworld.com/elements-pickup-camper-cover-queen-bed

I also got a snow-jo but without a tall ladder I can't get up there when it is extended. I saw someone used Etriers, but this seems a bit wobbly during a storm. Does anyone know of something like a single pole ladder with folding steps that could be attached to the support brackets somehow?

Thanks for any and all tips on this.