Ski RV's, who's sleeping in parking lots?

[mattig]

Please don't be that douchebag who runs non-DOT LED headlights on the road. Off road, go to town, but they are a hazard for oncoming traffic and super annoying for people you're following.

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To reiterate my initial post: " I only plan to unleash that warm yellow supernova if there are no other vehicles in front of me."

These are for driving in snowstorms at night when I'm the only one on the road.

I agree those people are douchebags.

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[mattig]

Baja Designs? Excellent choice! I was thinking of doing something similar to my truck. The OEM headlights are for shit.

I also like the bit about LEDs. Mine could use a retrofit and likely extend the battery life a bit.

Oh, and yes, roof walking is all good.

We’ll need to coordinate on some MHM and Bachelor lot summits this year. How are you hauling your skis?

Hauling skis in the basement. Can get 4 pair in there if I strap the brakes down. Others can ride on the floor of the camper, or bed, etc, but the cool thing would be to make a rack in the shower, which would kill 2 birds on the way home.

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[shroom]

found my next appt


https://seattle.craigslist.org/see/r...037536132.html

[Bobcat Sig]

Please don't be that douchebag who runs non-DOT LED headlights on the road. Off road, go to town, but they are a hazard for oncoming traffic and super annoying for people you're following.

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I too would never do such a thing. I've gone on record in the Padded Room in multiple occasions, bitching about the ding-dongs who drive with their fog lights on... all the time. Never.

To reiterate my initial post: " I only plan to unleash that warm yellow supernova if there are no other vehicles in front of me."

These are for driving in snowstorms at night when I'm the only one on the road.

I agree those people are douchebags.

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Yes, this.

Hauling skis in the basement. Can get 4 pair in there if I strap the brakes down. Others can ride on the floor of the camper, or bed, etc, but the cool thing would be to make a rack in the shower, which would kill 2 birds on the way home.

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You fancy. No basement in my Lance, so I'm still trying to find a storage solution.


So, for you adventurous and ingenious types with truck campers; what are you using for crossbars? After a bit of interwebbing and the use of the Google Machine, it seems I can easily mount some Yakima or Thule towers rather easily. However, because the camper is 8 feet wide, the two local rack stores cannot source crossbars long enough. I need bars longer than 94 inches. Where did you get yours? Did you have to fabricate your own?

Piktarz for reference:

[GeezerSteve]

We put our skis in a DIY ski bag and strap it on a hitch-mount luggage carrier, which doubles as a mud porch when set up at camp. Skis and bag go under the truck/camper when we arrive at our destination. For spring/summer touring, we have the option of putting the ski bag inside the camper while on the road. We have rack rails on the camper roof, but have never used them.

[toast2266]

So, for you adventurous and ingenious types with truck campers; what are you using for crossbars? After a bit of interwebbing and the use of the Google Machine, it seems I can easily mount some Yakima or Thule towers rather easily. However, because the camper is 8 feet wide, the two local rack stores cannot source crossbars long enough. I need bars longer than 94 inches. Where did you get yours? Did you have to fabricate your own?

I just made my own. Welded some 1" square tubing to some simple brackets that I made. Screwed it straight into the roof (with lots of sealant to keep water out). It's simple, cheap, and much lower profile than the Yakima / Thule feet. It also means the bars don't run across the full width of the roof - they're just a little wider than the ski box. It would've been easy to make the bars wider - I just didn't see any need for it, and wider bars would make shoveling the roof harder. If you don't have access to a welder, I think you could probably make a similar setup just bolting metal stock together.

That said, I believe the Yakima bars are just 1" square tubing. You should be able to get 8-10' lengths of 1" square steel for a few bucks at any place that sells that sort of thing. Don't buy it at hardware stores / home depot type places - their prices for metal are absurd. That tubing should work in Yakima feet without issue (you'll obviously need to paint it to keep it from rusting though).

[mattig]

I see a fair amount of homemade diamond plate boxes standing up like lockers on back bumpers of campers. I personally don't want to add any more weight high and aft but I wouldn't mind strapping a sport tube to the ladder in a pinch.



