# raft on top of pop-up camper



## El Flaco (Nov 5, 2003)

Id suspect that the top of the trailer can handle the added weight, because it's widely distributed. The only concern I'd have is the wheel / axle weight rating. You might also experience more sway because of the added wind drag. 

I'd double check on what the springs and tires on the pop-up can handle, then shop aftermarket parts for beefier springs and / or a higher rated tire to get at least 10%-15% more capacity over the maximum combined weight of the trailer and raft. Trailer brakes might be a good thing too.


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## Osprey (May 26, 2006)

I've done it a lot with fishing pontoons but never my raft. I don't even think the weight would be an issue, although could be a factor depending on whether or not your pop-up top is metal or the plastic stuff (crack?). I've seen it done a couple times with smaller fishing rigs. 

My issue would be more with getting it on and off. Paddle raft, no problem, but add a frame and possibly fishing seats on there and you are going to need six guys just to get it up and down. Not to mention the hassle of having to have the camper to move it around, which means setting up and tearing down the camper every night and morning. Pop ups are great but better for base camping than mobility imho. 

I'm starting to lean much more toward setting up my pop up to triple tow with raft trailer or just tenting it those nights than dealing with the pop up and the raft at the same time. Every setup has pros and drawbacks with camping rigs, seems like a truck with a slide in would be better, I added my raft setup long after having a popup though.


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## kevdog (Jun 7, 2007)

Osprey said:


> I've done it a lot with fishing pontoons but never my raft. I don't even think the weight would be an issue, although could be a factor depending on whether or not your pop-up top is metal or the plastic stuff (crack?). I've seen it done a couple times with smaller fishing rigs.
> 
> My issue would be more with getting it on and off. Paddle raft, no problem, but add a frame and possibly fishing seats on there and you are going to need six guys just to get it up and down. Not to mention the hassle of having to have the camper to move it around, which means setting up and tearing down the camper every night and morning. Pop ups are great but better for base camping than mobility imho.
> 
> I'm starting to lean much more toward setting up my pop up to triple tow with raft trailer or just tenting it those nights than dealing with the pop up and the raft at the same time. Every setup has pros and drawbacks with camping rigs, seems like a truck with a slide in would be better, I added my raft setup long after having a popup though.


Yeah, I've wondered about how manageable a oar rig with frame would be when taking it on and off a camper. I might pull the frame off and just have the raft on the camper and the frame in the back of my truck or something.


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## lhowemt (Apr 5, 2007)

We put my cat on top of our camper, even though the mfgr says it is a no no. We're probably going to get the rack which is recommended, and it'll be fine. I think our roof is rated to 200lbs at least, 100lb per bar. We have an E3 FWIW. We then shuttle the cat either on the roof of the van, or with other people. I usually only bring the camper when I know there'll be other people with shuttle rigs, or enough people to get the cat on the roof of the van. Our van is really tall and so it takes 4 of us to do it. I've thought about getting a folding trailer to bring along and use as a shuttle trailer, but at some point more crap just means more to take care of, fail, maintain, etc.


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## gobigohome (Jul 18, 2007)

*No Problems Except....*

I have put anything from my rafts, kayaks, skis, gear, full coolers on top of our pop up camper. We have yakima bars mounted with a cargo box we use to mount everything on. We have had no problems with top of camper or the bars being able to handle the weight. We just make sure to take anything really heavy off previous to poping the camper. 

All was good untill... 

My wife and I were on 5 week road trip from Cleveland, OH over to CO, UT, NV, CA, OR, WA, ID, MN, ND, SD Then back to CLeveland. After visiting with My Wifes parents in Seattle we were on our way back to Cleveland hitting some ski resorts on the way. We had the my tahoe and camper loaded to the brim from camping skiing and climbing gear to growlers from breweries around the country. When I notices some rubbing on the right tire of the camper in the middle of North Dakota. It was the middle of Dec. to it was freakin cold being out in Walmart parking lot trying to jack the camper up and see what was going on. Everything looked okay so we popped the camper and slept for the night. We were leaving the walmart park the next morning when the right spring broke and gave loose. Well you can imagine how much energy was released when that spring broke pushing the camper about eight feet in the air. My wife was shocked and all I could do was laugh it was rediculus. Once a big ordeal with getting the camper back to my house in Cleveland I was able to upgrade the camper spings. 

