How Do I Fit a Boat Rack to a Soft-Top Camper Trailer?

Pop-up campers use a hard-shell roof over a soft-walled exterior. Often referred to as soft-top campers, these small camping trailers compress into the hard shell to provide safe and streamlined towing. While this is handy when towing, it requires the roof to be raised when at the camping area. Using roof racks on a soft-top camper is not the easiest task as they require removal before the roof is raised. Use a specially designed rack adapter for soft-top campers.

Things You'll Need

  • Measuring tape
  • Marker
  • Power drill
  • Caulk
  • Caulk gun
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Instructions

    • 1

      Measure the distance between the front and rear rack rails with the soft-top camper roof down. Mark the locations on the outer sides of the roof where the rail towers get placed.

    • 2

      Place the rack rail adapters on the corners and mark where the screw hole attachments are with the holes in the adapters. Drill the holes. Drill the adapters into position.

    • 3

      Raise the roof of the camper and go into the camper. Screw a washer and nut onto each bolt. Caulk the holes around the washer, nut and bolt. Lower the roof.

    • 4

      Attach the roof rack to the adapters. Attach the boat saddles to the rails.

    • 5

      Release the roof rack rails when the boat is off the rack and before raising the roof by inserting the rack key and opening the lock bar. Remove the rails, leaving the towers and adapters when raising the roof.