Quote:
Originally Posted by drakelouis29
really smartly attached. i wished that i could also do the same. i wanted to know that how did you attached it, can you explain me in detail. i am also planning to buy a boat so that me and my brother can go to a trip with these boats and surf. can we carry 2 boats with our RV? i would appreciate and will be thankful for your help.
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I don't know how much detail you want or need.
1. Figure out what size portabote you will want or need 8, 10, 12 or 14 foot.
2. Remember, the longer the boat, the more clear space you need on your RV to mount it. It cannot cover vents like frig or furnace (or your water hookups if you want to use them with the boat mounted).
3. Determine the distance between the front and rear mounts - this will vary depending upon what size boat you have.
4. I suppose it is possible to mount 2 boats on one RV, although I wouldn't mount them both on the same side. And mounting on the curb side will likely mean that you won't be able to use your entrance door until you remove the boat. Also, the RV mount adds about 8" to the width of your RV. Mounting on both sides would add 16" and probably make your RV exceed the legal width allowed in your state.
5. Determine location of rear mount - this should be on a stud in the RV wall. Use a studfinder on the inside of the RV to determine where the studs are.
6. Once you have the location of the rear mounting bracket identified, measure to determine where the front mounting bracket will need to be located. This will likely not be on a stud unless you are really lucky.
7. If you have an aluminum sided RV, you will need to add a stud behind the front bracket, or the siding will crush when you tighten the bolts. You might not have to do this for a fiberglass sided RV, but I would suggest it anyway. Cut a hole in the interior wall and insert a 2 x 2 stud and anchor it to the floor or whatever you can attach it to.
8. Also if you have an aluminum sided RV, you may want to use a contour tool to transfer the shape of the siding to your backer board. This will ensure a good fit and help avoid crushing the siding with a flat board against a contoured siding.
9. Before drilling any holes or cutting into any walls...measure, measure and measure again. You don't want a lot of holes in the wrong places.
10. Use a backer board behind the mounting brackets to keep the boat a bit away from your RV siding. I'd suggest at least 1" backer (mine was smaller and I should have gone with a wider one)
11. Drill the holes slightly larger than your bolts.
12. I used 3 1/2 inch #8 bolts, nuts, washers and lockwashers. These are the hardest and strongest. You don't want a cheap #2 bolt snapping off as you are heading down the highway.
13. I also used boards on the inside of the RV to help spread the load (and on the front mount, to bridge between the two RV studs that are 16 inch on center. This can be scrap wood if you don't care about appearance or if the backer is hidden behind cabinetry. Or you can use nice finished wood that matches your cabinets (as shown in the pictures I posted).
That's about all I can help with. It is difficult to make that first drill hole, but once you get past that, it works out well if you've done a good job of measuring and thinking it through. Take your time and do a lot of thinking about what you want to do and how you want to do it.