Quote:
Originally Posted by MinnesotaHighlander
Rear bumper and left/right side of tounge frame
have small slotted sections that appear to be intended for bolting attachments. While I am fairly sure doing so would void my warranty and if so will not do, just curious. Anyone know purpose and weight restrictions? Thinking a lightweight rear carrier for light yet awkward stuff like indoor/ outdoor carpet or fishing poles.
Also anyone know thickness of roof material?
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I'll respond mostly to the roof question:
I just installed a solar panel on my 2014 HW-277.
The roof appears to be a sandwich of:
- Roof waterprool layer
- VERY thin plywood
- Steel or aluminum frame
- Another layer of VERY thin plywood
- Ceiling material.
The whole thing is about 1" thick and quite fragile.
It drove me crazy trying to figure out how best to install the panel. I went back and forth on whether to use bolts or screws, but after drilling into the roof and realizing how thin the plywood was, I used bolts. Here's what I did.
- 1 1/2" stainless bolts - 1/4" x 20 thread. The bolts should have a 1" plain shank and about 1/2" of thread or more.
- Adjust bolt length and solid shank to accommodate thickness of mounting bracket and thickness of washers inside and out as needed.
- Drill 1/4" hole.
- Apply silicone sealant around the hole.
- Embed mounting bracket in sealant.
- Install bolt.
- Hold roll with vice grips.
- Inside the camper, install a "body" washer. I found nylon body washers with 1/4" hole and the washer diameter was about 1".
- Install "nylock" locking nut with nylon insert.
- Best outcome is that you are able to tighten the nut to the point where it engages the solid (unthreaded) shank on the bolt BUT NOT CRUSH THE ROOF...just compress it ever so slightly with everything snug. You can adjust this by adding another washer if needed. If you can't achieve this, my first recommendation is to get different bolts, and the second recommendation is to rely on the nylock nut to keep things from coming apart.
- Grind off excess bolt inside with dremel cutoff tool, then smooth off all burs - the bolts may come in contact with canvass, so they must be smooth and slightly rounded, and as short as possbile making the bolt and nut nicely rounded.
- Don't overheat the bolt with the cutoff tool, or it may melt the nylon insert in the nut. You can use a pump sprayer with water to cool as you cut.
- Finally, add silicone around the bolt heads outside and add sealant around the brackets for extra measure of waterproofing.
My installation is snug, dry, and secure, but I confess I was not at all comfortable drilling holes through the roof of my camper!!!
I called the factory about how to avoid the wires in the ceiling, and to learn more about the ceiling structure.
The overhead lights are fed at a 90 degree angle from the sidewall - between the ceiling metal structure which goes horizontally from side to side of the camper roof. The factory tech support spokesperson told me to just locate each light by measurement, and give it a few inches (3 or 4) fore and aft for the wire which runs pretty straight from the sidewall to the light fixture.
If you have AC on the roof, the same holds.
Note that the lighting wires come up from the breaker panel inside a canvass tube in the tent wall. Once at the solid ceiling structure, the wires are hidden behind the tiny concealment curtains at the top of the ceiling. I had to mount wires from the solar panel to the side of the roof structure with clips, so I kept all screws at the very bottom of the roof sidewall to avoid wires running from the panel to the lights and to the AC close to the joint between the roof and the roof side-wall. My clip screws were short, but I took no chances.
I put silicone into every drilled hole and then inserted the screw. This both seals the penetration and serves to glue the screw in place to keep it from vibrating out.
As for the rear bumper strength:
I weight 260 pounds. I routinely stand on the rear bumper to tuck canvass, and I have no problems with the bumper. That bumper also carries about half the weight of the occupants of the bed...even when they are "active," if you get my meaning. So it's quite strong. BUT...and this is a big but...the bouncing loads of an item mounted to the bumper going down the road is a whole other matter. My brother mounted a bike rack to the rear bumper of a Fiver - a square bumper that holds the blackwater drain hose. The bouncing weight of two bicycles wrecked the bike rack and twisted the bumper.
You'll see that your spare it bolted and lagged to the TUB only. Kind of surprising! With that in mind, you might reinforce your mount by through bolting part of the mount to the back wall of the tub. BUT that requires research. If the rear wall of the tub is like the roof, it's a metal framed sandwich, and the spare may be mounted through metal framing in the back wall. It's very likely that the spare tire mount is attached to the tub in a spot that is reinforced. Call the factory to find out your options.
Another choice might be a frame-mounted receiver hitch that terminates at the bumper. This might be custom made, and it will be heavy....about 100 pounds off your cargo capacity plus the weight of the cargo and container.
As for the "A-Frame", it can carry a lot, but space is an issue, as is a reduction in your cargo capacity.
Anything you put on the tongue will add to the tongue weight. Anything you put on the rear bumper will unload the tongue. And THAT could make the trailer an evil handling menace. Tongue weight is an important part of having the trailer track properly.
I don't remember what you have for a tow vehicle, but if you have a pickup, and if you don't already have a bed-mounted tool box, I have one and use it as a "trunk." It holds a ton of stuff, and it's dry and secure.
I also see lots of campers with those Yakima roof storage boxes:
http://ow.ly/vXGd30calKf
Mounted like my solar panel, this would be a good option for lightweight, bulky items. A hot setup is a full width rack with the storage box on one side and room for a canoe on the other. Just remember your gross vehicle weight rating includes the cargo, rack, water, etc., and your tires will make you pay if you overload.
Sorry this has been such a book, but I have another observation:
I fit a LOT of stuff inside the camper:
- The factory gas grill AND a charcoal grill fit between the bathroom and the cabinets on the other side of the hall. I use throw rugs to protect the walls and cabinets. The same throw rugs "carpet" the floor of the camper when we're on site. There's still lots of room for light items above the grills...perhaps separated by an old sheet to keep the grill grime off things.
- I have a 10' x 10' canopy that fits nicely on the floor between the dinette slide and the sink cabinets.
- I have a folding aluminum picnic table (in a bag) and a giant comforter and several smaller items on top of the cushions in the dinette slide. Fishing poles would fit there nicely, too. The key is to make sure you drop the hoop for the canvass then put some of the items in or on top of the hoop and keep it all below the sliding beds.
- I often toss one or two bags of charcoal on top of the canopy between the slide and the kitchen.
- LOTS of stuff fits under the table in the collapsed dinette.
- I use a pad to protect the front of the fridge, and I store a ladder, a dog pen, a dog kennel, a 5 gallon bucket, two flip top storage containers, two folding "end" tables, a trash can, electric heater, a hand vacuum, and two duffel bag suitcases in the open space in the front entry area.
I always roll out with full fresh water and empty holding tanks. On the way home, I've dumped the gray water, and I empty the fresh water to cut down on weight.
All that for what it's worth.
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