Hobie 17 on the roof of a vintage Motor Home

Hello
I am going to build a cradle on the roof of my vintage 1973 Dodge Travco Motor Home to carry the vintage Hobie 17 and I'm wondering if the Tramp will flap and strain when the old bus is trundling down the hwy at max 50mph?

No worse than it would on a trailer. Make sure it's laced tightly to begin with.

good point, I hadn't thought of that (blush)

How the heck do you plan to get it up there?

sm

Well I might use a store bought modified bumper crane or diy bumper crane or those hobie haul up ramps I have described and built in an earlier post. Should work. My old motor home is steel ribbed fibreglass shell which will take the 400 pounds of boat and trailer box

I look forward to seeing it in action (because I am admitedly somewhat skeptical). The bumper cranes that I am seeing seem to be for lifting things like generators into the backs of pickup trucks, not hoisting 17 x 8 foot catamarans 10 feet into the air onto a motorhone. Other than the novelty of having a boat on the roof, what is the benefit over just using a traditional trailer?

sm

I have a really nice hobie 17 trailer whiich will donate the cross pieces that support the 4 sets of rollers (these will be bolted to the steel ribs about 7' apart fore and aft) the 5 ft elevated column which supports the mast will be bolted / welded to th frame/bumper at the stern of mh upon which the crane will be mounted providing the extra lift height needed no serios weight to worry about
The 10' assc box will occupy its usual position straddling the afoe mentioned square tubing
12' clearance needed is all so pretty much go anywhere
The trailer hitch will be fastened to my tow dolly / suv . The train configuration is not legal everywhere and usually they want a 5th wheel type arrangement. Besides backing up woul be out of the question

Still not really seeing how the crane is going to work. I agree the boat is not a real heavy load, but it's large and akward. Your crane is going to need a 9-10' boom to reach the middle of the boat. That's a heck of a moment arm.

Anyway, if it works out, please post pics. I would definitely be interested in seeing the crane (and motor home) in action.

sm