Securing RTT to trailer unistrut

[thedoor]

Any feelings about whether i should secure the RTT to unistrut on the top (which is secured to the unistrut frame) or if i should remove those horizontal strips and bolt through the trailer roof (white) to the unistrut frame below?

I have t-nuts for the aluminium track on the tent (pictured below) which take M8 bolts.

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[NatersXJ6]

All of my tents have ridden around just fine using 1/4-20 StrutNuts and Grade 5 bolts with fender washers on the tent floor side. M8 is thicker than1/4. Alignment is much easier with the plastic cone nuts than the plain or the ones with springs. I wouldn’t try to go all the way through, unnecessary in my opinion.

Caution though, I’ve always used the tent factory mounting holes and aligned the struts under those. I don’t know the size of your trailer, but your struts “appear” to be very widely spaced in comparison to mine.

 

[thedoor]

This is where i am at. Bit of sagging on the unistrut cross beam but looks solid enough. Thoughts?

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[NatersXJ6]

Sagging is unacceptable. That will collapse on potholes or highway bumps. You need a load factor of safety of about 4-6x for dynamic loads. I would not run that myself.

I recommend that you swap that to full-depth or even doubled up full depth Unistrut.

Do you know the width of the strut? The allowable spans are easily found in the Unistrut catalog.

IIRC the load carrying capacity of full depth (1-5/8” 12 ga) is about 800 lbs at 48”. Verify all internet opinions.

 

[thedoor]

Decided to switch out the cross beam for thicker gauge unistrut that has much great bending tolerance

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[thedoor]

Sagging is unacceptable. That will collapse on potholes or highway bumps. You need a load factor of safety of about 4-6x for dynamic loads. I would not run that myself.

I recommend that you swap that to full-depth or even doubled up full depth Unistrut.

Do you know the width of the strut? The allowable spans are easily found in the Unistrut catalog.

IIRC the load carrying capacity of full depth (1-5/8” 12 ga) is about 800 lbs at 48”. Verify all internet opinions.

Cheers. The span is 49 inches. According to this page the beam loading on the thicker unistrut is 850lbs at 48in. Sound about right?

P1000 - 1-5/8" x 1-5/8", 12 Ga, Solid

www.unistrut.biz

The tent is 135lb + racks and me and my wife weigh 310lbs total.

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[NatersXJ6]

Yes, but you still need to create strong corner joints. Some sort of triangulation is important because your concerns are more than just dead weight in the downward direction.

I suspect that if you go out and push sideways on the trailer right now, it will wobble side to side. Those bent Unistrut 90 angles really aren’t meant to hold dynamic loads. It might work fine, I really can’t say without seeing it in person, but I can say that a failure will either hurt you or your wallet pretty badly, so put some time into getting it right.

 

[thedoor]

Maybe something like this for the corners?

P1000 - 1-5/8" x 1-5/8", 12 Ga, Solid

www.unistrut.biz

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[NatersXJ6]

I’ve always welded them, but If I was using only Unistrut commercial fittings, I would probably try to adapt the P-1075 bracket, or at an absolute minimum, use the P-2452 knee braces. The P-1779 brackets might be a nice middle ground. If you are using what is available at big box stores, maybe you get some of the right angle side brackets and drill and bolt them through the sides of the strut to stiffen the corner.

I’m remembering all the part numbers after skimming the part Catalog, so don’t quote me on exact numbers but look through the Bracket and Brace section for some triangulation.

 

[thedoor]

Thanks it seems pretty solid, but i may do that upgrade.

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[thedoor]

Coleman versa trailer with freespirit recreation Odyssey

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[thedoor]

Forgot images

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