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[Supermoon]

I just made my own. Welded some 1" square tubing to some simple brackets that I made. Screwed it straight into the roof (with lots of sealant to keep water out). It's simple, cheap, and much lower profile than the Yakima / Thule feet. It also means the bars don't run across the full width of the roof - they're just a little wider than the ski box. It would've been easy to make the bars wider - I just didn't see any need for it, and wider bars would make shoveling the roof harder. If you don't have access to a welder, I think you could probably make a similar setup just bolting metal stock together.

That said, I believe the Yakima bars are just 1" square tubing. You should be able to get 8-10' lengths of 1" square steel for a few bucks at any place that sells that sort of thing. Don't buy it at hardware stores / home depot type places - their prices for metal are absurd. That tubing should work in Yakima feet without issue (you'll obviously need to paint it to keep it from rusting though).

Many new rack options won’t work with square or round bars very well, so make sure you don’t need the teardrop shaped ones for your ski rack.

Any rack shop should be able to do a naked roof install of a Yakima or Thule kit that wouldn’t need to run the full width of the camper.

[PNWbrit]

These are for driving in snowstorms at night when I'm the only one on the road.

Super bright LED spot lights in a snowstorm?

Let us know how that works out.

[Bobcat Sig]

We put our skis in a DIY ski bag and strap it on a hitch-mount luggage carrier, which doubles as a mud porch when set up at camp. Skis and bag go under the truck/camper when we arrive at our destination. For spring/summer touring, we have the option of putting the ski bag inside the camper while on the road. We have rack rails on the camper roof, but have never used them.

Interesting idea. My camper hangs back over the bed of my truck, though I do have a stinger I use to tow my enclosed motorcycle trailer.

Under the truck though; aren't you worried about people swiping your skis when you're camped out in a ski lot?

I just made my own. Welded some 1" square tubing to some simple brackets that I made. Screwed it straight into the roof (with lots of sealant to keep water out). It's simple, cheap, and much lower profile than the Yakima / Thule feet. It also means the bars don't run across the full width of the roof - they're just a little wider than the ski box. It would've been easy to make the bars wider - I just didn't see any need for it, and wider bars would make shoveling the roof harder. If you don't have access to a welder, I think you could probably make a similar setup just bolting metal stock together.

That said, I believe the Yakima bars are just 1" square tubing. You should be able to get 8-10' lengths of 1" square steel for a few bucks at any place that sells that sort of thing. Don't buy it at hardware stores / home depot type places - their prices for metal are absurd. That tubing should work in Yakima feet without issue (you'll obviously need to paint it to keep it from rusting though).

Interesting. I was hoping to avoid poking more holes in the roof of my camper, but that does sound like an easy and simple solution.

I see a fair amount of homemade diamond plate boxes standing up like lockers on back bumpers of campers. I personally don't want to add any more weight high and aft but I wouldn't mind strapping a sport tube to the ladder in a pinch.

I too don't want to add weight up high, though a ski box up that high is pretty minimal in comparison to the rest of the rig. The Sport Tube sounds like an interesting idea. Though during travel, I'd just slid the skis in the camper, on the floor, over a towel. My main concern is the security of the skis while I'm out for the day or at night.

Super bright LED spot lights in a snowstorm?

Let us know how that works out.

[jackattack]

Super bright LED spot lights in a snowstorm?

Let us know how that works out.

this comment based solely on your experience driving with stock white high-beams?

warning, sound OFF: https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_c...ature=emb_logo

[GeezerSteve]

Under the truck though; aren't you worried about people swiping your skis when you're camped out in a ski lot?

Not typically. It's common to see skis stashed under rigs in the RV lot. We have the option of putting them in the truck cab, which we've done a few times.

