Swing over boat rack problem...NOW FIXED!

[Pling]

Gday all,

We have a swing over boat rack on the Tambo which we used for the first time at Easter.
I had 2 x Kayaks on it so a maximum of 40 odd kilos, I was quite surprised how quickly It flew over, I thought the struts would slow it down.

I then tried to flip it back over and It was extremely heavy like a dead weight and the struts did not aid the lift at all.

Is this normal for swing over boat racks or should it be more controlled??

If this had a tinnie on it It would be impossible, with the rack by Itself It works perfectly. Any feed back from anyone with swing over boat racks would be appreciated.

Cheers

[KingBilly]

Don't have swing over racks but sounds like the gas struts are either faulty or are not appropriately rated for the job at hand.  Are the struts offering any resistance/assistance?

KB

[DannyG]

Struts can be dangerous if they are not rated for the weight at hand imho.

For instance the struts used on my camper to lift the tent up work perfect when it has the weight of the tent (approx 200kilos) on the frame, but when the tent is not on the frame the frame will spring up that hard and fast it would take your head off and its almost impossible to close again. Got to have the correct weight on the struts.

At a guess Id say yours boat rack is designed to hold a lot more weight that then 40 kg's you have on it??

[Pling]

I dont think Ive explained it properly, the boat rack operates perfect just by itself and you can feel the struts working.

However with the two kayaks (40kgs) when I flip it over to the ground it goes over to fast the struts dont slow it down.

When flipping the rack back over the tent on pack up It is really heavy even with the two kayaks, Its a real struggle where as I would have thought the struts would help going from ground back over the trailer.

King billy with the small amount of weight on it It certainly seems the struts are not offering any resistance when flipping it back onto the trailer.

[GGV8Cruza]

I have the same rack and it works correctly when its own weight is involved, I think that is how Keith had it worked out. I am not too sure i would trust it with a load on it as you have found out. So far we have only carried the bikes on it and a few other items, when we need to unload we do it prior to flipping it in the vertical position for tent set up. I think it would be difficult to work out a set up where it suits all types of weights to be counteracted by the stuts.

GG

[Pling]

GG this is probably true, however this will be our home for the year next year and I dont like the thought of lifting this every pack up considering that the Kayaks will not come off the rack at every camp.

I also wanted to put a permanent storage box and solar panel on it which will make it heavier again.

[GGV8Cruza]

GG this is probably true, however this will be our home for the year next year and I dont like the thought of lifting this every pack up considering that the Kayaks will not come off the rack at every camp.

I also wanted to put a permanent storage box and solar panel on it which will make it heavier again.

DId you get the Tambo one and how many stuts does it have on each leg, mine has three per leg. Just checking to see if a change was made as I believe the one on my Omeo was one of the last built

GG

[Pling]

Yeah mate three on each leg, 2 smaller ones and one large.

Mine was made Nov - Dec 2011. I removed the rack before the Simpson trip to save weight and Its been in storage until before Easter, the struts are not pitted at all and seem in new condition

[BigJules]

Could you replace the struts, or get them reset (I don't know if this is possible?)?

[Pling]

I have absolutely no Idea Big Jules, I know where I can get them but have no Idea what I need.

[austastar]

Hi,


Link


cheers

[baldheadedgit]

sounds like the struts are working ok, just not enough weight in the 2 Kayaks, at a guess i would say its set up to handle 80+ kilos,,,
resetting them may be the answer.
the was a mobile guy doing regasing in the Sydney area. google may help you, or ring a few of the local smash repairs ask who they use for regasing struts.
quick look on google comes up with a few locals,,, worth a phone call

BHG

[Big Tread]

I have an Omeo with the swing over rack.  We have two kayaks and other bits and pieces on it. I can move it to the vertical position with the kayaks on, although it is a bit heavy to lift. It helps to have two people. It seems to go back into the traveling position ok. I haven't actually tried to lay it flat on the ground fully loaded. But, it is currently sitting in the driveway still loaded with kayaks from Easter, so I will have a go at flipping it fully over on the weekend and let you know how I go. 

Still on the tambo struts, one of the ones to help lift the tent frame snapped off at the mounting point where it is welded to the pole (not the weld itself but the  ball that sits in the strut socket snapped). I haven't replaced it yet because we can still open the tent ok, but maybe the quality of the struts are a bit questionable.


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[Pling]

Mine is the same will go to the first upright position no problems, will be interested to see If you can lift yours back up from the ground position....Cheers

For the record I also had one snap in the walk up side of the tent.

[Pling]

Just thought I would post up the fix for the boat rack on the Omeo.

It appears that the neutral setting of the struts is not adequate when the weight is put on so its a bit of a trade off.

I had the 2 large lower struts re-gassed which took the force from 1500N to 2500N the weight is now controllable all the way down now with weight on it.

When I finish the Mods I want to do with the rack the weight will be permanent so I will get him back out to adjust the upper struts to make it neutral again.

Could not believe how easy and cheap it all was, hope this is of some help to others.

[GGV8Cruza]

 A good easy fix

GG

[Big Tread]

W


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[Big Tread]

W


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Meant to ask, who did you get to do it?



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[Pling]

Meant to ask, who did you get to do it?



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Big tread Im still interested in your thoughts of how yours is with the two Kayaks.

Mine will now stop at the first locking point without having to support it, highly recommended.
 
LINK: www.strutregas.com.au

[Big Tread]

Big tread Im still interested in your thoughts of how yours is with the two Kayaks.

Mine will now stop at the first locking point without having to support it, highly recommended.
 
LINK: www.strutregas.com.au

Finally got around to trying to lift the Omeo swing over boat rack fully loaded with two kayaks, table, paddles, shovel etc. struggled to get it going and then the struts helped a bit to get it to vertical. It then swung over in an uncontrolled way, crashed into the shrubs on the side of the driveway and then only stopped when it hit the fence. There was no way I could swing it back on my own Looks like I'll need to get my struts re gassed as well. It kinda defeats the purpose of a swing over rack if you have to unload it every time you want to set up.


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[bellasea]

My condolences with the swing over boat rack.  I have been playing with a unit I made for the last couple of weeks.  There seems to be a trade off with this type of boat rack in that without any load on the rack, it operates really good.  When I load it with a 3.3metre tinny weighing about 50-60 kilo's, you have to be 'superman' to start the initial opening and same when you pass that verticle position, and start to lower it on to the ground.  When the boat is unloaded the rack MUST be locked or the rack with 'spring' back aided by 3200 Newton Metres of pressure in 4 gas struts!(800 in each).  I have made a lever to assist the initial opening - works fine.  It is just the right length so that in the verticle position, it holds the rack upright until I can fit two 'arms' which hold the rack in that position so any overnight trips, you don't have to unload the boat.  It's a bit of a dissapointment with the work I put in but overall the rack works really good.  It is strong and has enough room to put a rod tube and part of a fold up boat trailer on as well.  I am still trying to work out how all these commercial fold over boat loaders work, particularly when I have never seen one operated with a boat attached.  It is a case of dammed if you do. dammed if you don't.  If you over power the gas struts you may have a lot of trouble fitting them, let alone operating the rack without any load attached.  Good Luck

[benny_jahmin]

I don't know if this is of any help now or to some one looking at building or modifying their boat rack. This was a custom job already on the trailer when I bought it.
It uses a boat trailer hand winch to lift the rack once it has been lowered. Or vicea verca to raise it when there is no weight on it cos the struts are Damn powerful.



The ARM folds up to triangulate the pull from the winch to lift the rack from the ground. Then folds down out of the way once the winch strap straightens out