lifting the tent rack questions

[Naveronski]

Looks good. Looking forward to seeing what you mount, and where.

Those electric actuators look nice for my build, and I think the pair (one forward, one rear) would be enough.
Gas could be easy too, though.

 

[Hoghead]

I tried to mount one on the front and one rear, but it bound up. I did opposing corners though, mid points MIGHT work.

 

[high-and-dry]

you can by actuators that have a servo feedback and you can buy a controller that will independently run each one at the same speed so it wont bind up. Of course that adds cost and complexity

 

[colorado matt]

thanks guys ....plan is to mount one at each corner ... as far as progress the budget is shot for a while to get it to this point .... being a landscaper...winter is a time of tight budget .... it comes home tomorrow and will get cleaned and painted so it wont rust all winter .... leaning towards a good primer and bedliner-ish rattle can finish.... got all the wiring and lights to go on it .... have not purchased the skin yet ...going with king starboard .... screwed on and seam sealed ...hope to have that done over the winter .... build the fridge slide and battery and solar in the spring.... tent shortly after ....Matt

 

[colorado matt]

what say the brain trust about lubricating the sliding parts of the rack (down tubes) ....grease seems to be the obvious answer but that may just collect dust and make a big mess at camp when the rack is raised ....there are no boots or any thing that would seal those down tubes or the holes they are in .... thanks ...Matt

 

[high-and-dry]

For lube use wax, it works, wont make a big mess, and its cheap

 

[NatersXJ6]

Did you buy square tube intended to be telescopic, or did you use something off the rack? How tight is the fit?

 

[Naveronski]

Following this, looking forward to updates. I'll need to do the same thing.

 

[colorado matt]

ok found a wax recipe for lubricating.... thirds of paraffin oil ... wax...and xylene ... keep you posted on that ..... yes square tube for the telescoping parts....not sure what off the rack means in your question..... room for movement but not loose.... 1 1/2 tubes on the trailer ... rack is 1/14 .... it moves easily up and down if you have 2 people and you lift at the same time .... bad coordination can bind it .... a good lube will make it better ... i am having faith that the actuators will move at the same rate far better than myself and helper .... in hindsight i might have supported the rack with heim joints and that would lessen the worry about binding ... Matt

 

[jays0n]

This is very similar to my build. I used telescoping tubing with the larger diameter on top to help keep junk from building up inside the tube. The lower tubes have UHMW (ultra high molecular weight) polyethylene tape on all 4 sides and they seem to slide very well with no lubricant. I have 4 cheap linear actuators, one for each leg and they are NOT linked electronically like the expensive ones can be. Normally they all run mostly in sync but occasionally one will lag behind the others a second or two. I've never had any binding, it's always worked perfectly. I'm lifting a RTT, Awning, 100w solar panel and 80/20 slider, plus the tent has a memory foam topper mattress and an anti condensation mat inside. Including the rack I expect i'm lifting 250lbs or more.

 

[Land Shark]

Great start keep it up and keep us posted. For gas struts try https://www.liftsupportsdepot.com/ Seem to be reasonably priced...

 

[dstock]

ok found a wax recipe for lubricating.... thirds of paraffin oil ... wax...and xylene ... keep you posted on that ..... yes square tube for the telescoping parts....not sure what off the rack means in your question..... room for movement but not loose.... 1 1/2 tubes on the trailer ... rack is 1/14 .... it moves easily up and down if you have 2 people and you lift at the same time .... bad coordination can bind it .... a good lube will make it better ... i am having faith that the actuators will move at the same rate far better than myself and helper .... in hindsight i might have supported the rack with heim joints and that would lessen the worry about binding ... Matt

When you wire up the actuators, use the same length of wire for each actuator which will help keep them moving at close to the same pace. Heim joints will take out any issues with binding, that's the way I did mine and it worked well.

 

[colorado matt]

too late for the joints ...but i had no idea the length of wire would make a difference.....Matt

p.s. mixing my dry wax concoction this week

 

[Kmrtnsn]

This thread fascinates me because I ordered my trailer with a fixed high tube mount for my RTT. I'm afraid that it might be too tall for my garage once the RTT is affixed so having an idea for modifications or a change-up is a plus. Anxious to see the struts in play.

 

[high-and-dry]

p.s. mixing my dry wax concoction this week

You dont really need the xylene it will just make it go on "wetter" but will dry out to more a dry film as you know. I would go lighter on the paraffin oil at first, once its melted dip a butter knife in it and let it cool and see how it is. If its dryer than you want add more paraffin, but the dryer it is the less it will collect dust and wipe off on things.

The nice thing about wax based lubes is you dont need solvents to remove it, just scrape it off and reapply. Even scraped off it will still leave a film, your just kind of removing the surface with the dust in it.

You can also use alcohol as the "solvent", it will take longer to evaporate off but its cheaper.