Has anyone tried mounting a kayak rack on top of a pop up camper? If so what type or band of rack did you use? And any tips / advice on installation would be appreciated.
Thanks.
When we had our pop-up…
I had Yakama Cross bars on the aluminum hard top, and I sometimes carried two kayaks with saddles, and other times a canoe in the center and two bikes , (one on each side with Yakama bike racks)
Just make sure you mount the kayaks back far enough, so they don't come in contact with your tow vehicle on a tight turn.
Jack L
ive always
Wanted to do it, I just didn’t want to drill the roof. If I was going to, I think I would just build my own with aluminium square tube. Please report back if you do it.
Ryan L.
Drilling the roof
On my company work trucks, I've always had to mount a thick steel plate to the roof of the aluminum topper so I'd have a place to mount a magnetic flashing light. I just smear some silicone sealant on the contact surface and bolt it down, using strips of steel on the underside through which to run the clamping bolts. I found out by accident, when trying to transfer the steel plate from an old truck to a new one, that it can't be done. The adhesion of the sealant is far stronger than the aluminum. I certainly never had any leaks.
If one were to mount crossbars this way, you'd ideally put the cross-bar mounts directly over whatever framework is present below the aluminum skin, perhaps even drilling into those frame sections or devising a clamping method to enclose them within your improvised mounting hardware (the second option would be stronger, but that might be over-kill). This should be an easy project for someone who's done some metal fabricating, perhaps not so for someone who hasn't. I'd be surprised if Thule/Yakima haven't come up with a pickup-topper solution that would work fine on a pop-up camper.
When I did mine, yakama sold a kit …
with a plate and instructions.
The first hole hurts the worst, and then you are a “pro” after that.
jack L
If you know someone who works at
a camper manufacturing company, they might be a good source as some folks order their pop-ups with bike and boat carrying assemblies prior to shipment to the dealer.
Another option is if you see a set up at a campground talk to the owner and perhaps they'd have some feedback or allow you to check their rig out.