Calisdad
groveland, ca
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Joined: 08/28/2008
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I want to attach a small kayak rack to the roof of my 21' Tioga MH. There must be some support up there as I can walk on it fine with no deflection. I put new liquid rubber on it last year. When I try to use a stud finder I get no reliable reading.
Has anyone done this? or know where I can find a drawing showing the supports?
Thanks-
Calisdad
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bldrbuck
Boulder, Colorado
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Joined: 02/11/2001
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have you considered using the stud finder inside of the unit and transfering the info to the outside?
93 Ford F350 Turbo Diesel, DRW, Crew Cab. PullRite Hitch. 90 Nomad 28' 5er, 375 Watts Solar, 2800 Watt Yamaha Generator, 1750 Watt Inverter, 4 Trogan T105 Batteries, Spare tire and wheel and folding ladder. Me, wife and 2 spoiled Maltise furkids.
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djmiranda1
Downey, CA
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I used a stud finder on my toyhauler...
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Golden_HVAC
Fulltime, CA, USA
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I was getting ready for a trip one cool morning, and found that there was dew on the sidewall of my Bounder, in straight lines, that probably matched the steel sidewall supports perfectly. I was thinking of taking a picture of it, so if I ever needed to attach something, I would have a basic layout.
In my roof, the roof supports don't show up as well. If I remove the air conditioner filter to clean it, I can see where the 1" square tubing runs along both sides of the A/C, and all the center line roof vents in the RV. Perhaps you could pick out a location that way.
When I mounted my satellite dish, I centered it on the roof, about 6' back from the front of the RV, so that my wiring would drop into the ducted A/C vent line, it goes forward to above the TV set, where the wiring goes to the VCR area without being seen. I found steel roof supports on both sides of this ductwork, (I guess these run the length of the RV). There are also cross pieces, I sometimes found one when drilling holes for my solar panel mounts.
Fred.
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tatest
Oklahoma
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Many C's of modern composite construction, most of the roof is supported by the block of insulating foam. If there are metal cross supports, they will be at the back, and then from 4 to 8 feet apart (foam block dimensions) up forward until the overhead, or at structurally strategic points.
Even if the metal tubing in the roof structure doesn't come all the way through the foam, you should still be able to detect it with a sonic stud finder. A magnetic one might not pick up aluminum tubing.
If you have old-style framed construction, expect rafters on 24" spacing.
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Gale Hawkins
Murray, KY
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Golden_HVAC wrote:I was getting ready for a trip one cool morning, and found that there was dew on the sidewall of my Bounder, in straight lines, that probably matched the steel sidewall supports perfectly. I was thinking of taking a picture of it, so if I ever needed to attach something, I would have a basic layout.
In my roof, the roof supports don't show up as well. If I remove the air conditioner filter to clean it, I can see where the 1" square tubing runs along both sides of the A/C, and all the center line roof vents in the RV. Perhaps you could pick out a location that way.
When I mounted my satellite dish, I centered it on the roof, about 6' back from the front of the RV, so that my wiring would drop into the ducted A/C vent line, it goes forward to above the TV set, where the wiring goes to the VCR area without being seen. I found steel roof supports on both sides of this ductwork, (I guess these run the length of the RV). There are also cross pieces, I sometimes found one when drilling holes for my solar panel mounts.
Fred.
I did the same thing with the dew thing. On our roof when heated inside (I was curing some Liquid Roof) I saw where 2x4's were laid on their side especially in the area of the two A/C units.
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clydedoerr
Hardeeville SC
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You can buy a stud finder at Lowes or Home Depot that works on density and will work to find the studs under the rubber roof.
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Calisdad
groveland, ca
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Thanks guys- all good suggestions. I put a new battery in my stud finder, tried a magnet and removed the inside cover of the AC unit. No dice. The unit is sandwiched on with flanges so it could mount just about anywhere. I did see ridgid foam. I still don't know if the supports are wood or metal. The roof thickness is about 1.75 inches, which would mean 1.5 inches of foam and the roof membrane. I think now I will just drill some exploratory holes inside the cabinets where they won't show, as I do believe the supports are on 2 foot centers.
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Gale Hawkins
Murray, KY
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Joined: 07/22/2007
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Do not count on finding supports in any order. Ours are only around the A/C units and the end caps. The luan/foam/luan is the ceiling/insulation/decking. I am sure in our case the supports are 2x4's laid flat which matches the thickness of the sandwiched ceiling/insulation/decking. There is a lot of built in support mid ship due to the bathroom, closet and frig walls running to the ceiling.
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Kentuk
Elizabethtown,Ky. 42701
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Joined: 10/13/2007
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Have your vehicle model number and serial number handy.Go on line
find the manufacturers webb site, look for contact information, any thing with a phone number will work. Most parts departments will list a phone number. It doesn't matter what department as long as you get a live voice, (real person) to talk to and explaine the assistance you are seeking. If that person can't help you they should know who can. Perhaps you can get them to fax or e-mail you a copy of the roof plans or a print off of a blue prints or some measurement points.
It worked for me when rebuilding a 1979 camper. Good luck.
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