So I guess what Im saying is the camper can handle extra loads for a short time. If prolonged loads are expected you should try and replace the original springs with ones that are have a higher load capacity. I got mine from JC Whitney for 180.00 for the set and they bolted right in, took about 1 hour to jack the trailer up and replace the bushing. You can also add a set of airbags. These will need to have power to them. You will be able to turn them on when you have a heavy load. This does not help the overall strenth of the spring so the ends will not be stronger there will just be less flex in the spring. This also does not address the fact the axle is not built up. 

This is all based on opinion and every camper would be different, but i can say it was a pain in the ass having to deal with that on long distance trip.


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## Osprey (May 26, 2006)

go bigs story reminded me of a problem I had on a long trip. I didn't have anything on top but had the empty space on the inside loaded down pretty heavy. I was driving from Denver to Phoenix spending a couple weeks taking back roads through SW CO. At some point in the trip I had enough weight in there and probably rough roads one of the tires wore a hole in the plastic wheel well. Luckily nothing on the inside of that cabinet got damaged.

I've had a lift kit on it subsequently for so long I had forgotten that happened. Even if you don't get heavier springs right away might want to flip your axle to get a few more inches of clearance.


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## Avatard (Apr 29, 2011)

Don't flip your axle if it is cambered. Otherwise top of wheels will toe in

Proper method is to reposition the mounting plate so the springs rest atop the axle. This usually involves grinding off welds and rewriting so consult with MFG first


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## Avatard (Apr 29, 2011)

Rewelding not rewriting


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## gobigohome (Jul 18, 2007)

agreed about doing the axle swap(remounting the axle below the springs to gain clearence). I did this to my camper previous to the spring blowout. It did not cause the spring to malfuntion, but it also did not help..it gave more clearence for the tire to articulate up into the wheel well and with the constant extra weight that was on the trailer the spring could not handle it and finally broke right were the u-bolts connect to the axle. Thats why I could not see the stress cracks when I jack it up the first time.


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## Salto (Mar 16, 2004)

*Popup*

We did this last year. Works great for a no frame Non-loaded raft. Otherwise on our camper, the bars were about 5'+ off the ground and getting the raft up there and down was near impossible. Usually it was just my wife and I. With lots of guys would be okay. Problem is that you have to take it off when you get somewhere to popup the camper. Then shuttle-ing is an issue. We never tried with our larger raft, only our small 12-footer. Found it easier to just roll up.


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## kevdog (Jun 7, 2007)

gobigohome said:


> I have put anything from my rafts, kayaks, skis, gear, full coolers on top of our pop up camper. We have yakima bars mounted with a cargo box we use to mount everything on. We have had no problems with top of camper or the bars being able to handle the weight. We just make sure to take anything really heavy off previous to poping the camper.
> 
> All was good untill...
> 
> ...



Thanks for the info, sounds like it's a tradeoff, but doable. I've also considered putting in one of those "carpenter racks" for my truck, and then have another option for transporting the raft..

GoBig, question for you I've always wondered about. Sounds like you used your popup during Winter, how was that experience and what's the minimum temp you could stay comfortable in it?


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## Osprey (May 26, 2006)

No heater? 

Mine will run pretty constantly when the snow is falling, only question is how many nights your batteries can hold out.


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## gobigohome (Jul 18, 2007)

We have been in the camper in some pretty low temps...in Telluride it was in the negatives by 4am camper inside was around 45-50 degrees. Normally when we do ski trips its in the mid 20s and the camper stays at 65-70 degrees. Once the temp outside gets down below freezing the heat will run pretty much all the time. There is two negatives to this, you go threw a crap load of propane and when propane goes from the tank to valves and regulator it compresses when it compresses it gets cold and can freeze the regulater and not let any propane to get to the heater, the cold also compresses the propane that it the tank. I know this because we have been in some cold temps and had the propane freeze on us and not have any heat or a stove to cook on. To combat this (depending on if you have power at the camp site) we will put a heat lamp on the regulator the it will not freeze. If your propane tank is in a enclosed space I have used a heating pad wrapped around the tank to keep it from freezing. We have a small generator we carry with us which can power both if needs when we don't have power. 

