popup roof weight?

An interesting question that I would be curious about as well.

I can lift up the roof on my Palomino SS1500 or at least lift it up to where it has slop in the lifting mechanism by getting under it in the partially raised position and lifting up on it by pushing up with my arms in the center. I did it to see how much play there was in the RT lift system, not much, maybe 1/2" of play.

I don't have roof ac, solar or a rack on top, I do have an awning though. My rough estimate of mine is under 200 pounds. Don't think I can lift much more and I was grunting a bit...lol

My manual states maximum allowable carry weight on the roof is 150 pounds but I think that has more to do with the capability of the RT lift system than the structural capability of the roof.

I'll be following along, I'm curious myself now that you posted it.

Years ago I had to do some structural roof repair on a '93 Northstar TC-800. I had to lock the lift mechanism in place while unfastening them from the roof. It was one of the smaller NS pop-ups with no AC.

I never had a reason to weigh it, but I will tell you that those roofs (albeit bulky) are pretty darn HEAVY.

Mine had the E-W bed over the 8' body so I am guessing it was an area of about 7'x12'. If I had to hazard a guess I would say it was every bit of 100# and 'prolly more. I do not think it was more than 200#.

It was a bear of a job and I would not attempt it again (I would buy one in better roof structural condition.)

A few years ago I helped a friend rebuild the roof of his older (1987?) Palomino.

At the time we concluded it weighed around 200+lbs. We did not weigh it, but that was the guess of the 4-5 people needed to handle it. We had some scaffolding and ratchet straps to help to balance the weight. That thing was way heavy, and it didn't help that you had to work over head...

Based on an inaccurate scale and a guess, I think I put "somewhere" around 25 to 30 lbs linear force on my extended, 10" crank handle. Using simplified but 'super fancy' physics to analyze my Heco geared lift mechanism, the roof weight comes out to be 5.33 * crank force, or 130 to 160 lbs. That seem too light to me for my roof -- ~7' x 14' aluminum framed. Only 1 110w solar panel up there, plus 3 vents.
I did ask Bob Ward, and surprisingly, he said they never weighed either the aluminum frame or the newer all composite roof.

The roof we rebuilt had torsion springs inside the tubes that run along the length of the roof. They load when the roof is lowered, and unload when it is raised again. That would throw off your calculations.

That is also the reason why the rear corners of the older roofs tend to soften and give way. They have to bear the torque of the loaded spring when the roof is down.

Also the scissor mechanism should better only be removed when the springs are unloaded...

I don't know if my Outfitter had the springs or not, but I had the electric lift and did not really care.

joerg68 wrote:
The roof we rebuilt had torsion springs inside the tubes that run along the length of the roof. They load when the roof is lowered, and unload when it is raised again. That would throw off your calculations.

That is also the reason why the rear corners of the older roofs tend to soften and give way. They have to bear the torque of the loaded spring when the roof is down.

Also the scissor mechanism should better only be removed when the springs are unloaded...

I don't know if my Outfitter had the springs or not, but I had the electric lift and did not really care.

Mine don't and I think both Northstar and Hallmark have switched to the RT lift system.

For one, there are no interior tubes that intrude into the already tight living quarters and the system is enclosed but still adjustable (via limit switches). It uses an enclosed screw jack system driven with 4 12 volt electric motors, wired to a single rocker switch and/or wireless remote. You can manually actuate it via a drill motor but mine has never even given me a hiccup.

No springs, no internal (in the cabin area) tubing or pivots, nothing to lubricate and nothing on the outside of the unit wither.

4 rectangular telescoping posts with the drive motors inside. Very clean and takes up very little room.

I think my 150 pound load capacity has to do with accessory loading and nothing to do with roof weight.

I'm not sure what it matters Cal, but my roof is about as heavy as my henway.

I built an entire new roof for my 8' Jayco recently. Built with 2 x 3 lumber, foam insulation and two ceiling fans. Total weight was 128 pounds.

Tucson38 wrote:
I built an entire new roof for my 8' Jayco recently. Built with 2 x 3 lumber, foam insulation and two ceiling fans. Total weight was 128 pounds.

What are the complete dimensions of your roof? And what is the top covering material?

I had the roof off my Sun Lite and I would guess the 200 # estimate is close.