Pop Camper Roof Safety

[Seguinrv]

Have you ever wondered how safe the four posts are that hold up your roof and air conditioning in a popup camper?  Fleetwood bought Coleman out and our service manager (where we bought our Fleetwood Bayside) told us that Coleman/Fleetwood was the only popup that didn't have to have pins to hold the roof up like many other models.

I got to thinking at the camp (idle time), what would cause the roof to collapse?  Does anyone know what safety features prevent the roof from collapsing in a Fleetwood, so that it doesn't require pins in the support posts that raise the roof?  Do you know of any hidden dangers in regards to this subject?

[chasd60]

On my Viking, I had two braces that went around opposite lift arm corners to protect from this.
 
 I thought a broken cable in a Coleman/Fleetwood could cause the roof to drop?

[Tim5055]

I thought a broken cable in a Coleman/Fleetwood could cause the roof to drop?

It would actually take 4 cables breaking.  There is a separate cable to each corner from the wiffle tree.

[mike4947]

The sfety feature on all PU's is the door. It will stop the roof from "crashing down". At worst the non door side will drop a couple of inches. Ask anyone who's ever tried to force the roof down after forgetting to put the door up.

[hoppy]

This concern comes up from time to time.
 
   In my fifteen years using PU's (one of them being a 1978 Palomino) and being a member of a number of pop-up forums much like this one, there was only one incident I can recall where the roof actually came crashing down. In this instance the door system was not in position, and the owner of the PU allowed the roof to become completely saturated with water, that the main cable could no longer support the weight of the roof, and snapped it. In this instance, proper maintenence and care surely would have prevented this from happening.

 But as the saying goes, "an ounce of prevention is better than a pound of cure"

 If you would feel more comfortable adding lifter locks, by all means add them.

[rock_hound]

My Coachmen has two braces to place around the lift arms.  Athough I had no idea what they were for until someone mentioned it on this forum.  There was nothing in the manual regarding them.  I suppose the previous owner bought them aftermarket.

[chasd60]

My Coachmen has two braces to place around the lift arms. Athough I had no idea what they were for until someone mentioned it on this forum. There was nothing in the manual regarding them. I suppose the previous owner bought them aftermarket.

It is/was a standard item on Coachmen and Viking, same manufacturer.

[TheViking]

I agree, My Viking had two steel u-channel's that slid over the posts on the opposite sides of each other. My dealer told me that they only come with Pop-ups that have A/C units.  Find you some u-channel that will fit around your posts and slide them on when your popped up.  It will give you peace of mind if nothing else.  

On a side note: Imagine you are asleep in the pop-up and the roof does come crashing down....you had better have a potty in there cause you would need it!!

[mike4947]

Like I said before, the roof CAN"T come crashing down. NO matter what you do or what happens as long as the door is in place. It will hold the roof up.

In 30 years there has only been one reported accident of a person being injured by a falling roof and that was a woman who went back into the trailer while her husband was cranking the roof down and a cable snapped. In that case even 4 corner blocks wouldn't have helped as then the roof couldn't have been lowered.

[GeneF]

"My dealer told me that they only come with Pop-ups that have A/C units."

Have to disagree with your dealer.  I had a 95 Rockwood that came with the u-shaped channels and I didn't have an a/c.

1990 Jayco and 98 Coleman Mesa didn't have the channel supports but the Rockwood did.

If I remember right, Jayco and Coleman claimed to have some sort of clutch mechanism to prevent the roof from coming down.

LOL  It is amazing how much weight the door can handle when you ae lowering the roof and the door is still in position.  The roof sure attains  a very funny angle.  Been there, done that.

[Seguinrv]

This concern comes up from time to time.
 
   In my fifteen years using PU's (one of them being a 1978 Palomino) and being a member of a number of pop-up forums much like this one, there was only one incident I can recall where the roof actually came crashing down. In this instance the door system was not in position, and the owner of the PU allowed the roof to become completely saturated with water, that the main cable could no longer support the weight of the roof, and snapped it. In this instance, proper maintenence and care surely would have prevented this from happening.

 But as the saying goes, "an ounce of prevention is better than a pound of cure"

 If you would feel more comfortable adding lifter locks, by all means add them.

Isn't it amazing how your mind can wonder when you are out under the big blue sky?  I suppose more than the mechanical breakdown probability, I worry about a 500 pound West Texas buzzard landing on the roof, bringing her down.  Gee these were really prompt and nice responses.  Thanks everyone for your hospitality.  I am the doubting Thomas,  so I suppose I ought to invest in those lift locks.  That will give me peace of mind.  Thanks for some useful information everyone.

- Seguinrv in Texas

One Princess, One Queen, One Me and One Boss Bigchihuahau
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