DIY RV Kayak Rack plans

I don't really think you will get much more different input than what you already have. You have three pages of responses, and without pictures, or more details about your project (which I clearly understand why you don't publish them), I don't see any more input coming that could be helpful. Seeing that you don't care for most of what you have received, I guess it is time to close this one.
Barney

Ok, ok point taken, lets move on. Other input is welcomed.

RV kayak traveler wrote:
So, if I understand you correctly, house plans as an example would fall into the situation you speak of. That the designer of the home is liable when they "sell" their plans to a perspective homeowner. That by me offering a "design" for a two place RV verticle kayak rack, makes the designer liable. I guess I would like to know the legal doctrine you speak of. Again thanking you for your input, but your off the topic of my original request.

Besides, there are legal avenues you have, like LLC's etc., if that was to become an issue .My main reason for wanting to offer the plans, was to give RVers the alternative to the very expensive options currently on the market. I believe for that subset of DIYer, these would be an added option.

If someone purchases house plans, they need to meet the local codes before you could obtain a permit. Most places require those house plans to have a professional engineer stamp and statement saying they meet xxx design specs. For example, the roof trusses for my shop had plans that were PE stamped and approved by county building. If the roof truss failed, it could very well come back on the engineer, especially if he made an error on his calculations.

I'm sure you'll be fine and no one would ever sue you over some DYI plans, regardless of where the fault lies..

goducks10 wrote:

hawkeye-08 wrote:
Unless you are a professional engineer (with proper credentials) and have business insurance to cover the liability, I would suggest you share what you have done and enjoy the positive feedback. Selling homebrew plans is not a good idea in today's sue happy environment.

If you are a professional and want to make it a business, then by all means go for it.

I'm not sure that is true. Go to YouTube and watch anyone build anything. They'll tell you how to do it and actually do it in front of you. Not much different than buying some plans and DIY. You're still relying on someone to furnish the plan. When I redid our shower at home I watched numerous YouTube vids on how to do it. Lots of different ideas as to materials and such. Reality is it all comes down to the person doing the building. How can I blame someone for my failures?

Big difference between watching a youtube video and purchasing plans. When you purchase something, it is expected that it meets acceptable design criteria for the intended use. If the kayak rack was shown on youtube as "here is how I did it", a different story.

In following up on your post, I carry 10' kayaks vertically, along with a plug in off the shelf 4 position bike rack. I limit my height to the 10', because of the height of my motorhome being approx. 11ft high.

The length limit you should carry would be determined by your motorhomes'/5th wheel height, which many 5th wheels be much taller than the average class C I see going down the road IMO.

this post needs pictures of said rack holding kayaks. nothing specific.

JMO from a kayaker and welder. If someone owns a welder then more than likely they're pretty adept at building things. I don't think anyone with a welder would need plans to build most anything out of metal. Most people that buy a welder do so to weld something fairly substantial or for the likely hood that they'll be doing future welding projects. Welders aren't cheap so it's an investment that would get used a lot. I've been welding for 44 years. I fab my own stuff. Only time I look at a plan is to get an idea on how someone else built something. Having multiple ideas is beneficial IMO.

I think the market for your rack is slim to none. But kudos for your ingenuity.

Ok I have kayaks and here is my feedback so take it for what its worth:

I am a DIY guy but I do not own a welder so I could not do it.
Its only limited to 10ft kayaks and mine are longer.
Its a pretty narrow market that you are going after.
I can get a lot of free plans on the internet so why buy yours.
All I need is a picture or 2 of it and I am sure I could pretty easily duplicate it, no offense but its a kayak rack that stores 2 kayaks vertically from a 2 inch hitch receiver. I'm not building the Saturn V rocket here.

Ah so its a vertical mount where the kayaks are held upright. Might work on 5vers too a lot of them have 2" receivers.

Actually no, it mounts to the 2" hitch on the back of a motorhome. As I had mentioned earlier, the height of the kayaks would be 10'.