All in all the camper works in cold temps but it is a pain in the ass and is essentially just a tent with a warmer floor. But it worked for us and we have gotten to due alot of things with it.


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## Jensjustduckie (Jun 29, 2007)

Is it safe to sleep with a propane heater on? I've never done it because when I was in HS I lost a friend who died in her sleep because she fell asleep with a propane heater on in her pop up camper and the heater filled the camper with CO. 

Are heaters safer now or something?


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## kevdog (Jun 7, 2007)

interesting, thanks...


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## lhowemt (Apr 5, 2007)

He's probably talking about the integral propane furnace (safe), and not a separate propane heater (not so safe). I'm 99% sure the furnaces do not blow the combustion products into the space, and most trailers are adamant not to use propane heater inside. However it seems to be more because of the excess of moisture created on the fabric.


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## Osprey (May 26, 2006)

Jensjustduckie said:


> Is it safe to sleep with a propane heater on? I've never done it because when I was in HS I lost a friend who died in her sleep because she fell asleep with a propane heater on in her pop up camper and the heater filled the camper with CO.
> 
> Are heaters safer now or something?


Sorry about your friend....

Do you know if theirs was just a heater that attached to a tank or built in to the camper? I think most of the built in ones today are safe but of course malfunctions can happen. These are built in, forced air and thermostat controlled. All campers must now also have CO detectors for safety.


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## Jensjustduckie (Jun 29, 2007)

It was a separate propane fueled heater - not one that was built into the trailer, pretty sure it was a Wal Mart brand type heater. Sounds like freestanding combustion heaters + sleeping in an enslosed area = bad times.


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## jpbay (Jun 10, 2010)

Jensjustduckie said:


> Is it safe to sleep with a propane heater on? I've never done it because when I was in HS I lost a friend who died in her sleep because she fell asleep with a propane heater on in her pop up camper and the heater filled the camper with CO.
> 
> Are heaters safer now or something?


 Sorry to hear that! A co2 censor may have helped,if you have a camper or trailor.Test them!


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## MountainMedic (Apr 24, 2010)

Scares the hell out of me... I have responded on several hunters who have died/wrecked themselves that way. Almost every time they also did something else stupid, like cover all the vents in an attempt to stave off the cold. Dumb way to die.


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## gobigohome (Jul 18, 2007)

The camper heaters heat tubes and all the exhaust is blown out the side of the camper. there is a fan that blows over the heated tubes and pushes the heat inside, so none of the fumes make it inside of the camper. 

We also have a blue flame heater we have used in cabins and more ventilated spaces. Some of the blue flames are now rated for bedroom use, where as before they were only supposed to be used for open living areas. These are now 99.9 percent efficient. They do not produce much byproduct but they still use the oxygen in the air which can be just as bad.


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## watermonkey (Aug 11, 2009)

Some of the new tent type propane heaters are catalytic, example being some of the Coleman and Little Buddy heaters. They do NOT give off Carbon Monoxide, that is why they are so cool and are relatively safe to use in confined spaces, provided there is a fresh source of O2. The catalytic process does consume O2, so some fresh air is needed, but CO poisoning is not an issue. Some of the little buddy systems have an O2 sensor and the unit will shut down if it drops below a certain level. I've used these in tents, campers and under toppers. I've kept a 3 season tent at 55 degrees while it was 10 degrees outside and was a very happy camper. They are worth every penny when car camping. Just make sure you get the right kind of heater...both companies make non-catalytic heaters that do give off CO, and then you will die.


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## gobigohome (Jul 18, 2007)

Great post on mentioning the catalytic heaters that do not produce the CO and the O2 sensor is worth every penny.


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