M101A2 side panel / rack capacity

[i8boots]

So, I was thinking about the stakes / gates on the M101A2, and what kind of weight capacity they would have if someone was to put weight directly on the bows. Considering the work I'm putting in to restore the stakes and the panels, I'm trying to find alternate uses beyond just holding up a canvas tarp cover.

Maybe the current bows would need to be replaced by a welded / solid construction item to span the distance?
With this in place, how much weight do you think they'd support?

If spread across all 5 stakes, do you think they'd hold up to the weight of a Roof Top Tent and maybe 600 lbs of people?

Has anyone tried something like this?

[Edit - What exactly am I supposed to call the paneling? They're not really racks, are they? ]

 

[i8boots]

Wow. 27 people have looked at this, and no one else has attempted it before, or so I'm led to believe.

Anyone want to speculate?

 

[oddave715]

If evenly distributed that's only 60lbs per individual upright. The side board brackets should hold it I think. But I don't know that the wooden cargo cover bows would hold up to it.

 

[juanprado]

The metal bows I could see holding up. The wooden bows with the short wood insert into the stave would be questionable for the weight in my mind.

 

[i8boots]

I was using this thread to get feelers out / opinions on if they staves would hold up. I'm thinking that if I did this I'd have someone fab a metal rack to take the place of the bows (90 degrees, not curved) and hook into the top of the staves / side panels.

I'm more worried about the staves / bed slots being able to handle the movement / weight of the rack, the tent, and the people. I should have clarified.

Second thought: Has anyone gotten a hard tonneau cover for the trailer bed? For the builds I've seen that use custom racks for the tent it was partially because they wanted to be able to cover the tub and using the existing side panels would have prevented that. With a hard cover I could see having to drill the top/sides of the tub for mounting but I don't necessarily think this is any worse than welding a new rack onto the tub instead.

 

[rustystud]

If it where mine I would just fabricate a whole new shell out of aluminum and bolt it to the rails. Then you would have no problems adding that much weight to the top.

 

[JB]

Idk - deleted my prior response.

 

[i8boots]

Not sure why.. Read the email that SS sent me, it was kinda funny. Yeah, I'm not relying on the bows to hold weight.

For the record, I have the METAL bows. Not sure what I'm going to do with them once my panels are rebuilt as they don't match the finish / color that I'm working toward and I'm not sure I have the cash to process them the same as the stakes.

Idk - deleted my prior response.

 

[tbearatkin]

I googled M101A2 rooftop tent kit and came up with a whole bunch of pictures. Not sure about the the weight the support would hold. No lateral force prob would hold you start rocking the boat and they might give way. But lots of pictures out there of different ways a rooftop tent has been put on top of the trailer.

http://s454.photobucket.com/user/beachbum2020/media/KGrHqNHJBME-eKWlpZBPzPzqBjY60_3.jpg.html

 

[JB]

I realized after I posted I was not addressing your question. Good luck on your build.