Hauling stuff on top of a pop-up camper?

[huntingislife]

Has anybody ever tried hauling stuff on the top of their pop-up camper? I dont know how strong the roofs are on these. Would it be possible to make a support system to evenly distribute the weight if needed? I am guessing I would need it to hold about 300 lbs.

[IFallsRon]

We used to bring a 14-foot cartopper boat on ours. I think you can put stuff on the roof as long as you spread out the weight and don't try to lift it.

[huntingislife]

Thanks kind of what I was figuring. I also read about concern of overloading the frame, tires, and axle of the camper as they are designed pretty light.

[minndonn]

I have hauled a 14 ft boat on a smaller Coleman camper for about 15 years along with some other small items on top. I had a boat carrier on it. I have also used a large car top bag but not with a lot of weight. I did have leaf springs break on the trailer after about 12 years. Not sure how much the additional weight mattered. I towed on many gravel roads and many miles to Yellowstone and black hills. The spread out weight did not create any problems nor did the boat carrier.

[Bobb-o]

Make sure you check on the capacity of the axle. the axle had to be replaced on my parents pop-up, as it was designed for only 300lbs more thanthe weight of the camper. The new one has double the capacity of the older one.

[Powerstroke]

Many should have a rating for the roof of the camper. Most car roofs are only capable of holding 100-150lbs so don't be surprised if your camper can't hold very much. They make mountable roof racks like for caras that you can put on their and take advantage of storage solutions like rocket boxes or soft bags. You can slo get the boat holding brackets for doing that as well as bike racks.

[huntingislife]

I dont own a camper yet but we are looking for one. So I havent been able to check them out very good yet. I need to haul a youth atv thats about 300 lbs and am trying to figure something out. There is no room in the truck because of the other atv and canoe/canoe rack. Hmmmm....

[Powerstroke]

Being an ATV actually complicated things more. You will need to tie that thing down with some pressure and since it has a suspension it will bounce which will put even more stress on the roof of that poor camper. I don't know the physics behind it, but you need to figure there will be at least double the pressure on the roof than the weight of the machine.

Time to trade in the popup for a toyhauler version. They still make popups with a deck for hauling atvs.

[huntingislife]

The only problem is we are only looking to spend a grand for a popup.

So no fancy toyhauler for me. Plus I dont have enough truck to pull one. Just a little more thinking. I am going to look at a popup tonight. That should help with some more ideas. There has to be a way.....

[IFallsRon]

Starcraft makes a tent camper with a front porch area that allows for hauling an ATV. They run around $10,000 or more.

[huntingislife]

I was planning on strapping it down from the axles, therefore pulling it more forward and backward rather than down. That should reduce the amount of pressure I create from strapping it down. I could also strap down the suspension so it doesnt bounce. I am sure the roof cargo ratings calculations include the extra force from the momentum of the load from road bumps. Maybe I can make some kind of platform that just lightly rests on the roof but has supports on the outside that tie into the frame. That way the roof only supports some of the load and the rest is on the frame.

[Dave]

How about hauling both ATVs across the truck bed? That would leave room for camping gear in the truck bed under the ATVs.

Just read your info some more. Then, maybe you can haul your canoe on top of the pop up trailer instead of the youth.

I've also seen ATVs hauled up on its back wheels, in a 45-degree position as well. Then the youth ATV can rest it's front wheels on the back rack of the larger ATV.

Just some ideas.

[huntingislife]

I thought about that, only I dont have a full-size truck. Not much room left in the box with the Polaris in there.