bent roof lift cross arms

[Greg In Austin]

In their shop..... I think they have one in both CA and TX.

[LenS]

Lance any idea how your manual top cross arms originally got bent????

[Lance]

Just got back in town, sorry for the delay responding. My arms were bent when I bought my van used, so I can't say what caused it. It seems the rear arms bend more than the front from what I've seen on other SMBs. I think they will bend again slowly from normal use. My roof seems to lift harder than before straightening, that could be a clue to what's going on. I carry 2 sea kayaks quite a bit and the weight of the rack makes it even harder to lift. Do you know if the spring tension can be increased to help reduce the lift resistance? I have a solar panel up there too that adds weight. It was installed by SMB when built, wonder if they adjust spring tension for that? Lance

[boywonder]

Originally Posted by Lance

Just got back in town, sorry for the delay responding. My arms were bent when I bought my van used, so I can't say what caused it. It seems the rear arms bend more than the front from what I've seen on other SMBs. I think they will bend again slowly from normal use. My roof seems to lift harder than before straightening, that could be a clue to what's going on. I carry 2 sea kayaks quite a bit and the weight of the rack makes it even harder to lift. Do you know if the spring tension can be increased to help reduce the lift resistance? I have a solar panel up there too that adds weight. It was installed by SMB when built, wonder if they adjust spring tension for that? Lance

Lance: Yes, the spring tension can be increased. IIRC, Larry(one of the forum members) has posted a youtube video on how to do it. You'll need a come-along; they are ridiculously cheap at harbor Freight. I think I paid $14 for mine. I have nothing on the roof (yet) and have increased the spring load by two chain links. You need to go slow and be very careful when adjusting; it's quite straightforward.

With lots of stuff on the roof, you may want to consider reinforcing the crossbars with chrome-moly tubing. If you bars are straight, the cro-mo tubes slip right in......of course, that means removing the crossbars to do the mod......

There are a few posts here on how to do that, here's one (my post ):

viewtopic.php?f=24&t=11764&start=15

[Lance]

Wow, great info. Can't wait to take a look at videos. I'm off to the woods for a few days so can't check now. Thanks so much for taking an interest. Sure is nice to have to forum to call on. later Lance

[boywonder]

Here is Larrie's video for replacing a broken bolt. Tightening the springs is easier than this.

http://vimeo.com/62530890


Also you can put wood (or other material) blocks behind the helper springs for additional preload. This will reduce the force for the initial part of the roof travel.

[Lance]

I took up 2 links on the chain, just enough room for my come-along to fit in there but made it work. Noticed those helper springs and thought that a spacer would be good. Reread your comments and that's what you said, nice. Put 3/4" wood spacer in, made a difference. Put in another 3/4"er in but took it out, chickened out I guess. Roof works much easier, pops right up once it gets up a bit. Good fix.

Since straightening the arms my roof leans to the side maybe 2"-3" and when I lower it I have to pull it over to land right. My arms a basically straight but not perfect. I did a quick check with straight edge and they didn't seem that bad but didn't really look too hard. Will check again with some string or something.

Looked at your roof photos, nice job! I'm guessing you got a van for your roof now?... I need a new canvas for mine as the windows have tears. We put on new screens to keep it going and winter in Baja so don't deal with cold too much. SMB doesn't sell canvas for pre 92 Fords so got to go it alone. I asked if I could buy a newer style and modify it myself and they said not a good idea, but I still think it should work. Also thought about buying pre-made windows from SMB and going from there. I figure they can crank windows out quicker and better than we could. Any thoughts?

Many thanks for the support...Lance