OK need help .... please

[gr8lite]

I want to put a storage box on the roof of me Coleman camper. Can I just drill and bolt? Are there supports in the roof? Whats the skinny on this?
 Thanks to all who can help.

[brainpause]

What kind of camper? What kind of roof? What kind of storage box? How much weight?

Larry

[gr8lite]

Its a Coleman Cedar

 The roof is some type of plastic material (pebble finish)

 Cargo box = 20#'s  cargo in box ? 50# ? maybe more if possible.....

  Thanks

[tlhdoc]

What year is your camper?  Does the roof have a seam down the middle of it?

[gr8lite]

OK sorry , its a 1995 Coleman Cedar. Yes I believe it has a seam down the middle front to back.
 Without seeing any replies leaning towards this being a doable thing I will probably scrap the idea and build a box on the tongue and a box to mount to the rear bumper.
 I was going to build a gas grill holder on the rear bumper , but I need storage more than I need a big grill.

 Thanks to all !

[mike4947]

Normally a cargo carrier would nor be mounted directly to the roof. Common procedure would be to add roof racks jsut like you would on a TV and then mount the cargo carrier to the rack. Your roof has a 300 pound closed limit and a 150 pound open limit. So any cargo carrier would have to be emptied before raising the roof.

As for adding weight to the rear of the trailer it is VERY easy to turn the trailer into one that is untowable. Any weight added to the rear of the trailer takes weight off the trailer tongue. If adding weight to both the front and back first thing is to get the trailer weighed to find out just ho close to the GVWR and GAWR of the trailer.

[gr8lite]

I guess if you own a pop-up then you are requred to have a quad cab 8' bed truck to carry more than 2 days worth of stuff! I see a/c units on pop p roofs ALOT! Let me guess those are made of titanium .........
 You can't add any weight to the front of back of a pop up!!!! yea those gas grills are lead lined! Whats a grill weigh , 50-75#........ If that makes your trailer "untowable" you better get a hotel room!
 What do all of you camp within city limits so you can drive and buy everything you need?

 Just about done with this forum , and all its great help!!!!

[NadMat]

I guess if you own a pop-up then you are requred to have a quad cab 8' bed truck to carry more than 2 days worth of stuff! I see a/c units on pop p roofs ALOT! Let me guess those are made of titanium .........
 You can't add any weight to the front of back of a pop up!!!! yea those gas grills are lead lined! Whats a grill weigh , 50-75#........ If that makes your trailer "untowable" you better get a hotel room!
 What do all of you camp within city limits so you can drive and buy everything you need?

 Just about done with this forum , and all its great help!!!!

sorry you're not getting the answers you wanted, but mikes advice was spot on.

Your trailer is limited to a certain max weight and you must keep unloaded trailer weight plus all cargo and supplies carried under that. In addition you need to balance that weight out front to back and side to side for proper safe towing.

If you want to strap a 60 lb grill to the back of the pup, and carry a couple of big full water jugs on a platform on the tongue, you will probably be ok, but if you hang them all on the back your tongue weight will be to low, maybe even negative. You are fine if when finished loading, the tongue weight is within proper limits (usually 10-15% of gross trailer weight) and overall loaded trailer weight is within trailer limits, and side to side weighting fairly equal and all these are within limits of TV.

As for the A/C units on roof, they are less than the 150 lb raised limit, and you must subtract their weight from total roof cargo weight to figure how much you can add in carrier and cargo to be removed before raising. The roofs are also usually stressed or braced to support that weight. If you do add a cargo carrier be sure to make sure weight is carried on box rails, not on central roof area.

On my current trailer rebuild, I am planning on upgrading to carry more weight on trailer, and carry it above trailer by using mounting points on new reinforced frame to mount a detachable carrier to be removed or swung away somehow prior to setting up camper.

I tow mine with an '85 4Runner, or sometimes a '90 Dakota convertible 4X.

[wavery]

I guess if you own a pop-up then you are requred to have a quad cab 8' bed truck to carry more than 2 days worth of stuff! I see a/c units on pop p roofs ALOT! Let me guess those are made of titanium .........
 You can't add any weight to the front of back of a pop up!!!! yea those gas grills are lead lined! Whats a grill weigh , 50-75#........ If that makes your trailer "untowable" you better get a hotel room!
 What do all of you camp within city limits so you can drive and buy everything you need?

 Just about done with this forum , and all its great help!!!!

gr8lite

I'm sorry that you took the recommendations in a negative manner. There are a lot of members here that have some technical knowledge and try to help out others by answering questions as best they can. However, anything posted are merely individual opinions and no one is trying to tell you what to do.

My take on Mike's post was that he was telling you that it is acceptable to do what you are thinking of dong. He said, "Your roof has a 300 pound closed limit and a 150 pound open limit." It seems to me that is well within what you want to do. The roof rack is recommended to distribute the load over the top so that you are not putting a load concentrated in a small area that may damage your roof. I thought that was a helpful suggestion.

As far as mounting something on the rear bumper of your PU, I think that if you put a 50# item on your rear bumper, it may only reduce your tongue weight by about 30# or less. Your axle is the fulcrum point and it is located aft of center. You would merely need to put that weight on the rear and measure your tongue weight. The concern is that if your tongue weight is too low, you may experience trailer sway. This will very by TV.

