Forum Discussion

springoflife's avatar
springoflife
Explorer
Mar 29, 2016

Mounting Crossbars (for Bike Rack) onto older Camper Roof

I have a 1997 Jayco 1207DD. It has the older style, semi-flat roof, made with an aluminum skin over foam board (not an ABS design). I want to mount a bike rack to the camper. I would like to use one which doesn’t require the front wheel of all the bicycles to be removed. I have settled on the SportRack SR1020. But I am concerned about mounting any roof-mounted rack to the “rim” wood of the roof itself. It just seems so flimsy. So my question is about the structural integrity of this setup. Has anyone put a roof-mounted bicycle rack onto a Jayco 1207 (or a camper with equivalent-construction roof)?

I know not to keep the bikes on while attempting to raise the roof. But just the shock and vibration that occurs while driving will be extreme. With the bikes bouncing up and down, I wouldn’t want the rack to cause structural damage to the roof, or even tear off while going down the road.
Folding Trailers

9 Replies

  • Adam_H's avatar
    Adam_H
    Explorer
    Jun 15, 2016
    I would first purchase or build whatever you are going to bolt to the crossbars that the bikes will attach to. That will determine spacing...
  • springoflife's avatar
    springoflife
    Explorer
    Apr 06, 2016
    OK, I fibbed. I do have another question:
    How far apart should the Crossbars be? I pretty-much have carte blanche on this. So what spacing would be the most optimal and versatile?
  • springoflife's avatar
    springoflife
    Explorer
    Apr 04, 2016
    So after a few phone calls and emails, I discovered that Jayco used ProRac's Permanent Mount Rack System.

    http://prorac.com/permmounttent.php

    This model comes in different widths, to match the width of your camper.

    http://pdf.racksforall.com/prorac/prorac_tent_trailer_fit_list.pdf

    I only have one last question. There are two mounting methods for this Rack System:
    1.) 7/8" Long wood screws, down from the top, into (but not through) the rim wood of the roof.
    2.) 1-3/4" Long Truss head bolts, up from the ceiling, through the rim wood, into lockwashers on the roof.

    I imagine that the first method would be the simplest and less likely to eventually leak. But that method #2 would have the higher strength. Would you guys agree that I should pursue installation method #2 for hauling a family's worth of bikes?
  • springoflife's avatar
    springoflife
    Explorer
    Mar 30, 2016
    Campfire Time wrote:
    We had a '93 1208 that had the same type of roof. Jayco used to sell as an accessory bars to mount a bike rack. They bolted on to the sides of the roof.


    Campfire Time,
    Thank you, that makes me more confident.

    When you say the bars bolted on to the "sides of the roof", do you mean the vertical plywood sides of the roof (the bolts would be driven parallel to the road)? Or do you mean they bolted to the edges/perimeter of the rooftop (the bolts would be driven downwards)?
  • Bucky_Badger's avatar
    Bucky_Badger
    Explorer
    Mar 29, 2016
    RicJones wrote:
    Two issues I can think of with having the bikes on the roof, first getting them up there, second, overall height. Good luck in gas stations.


    Tallest pop up camper EVER? ;)
  • RicJones's avatar
    RicJones
    Explorer
    Mar 29, 2016
    Two issues I can think of with having the bikes on the roof, first getting them up there, second, overall height. Good luck in gas stations.
  • Campfire_Time's avatar
    Campfire_Time
    Explorer
    Mar 29, 2016
    We had a '93 1208 that had the same type of roof. Jayco used to sell as an accessory bars to mount a bike rack. They bolted on to the sides of the roof. Plenty strong. I never had any trouble carrying bikes in the 10 years we owned the trailer.

About Travel Trailer Group

44,052 PostsLatest Activity: Oct 14, 2025