Roof Rack Weight Capacity

I am new to the forum, and hopefully soon a new Camp Inn owner. Can anyone speak to the weight capacity of the roof of a 560? We have two kids that will be in the bunks, but only for a few years until they are too big. I am wondering how much weight the roof can hold to see if a roof top tent is a long term solution for our family as our kids grow. I know that Vistabule just started offering the roof rack option on their tear drops and the weight capacity is only 165 lbs. With a 115 lbs roof top tent, that doesn't leave a lot of weight bearing capacity leftover for the kids. I am wondering if due to the more solid build of a Camp Inn, there is also a higher weight capacity.

 

CI offers a RTT now.

Yakima Skyrise Roof Tent -
Mount on your Raindrop or Teardrop to increase sleeping room. Light, strong, and technically advanced. The 210D nylon is light and breathable with mesh panels for ventilation and star gazing. The weather-shedding rainfly has a waterproof PU coating and for warm, clear evenings, leave it off for a faster set-up and a wide-open view. Trailer must have roof rack option installed. Bed Size: 54" x 96" 2.5" Mattress, Ladder included, Easy to pitch. (Tent may be mounted on car too.)

 

I can't speak to the specifics, but be aware that there are both static (non-moving) and dynamic (moving) load considerations. Think 150 lbs of kayaks, for example, bombing down the highway at 70 mph - passing a semi truck - while going over a bump --> going to "feel" heavier than 150 lbs. So, something with a dynamic capacity of 150 lbs - can actually hold more while stationary because it doesn't need to handle all the stresses and forces applied while moving - and rooftop tents spread the load out fairly evenly over the bars. I assume (based only on what you have written) that the capacity you quoted is the dynamic load rating.

Thule partially covers this on their site (they are talking about the bars themselves though) - Can my Thule crossbars carry the weight of my rooftop tent?

My advice would be to contact the manufacturer and pose the question to them - "I would want to mount a rooftop tent to the roof rack (notionally this one which weights 120 lbs dry)... of course insert your preferred rtt there... and sleep two teenagers notionally 165 lbs each). Can the trailer/roof rack safely handle this load?"

As per the previous response - the 560 should not have any issues with this.

 

Hello! We got a RTT put on recently (James Baroud Horizon Vision). It's only about 90 lbs. Cary and team installed the roof rack for us and installed the tent and it's all working out very well. They had to put spacers in to lift the roof rack up a bit so the fan on the roof could still open up. More info than you asked for, but thought I'd share. I'm pretty sure Cary said 500 lbs is the suggested max for the top. I am 185 lbs and my son is about 50 lbs and we both sleep up there no problem.

 

I can corroborate a lot of the info here. Yes, a 560 can handle a roof top tent-in fact, CI even offers a specific tent for sale on their site. We recently purchased a 560 with roof rack factory installed and added a Tepui Autana 3 person roof top tent. We are a family of 5. The two adults sleep in the CI, the 10, 12, and 14 year old kiddos sleep up in the 'treehouse.'

Dynamic weight limit of a roof rack system is how much weight you can carry on the rack while driving. Static weight limit of a roof rack system is how much weight the rack/vehicle can handle when not in transit. This is irrelevant for kayaks-it's not like your kayak gets lighter when you drive. But it is very relevant for a roof top tent b/c you add weight to the tent when you go stationary and you put people and gear in it.

I was advised by CI when we were doing our research that the roof rack option we went with could handle 220 pounds dynamic, and our tent weighs around 150. The static weight limit was advised at 250 pounds. This might seem like we only have 100 pounds of capacity for putting people in the tent-but not so fast. As long as the roof top tent unfolds and is supported with a ladder on the ground (a ladder that bears weight), then the ladder holds roughly half the weight of the tent and the roof rack holds the remaining half of the weight. So really our weight capacity is 500 pounds, provided we meet the very real caveat of using the right style of tent.

The right style of tent means a roof top tent that unfolds to the left or right-if one mounts it to unfold to the rear there would be signifiant interference with the galley hatch. The unfolded half of the tent needs to have a weight-bearing ladder. This means a tent that just 'pops up' without unfolding will be much more limited by the roof rack's weight restriction. The bonus of having a tent unfold to the left or right is that you instantly gain a bit of an awning over one of your side doors.

Be advised that we had a bit of a snafu when installing the roof top tent we selected (this is what happens when the goofy customer goes and purchases a third party accessory that the manufacturer doesn't validate as compatible ahead of time). As someone mentioned above, our tent sits too low on the roof rack to allow the vent fan lid to open enough to run the fan. The incredibly gracious folks at CI immediately owned this as their problem (which is some grade A customer service if you ask me) and took the dimensions down to fabricate some spacers that raise the floor of our tent up about a half an inch. That's all it took, and now the fan opens enough to run properly. Seriously, I'd like to see Forest River match that kind of responsiveness.

A final note - I have read somewhere that the best way to go about this is to have a roof rack installed at the factory when the trailer is manufactured. This is not anything I was officially told by actual employees of CI, but something I came across in my research. It was suggested that the CI folks have some specific parameters and mounting points for the roof rack in order to best take advantage of the structural integrity of the camper and offer the highest possible payload capacity. Bottom line: best case scenario is have the roof rack built into a new trailer at the factory. Second best scenario (if buying used) is to have an RV service center communicate directly with CI to get the skinny on the ideal mounting instructions. Third best scenario is to do it yourself, with CI guidance...I guess that means fourth best is to do it yourself, damn the torpedoes and hope your tent doesn't rip off the trailer while rolling down the interstate.

I tried uploading a photo here, which I often don't have success with. I can share more images via direct message or another communication platform if you want to see what our setup is.

 

Hey Dirty6...I think y'all got to CI the week before we did this past summer. Cary said he cut our spacers out at the same time as yours while he was at it. We're lovin' the setup. My wife keeps saying our only regret is not getting a teardrop sooner.

I didn't explain for jbela, but our 560 is a 12-2015 build, so a roof rack can be put on a used one. We were most comfortable having CI install it,so we made a family vacation out of it.

 

How about that! Small world.

 

This is an amazing response! Thank you! You answered questions I didn't even know I had.