billboards hauler: homebuilt fiberlgass composite popup for flatbed tundra

[ripperj]

Looks awesome. How do the actuators seem? Think they are really good for 400#? I have a Popup hard side (Alaskan) and the roof is heavy( no clue really 500# would seem high). Even if the actuators are only good for 200# each I should be ok. Is the motor and gear box metal or plastic?
Thanks and have fun with it!

 

[bphang10]

Loving that taller entry door. We North Cackilacyians is smart and crafty. You sir should start your own business, wow nice build!

yep, i wanted as tall of a door as i could squeeze in there. hit my head plenty of times on my old camper. hmmm, as far as building these as business....i think i'm so slow i'd never make a dollar!

 

[bphang10]

This might be stating the obvious here but since you have those linear style roof lifters is there a need at all for latches to hold the roof down or do the lifters hold it tight?

i had been thinking i would not need them, but when i installed my actuators i found they did not move at same rate. pretty close going up but i have 1 slow actuator coming down. i installed a remote control that allows for all actuators to move at once or each one individually, and this has solved the problem. i take the roof down 1/2 way, adjust, then get it to within an inch or two from closing and adjust again. anyway, each actuator does not close at the exact same time, and if i misjudged too much i might get in a situation where it could pull the mount from the roof. also, if a small object was to get lodged between the roof and the wall, it could stop the roof from closing all the way yet the actuator would keep closing, and again, possibly pull the mount out. therefore, a built in about 1/2" of play in the actuator mount, thus, when fully closed, you can, with some effort, lift he roof about 1/2". the long of it is, i will be using tie down near the front. have not yet decided for the rear....i may test it a bit first with just the front.
westsyss had a similar issue in his build http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/threads/48351-out-with-the-old-in-with-the-new and thats where i got the idea to build in some play. his solution is a bit more elaborate and well designed than mine, but my roof is much smaller and lighter and i think will work fine.
i have also bought one spare actuator to carry as a safety. i will try this one in place of the "slow" one and maybe it will be closer in rate.

 

[bphang10]

Looks awesome. How do the actuators seem? Think they are really good for 400#? I have a Popup hard side (Alaskan) and the roof is heavy( no clue really 500# would seem high). Even if the actuators are only good for 200# each I should be ok. Is the motor and gear box metal or plastic?
Thanks and have fun with it!

my roof is light and there is no issue with lift or sag. that's 400/corner, so i'd think you'd be fine. the cylinder of the motor housing is aluminum and it has some kind of plastic where the housing meets the vertical cylinder. i did not break into them to see the gears as i was old that would void the warranty. the biggest issue with these in a softside popup is lateral movement. i had to do a lot to steady them laterally. i'm pretty sure that these by reico titan address that but i was already too far in with my build and they would not fit in the space allotted. i did speak with them and they said they would sell to the general public. http://www.truckcampermagazine.com/n...ew-lift-system

 

[bphang10]

insurance?

next order of business is insurance. i know it's been discussed but can't seem to find it. any tips on insuring a home built ?

 

[ripperj]

Thanks for the reply, what control did you end up with? I bought a PA25 , but it can only control the 4 in pairs of 2. I ordered 4 22" 400# from Progressive , they said they would try and match the speeds.

 

[bphang10]

Thanks for the reply, what control did you end up with? I bought a PA25 , but it can only control the 4 in pairs of 2. I ordered 4 22" 400# from Progressive , they said they would try and match the speeds.

i have the same actuators, but 20". you'd avoid a lot of hassle if the speed is pretty matched. this is the controls i got:
http://www.gamainc.com/site/epage/130316_941.htm

the first one i bought did not work right off the bat. second has worked perfectly since about june when i put the roof on. it's cycled well over 100 times. i do normally stand outside where i can observe well when raising/lowering.

 

[ripperj]

That control looks slick. Can you adjust individual actuator speeds? I may send mine back if you can.
I am curious what you find with insurance, I'm in the same boat. The replacement value of a new Alaskan with all the options I'm adding is over 30k, I definately don't have the time or money to replace it, even taking my labor out of the picture

 

[bphang10]

That control looks slick. Can you adjust individual actuator speeds? I may send mine back if you can.
I am curious what you find with insurance, I'm in the same boat. The replacement value of a new Alaskan with all the options I'm adding is over 30k, I definately don't have the time or money to replace it, even taking my labor out of the picture

you can not adjust the speed. you can activate all 4 actuators at one time....they will move at whatever their individual rate is, or you can activate one actuator at a time. works good for me as i can adjust lift as needed and even out roof easily. might also come in handy in case of uneven load, but i don't think a few surfboards and solar panel will have much effect. of course, one button that activated all 4 at same rate would be ideal.

 

[pods8]

Looks awesome. How do the actuators seem? Think they are really good for 400#? I have a Popup hard side (Alaskan) and the roof is heavy( no clue really 500# would seem high). Even if the actuators are only good for 200# each I should be ok. Is the motor and gear box metal or plastic?
Thanks and have fun with it!

I have some firgelli 400# units that I wanted to sorta test their capacity (and how much the amp draw varied between unloaded and heavy), I don't recall the exact weight but I clipped myself in a climbing harness (~190lb) and a backpack with bricks in it (in the maybe another 80lb off memory) and it lifted me up just fine.

 

[homemade]

Not that this adds anything relevant but as far as linear actuators go, I doubt if you need a spare to cover for a failure of the actuator. I have gate openers (GTO pro) for my driveway that are just linear actuators that open/close two 8 foot gate leaves often several times a day for the past 15 years without a failure.

 

[pods8]

Not that this adds anything relevant but as far as linear actuators go, I doubt if you need a spare to cover for a failure of the actuator. I have gate openers (GTO pro) for my driveway that are just linear actuators that open/close two 8 foot gate leaves often several times a day for the past 15 years without a failure.

Cheapish insurance to buy 5 at the same time to have a spare in case you're in the boonies if one fails and also so your potentially needed future spare is as similar as possible (in terms of speed, dimensions, etc.). These tend to run a bit over $100 so a small consideration in the grand scheme of a build.

 

[homemade]

Cheapish insurance to buy 5 at the same time to have a spare in case you're in the boonies if one fails and also so your potentially needed future spare is as similar as possible (in terms of speed, dimensions, etc.). These tend to run a bit over $100 so a small consideration in the grand scheme of a build.

And maybe the GTO pro is a more sturdy unit than most linear actuators but over the years maybe wear and tear will change performance so a replacement wouldn't be in sync with old units or you might want to change all of them out for a better alternative years down the line. For fun I calculated the open closed cycles of the actuators on my gate, average 4 cycles a day 7 days a week for 15 years is almost 22,000 open/close cycles and they are still going strong. If your linear actuators are even close to as being robust it seems like it would be an unlikely failure point.


I like the idea of linear actuators for a roof lift, not as a direct linear lift necessarily though. If I ever build another camper (doubtful) I will look into them further, probably as a lever assist for a gas spring setup.

 

[bphang10]

Glad to hear about the reliable service of your gate actuator. I'm not expecting any failure, but as I travel out of the country, a single failure is worth the $ for an extra. I already have it, hopefully never use it!


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[dyogim]

I read (and subscribed) the complete thread and I have to say the craftmanship is amazing and inspiring. Although I will not be going down this route, it has me thinking about building my own RTT big enough for 4. Maybe king size mattress. Currently researching and planning the layout. Hope to start building in a couple of weeks.