[El Chupacabra]

FWIW, I made crossbars for across my truck bed out of rigid galvanized conduit, and clamped them down straight onto the rails with conduit clamps. Capped the ends with plastic chair leg tips from Ace Hardware. I use an old rocketbox on the crossbars. I wouldn't trust it for a bike rack - too much flex - but the rocketbox seems fine.

Yakima round bar diameter is slightly larger than common pipe diameter, because of the plastic coating they use.

I used to have a tent trailer with Yakima round crossbars in very long width - I had to buy the bars from the RV dealer because I couldn't find them anywhere else.

[Bobcat Sig]

FWIW, I made crossbars for across my truck bed out of rigid galvanized conduit, and clamped them down straight onto the rails with conduit clamps. Capped the ends with plastic chair leg tips from Ace Hardware. I use an old rocketbox on the crossbars. I wouldn't trust it for a bike rack - too much flex - but the rocketbox seems fine.

Yakima round bar diameter is slightly larger than common pipe diameter, because of the plastic coating they use.

I used to have a tent trailer with Yakima round crossbars in very long width - I had to buy the bars from the RV dealer because I couldn't find them anywhere else.

All good. In talking with a rack shop locally, those Yakima crossbars have an OD of 1-1/8", and they are a double wall thickness.

Funny you mention the dealer; I ended up reaching out Lance directly and it seems they might crossbars long enough. We'll see...

[climberevan]

I see a fair amount of homemade diamond plate boxes standing up like lockers on back bumpers of campers. I personally don't want to add any more weight high and aft but I wouldn't mind strapping a sport tube to the ladder in a pinch.



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I did that with a Thule box and had good success. I just screwed 2x2s to the RV, and screwed the box to them.

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[El Chupacabra]

FWIW, I made crossbars for across my truck bed out of rigid galvanized conduit, and clamped them down straight onto the rails with conduit clamps. Capped the ends with plastic chair leg tips from Ace Hardware. I use an old rocketbox on the crossbars. I wouldn't trust it for a bike rack - too much flex - but the rocketbox seems fine.

Yakima round bar diameter is slightly larger than common pipe diameter, because of the plastic coating they use.

I used to have a tent trailer with Yakima round crossbars in very long width - I had to buy the bars from the RV dealer because I couldn't find them anywhere else.

Here's what it looks like:

[OldMil]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wssu8Wp9W74

Pretty cool...

[zion zig zag]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wssu8Wp9W74

Pretty cool...

I like what he did with the IV warmer.

[Bobcat Sig]

Here's what it looks like:

That's a nice set-up. I see what you mean by the home-brew bar mounts. Good work.

I have something similar on my truck...

[ACH]

Heh, I wish my Tiger had Hyperdrive.

[El Chupacabra]

That's a nice set-up. I see what you mean by the home-brew bar mounts. Good work.

I have something similar on my truck...

I think I just reused existing holes in the truck bed rails for my DIY crossbars. If it were a nicer truck to start with, I'd probably not drill straight through, and would use proper clamps like yours (Yakima or similar). I've also seen Yakima/Thule tracks mounted onto bedrails, which would make for a nice adjutable system.

[Dhelihiker]

Im thinking about making a contraption to mount a rocket box sideways (above the tail lights) at the back of my class C. Any experiance amongst the minions?

[El Chupacabra]

Im thinking about making a contraption to mount a rocket box sideways (above the tail lights) at the back of my class C. Any experiance amongst the minions?

I like that idea. Burly shelf brackets? Ladder storage brackets?

[toast2266]

Im thinking about making a contraption to mount a rocket box sideways (above the tail lights) at the back of my class C. Any experiance amongst the minions?

I considered doing that on mine (since mounting on the roof has various downsides). I concluded that the boxes weren't really designed to take loads in non-traditional directions and opted out of the idea. I'd originally planned on building my own box that could handle it, but laziness triumphed over that idea.

edit: or are you just talking about running it flat like normal, but mounted crossways on the vehicle? In that case, seems like the question just depends on the structure inside the back wall of the camper, and whether you can securely mount a bracket.

[powdrhound]

Again, Pack-a-sport for the rear access win.