Yakima racks on the new seamless roof?

[Sheepwagon]

We are trying to decide whether to to get racks installed on the new seamless roof. On one hand I would love to take our kevlar canoe with us and maybe a rocket box, however, it seems like defeating the purpose of a seamless roof to drill holes in the top for the rack. Would appreciate any opinions and experience you may have... Thanks!

 

[NorCalSteve]

Hey Sheepwagon,

Thinking about if you really need the rack is a smart thing. When I decided if I wanted the rails or not, I was at the FWC office looking at the options list and figured, "what the heck". If I had it to do again, I would not get the rack. Two reasons for me. First is what you mentioned. Adding all those screws to the roof increases the chance for leaks. The second reason is I now realize that I don't have anything to put on the rack.

The main reason, I now wish I had not put the rails on the roof is that I decided to put a larger solar panel on the camper and the rails got in the way (I chose not to rotate the new solar panel). I don't want to talk about leaving two screw holes unplugged after removing the rails and the lake inside my camper after a few months of heavy rain .

I see lots of pictures of all sorts of stuff on top of campers on this site. And I have seen some (not many) repair threads. I think it comes down to a question of need.

I also got the steps to get up to the top of the camper. If I had that to do again, I would only put steps on the right side of the door and not both sides. Seems I always use the right side to climb up. Maybe if I was left handed I would be using the left steps.

This is my way of looking at it based on my personal experience. Hope it helps some.

Steve

 

[Overland Hadley]

I have full length tracks on my seamless roof, and I am very happy I have them. Having the ability to carry kayaks or canoes was very important to me.

 

[highz]

Just to present a different view... I personally can't imagine not having the rack. I keep the camper on the truck pretty much all the time and have carried a ladder, gas cans, firewood, etc. lashed to the rack. It has been very useful.

Will you be happy camping without your canoe?

 

[Stan@FourWheel]

If you are thinking about carrying gear on the camper roof and like Yakima Racks, it is usually best to get at least the "yakima tracks only" installed when we are building the camper.

Quicker and easier for us to do it.

If we install the tracks on the roof, you will have the 5 year factory warranty against leaks.


If you starting poking holes and adding racks yourself later, and you get a leak, the repair will not be covered if it was from something you made a mistake on.

If I were building a new camper for myself (personal use), there are probably some things I might do, and some things I might not do.

But I wouldn't hesitate to add the Yakima Tracks to my "no screw / one piece" camper roof, as long as the tracks were installed properly and sealed up well.





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[NorCalSteve]

I did take the rails off my camper to install the bigger solar panel. I plan to put the rails back on but there will be a missing section where the solar panel is. That is, I will have 4 shorter rails rather than two long rails.

Since I took the rails off, I got to see what FWC does to make sure nothing leaked and I can see why they can can offer the 5 year warranty. I thought they did a nice job. And yeah, my warranty is void. But I am a happy camper.

Steve

 

[Sheepwagon]

Thanks everyone for your advice and reassurance. It is nice to know that there is a warranty with the tracks, too. You're right, I would be much happier camping with my canoe, too!

 

[WaltK]

If adding solar panels the racks can provide the mounting points for the panels rather than drilling holes for them. Only time that might be a problem is if using the flexable panels and even then you can probably use the racks. And attaching the solar panels with a little space between the roof and them should allow them to run cooler, which means more output.

 

[BobD]

As stated earlier, if the tracks are there you don't have to use them. It's worth having them installed by the factory. We drove out from WV to have our Eagle installed in Reno. We brought a Rocket Box, a whitewater slalom kayak, a Shredder (2 person raft) and all our camping/paddling gear. While FWC Kurt was installing a Hawk on another customers truck I was installing my rack and toys.

 

[jha6av8r]

We just ordered a Grandby with the 10' Yakima tracks & racks. Can't imagine not being able to load our kayak on top. Without racks we'd need a trailer for it. That defeats the reason for getting a truck camper. Don't want to tow anything. I would at least have the tracks installed at the factory to make sure they're sealed correctly. You can alway add towers and crossbars.