Good luck

[hansar]

gr8lite

I'm sorry that you took the recommendations in a negative manner. There are a lot of members here that have some technical knowledge and try to help out others by answering questions as best they can. However, anything posted are merely individual opinions and no one is trying to tell you what to do.

My take on Mike's post was that he was telling you that it is acceptable to do what you are thinking of dong. He said, "Your roof has a 300 pound closed limit and a 150 pound open limit." It seems to me that is well within what you want to do. The roof rack is recommended to distribute the load over the top so that you are not putting a load concentrated in a small area that may damage your roof. I thought that was a helpful suggestion.

As far as mounting something on the rear bumper of your PU, I think that if you put a 50# item on your rear bumper, it may only reduce your tongue weight by about 30# or less. Your axle is the fulcrum point and it is located aft of center. You would merely need to put that weight on the rear and measure your tongue weight. The concern is that if your tongue weight is too low, you may experience trailer sway. This will very by TV.

Good luck

I am new to this and we are going on  a trip Thurs.  My husband just rigged and piece of wood to the front of the PU trailer (where the propane would go) and put his motor scooter there.  Are you all saying that we have too much weight if there isn't anything to even it out on the back?  We also had an airconditioner put in it last summer.  I don't know anything about the weight of the camper.  All I know is it is an '86 coleman and we pull it with a '00 Astro.  Sorry for the silly questions but just wondering.  We got it hooked up last night and drove it around and it seemed to handle pretty well just like before we added the scooter.  Thank you for any replies!

[Kelly]

I would guess (and others will correct me if I guess wrong!) that you will be fine.  If I'm reading your post right you don't have any propane tanks ... having a scooter there instead shouldn't change your tongue weight too much.

As they say ~ knowledge is power.  Weigh your rig if you are at all concerned.



Wavery ~ very well put.  Last I checked nobody here tells anybody else what to do.  Sometimes the answers to our questions are not the ones we want to hear.[/FONT]

[hansar]

I would guess (and others will correct me if I guess wrong!) that you will be fine.  If I'm reading your post right you don't have any propane tanks ... having a scooter there instead shouldn't change your tongue weight too much.

As they say ~ knowledge is power.  Weigh your rig if you are at all concerned.



Wavery ~ very well put.  Last I checked nobody here tells anybody else what to do.  Sometimes the answers to our questions are not the ones we want to hear.[/FONT]

Thank you!  Correct, no propane.  Hubby chose scooter over cooking with the stove!    My husband isn't concerned about it but I worry about EVERYTHING!  So this puts me a little more at ease!
Thanks!

[wavery]

Thank you!  Correct, no propane.  Hubby chose scooter over cooking with the stove!    My husband isn't concerned about it but I worry about EVERYTHING!  So this puts me a little more at ease!
Thanks!

It is better to have too much tongue weight than too little. Of course, you want to be careful not to exceed your max tongue weight rating.  

[tlhdoc]

I guess if you own a pop-up then you are requred to have a quad cab 8' bed truck to carry more than 2 days worth of stuff!

Not at all.  Where did you get that from?
 

I see a/c units on pop p roofs ALOT! Let me guess those are made of titanium .........

RV AC units usually weigh between 100 and 125 pounds.  Under the 300/150 pound weight restriction on the roof.
 

You can't add any weight to the front of back of a pop up!!!! yea those gas grills are lead lined! Whats a grill weigh , 50-75#........ If that makes your trailer "untowable" you better get a hotel room!

I didn't see anyone say that you can't add any weight to the front or rear of a PU.  Most people have a propane tank or two and a battery on the tongue.  Fewer people install anything on the rear though.  The bumpers are not very strong and weight placed on the rear of the PU removes weight from the tongue of the PU.  As long as you keep the proper amount of weight on the tongue of the trailer, you can carry stuff on the rear.
 

What do all of you camp within city limits so you can drive and buy everything you need?

No I have never camped with in city limits, at least not that I know of.  Most of my camping is in state and national parks.
 

Just about done with this forum , and all its great help!!!!

Sorry to see you go.  I guess all you wanted was someone to tell you to go ahead and do it.  So I will.  Do what you want with your camper.  If you don't want to hear others opinions don't ask.  Good luck with your camping and have a good time.

[gr8lite]

Well this was the initial question!

  "I want to put a storage box on the roof of me Coleman camper. Can I just drill and bolt? Are there supports in the roof? Whats the skinny on this?
Thanks to all who can help."

  I also added the total weight would be 100# or less total  of box and contents!

  Not a single reply gave ANY indication of how the roof structure is, or the proper mounting of something (a/c as example) to the roof! All the replies have been don't do this , don't do that , assuming answers without reading weights I had posted !

 I was merely trying to determine how people mount things to the roof!!!

  Sorry I offended everyone who's general guess was that anyone who posts a question had no idea regarding trailers , towing ,  or anything mechanical!

 The next time I have a technical question I'll be sure to give my complete resume , and tecnical backround!!

 I'll just call the dealer locally maybe I can get an actual answer to my question rather than be degraded by people who apparantly don't themselves know the answer yet insist on posting useless replies!!