Top flying off - truth or myth?

[Land-roamer]

I was browsing through the posts on the original Alaskan campers forum on yahoo groups (before it was shut down due to excessive spamming). Found some useful posts on there that I've kept for future reference.

Among these I read a post by a guy named Dave who claimed that his cabover Alaskan's top part flew off in a wind, while he was driving his truck on the highway one day. This after spending a lot of time restoring his camper. He strongly recommended that everyone install something to secure the top so it doesn't fly off on them too.

Can the top really separate and fly off the camper, as it seems to have happened to this unfortunate man, and can something be done to prevent it?

 

[banderswipe]

I was browsing through the posts on the original Alaskan campers forum on yahoo groups (before it was shut down due to excessive spamming). Found some useful posts on there that I've kept for future reference.

Among these I read a post by a guy named Dave who claimed that his cabover Alaskan's top part flew off in a wind, while he was driving his truck on the highway one day. This after spending a lot of time restoring his camper. He strongly recommended that everyone install something to secure the top so it doesn't fly off on them too.

Can the top really separate and fly off the camper, as it seems to have happened to this unfortunate man, and can something be done to prevent it?


Yes it can, read Mike's thread. http://www.wanderthewest.com/forum/index.php?/topic/3697/

Cheers,

Kevin.

 

[Land-roamer]

Yes it can, read Mike's thread. http://www.wanderthewest.com/forum/index.php?/topic/3697/

Cheers,

Kevin.

Thanks for the link. Sounds like the top-raising CAN be an issue, and some kind of tie-down for the top is a good idea to design and install, when travelling at high speeds in windy areas...

Here's the quote from the older yahoo list, for those who haven't seen it:

Returning home from a great weekend of camping, it was very windy. I was doing approx 70mph and hit a strong gust of wind that tore the top half of the camper off. When it happened, I looked in the rear view mirror and saw "light", so I thought something came open. You can only imagine the look on my face after I pulled over, got out and saw the top MISSING.

So, my project has come to an end. If you don't have a mechanical latching device of some sort to hold your top down, I strongly recommend installing one. I assumed that the hydraulic rams and the weight of the top (by design) would hold it... NOT!


Scary!...

I suppose that the only thing holding the top part in place is (1) weight and gravity and (2) the 4 hydraulic tubes...

A long heavy strap wrapped around the top and underside of truck sounds like a straightforward and easy fix, when travelling in windy climate...



Cheers.
--Robert