Styve100 Posted February 11, 2019 Share Posted February 11, 2019 Hi All, I am new to motorhomes and just bought a '96 boxer, swift royale 610. Love the vehicle, this is after 20 odd years of caravanning, however thats another story. My question is regarding access to the roof, my vehicle has a ladder on the back but it looks like some part is missing that maybe curves to the rack which goes around the roof. There is a roof rack fastened to the roof in the middle. I am worried about climbing up the ladder given the age, not sure how strong these things are, also I am considering taking a water craft on my hols in june, this is an inflatable sailing craft basically but is packed in its bag about the size of a person in a bag if you like, it weighs about 30kg.I was seeking adivce on using the ladder to get this up there but then how best to secure it, as how to get to the roof rack, or alternatively us one of those collapsible ladders to get up the side nearest the roof rack? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rayjsj Posted February 11, 2019 Share Posted February 11, 2019 Styve100 - 2019-02-11 12:50 PM Hi All, I am new to motorhomes and just bought a '96 boxer, swift royale 610. Love the vehicle, this is after 20 odd years of caravanning, however thats another story. My question is regarding access to the roof, my vehicle has a ladder on the back but it looks like some part is missing that maybe curves to the rack which goes around the roof. There is a roof rack fastened to the roof in the middle. I am worried about climbing up the ladder given the age, not sure how strong these things are, also I am considering taking a water craft on my hols in june, this is an inflatable sailing craft basically but is packed in its bag about the size of a person in a bag if you like, it weighs about 30kg.I was seeking adivce on using the ladder to get this up there but then how best to secure it, as how to get to the roof rack, or alternatively us one of those collapsible ladders to get up the side nearest the roof rack? I had a 1988 Autosleeper Talisman, this had a stainless steel rear ladder and roof bars, weight limit on the roof was 90kg. I was able to climb up there and walk or crawl about, But that had a monocoque fibreglass body and was very strong. Do you have a Swift Royale handbook ? Should say ladder and roof bar limits in there. Or Phone Swift direct. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Styve100 Posted February 12, 2019 Author Share Posted February 12, 2019 Hi thank you, not related to my build, wonder if anyone else has any views? I do not have a handbook, have seen a copy online and there doesn't seem to be any reference. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tall_Mike Posted February 12, 2019 Share Posted February 12, 2019 Hi, We have a newer Adria, - the ladder at the rear is sturdy enough for me to climb up it and the roof strong enough although the recommendation is to stay well away from the fibre glass cab top which isn't. Been up there and it's fine, we have a frame around the roof that you could strap large items such as a canoe to with cargo straps. Cannot remember the exact figures, think it's possibly 80kg of storage, although we don't use it If at all possible - my thoughts, don't, this is for safety reasons, falling off things is a significant issue, particularly for those of us who are maybe not so young and don't bounce very well, every year a fair number of people die, or are at least seriously injured, which leads to all manner of medical problems later in life caused by falling from heights. I have a friend who fell from a supposed secure ladder about the sort of distance we are looking at (Not from a motorhome), he was unconscious for about 12 hours before anyone found him and he broke a leg. I tried putting a ladder against the side of our old van and climbing up, downright slippery and unless the ladder is secured somehow it wasn't fun, On our new van I can reach all corners of the roof by stretching out of the skylights from within the van with a long handled mop, one at the front, one at the back - maybe not elegant but at least safe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brock Posted February 12, 2019 Share Posted February 12, 2019 I had a 1996 Royale 590 and a 1998 Swift Royale 620. The ladder and roof rack were a factory fit option. The standard fit ladder for the Swift Kontiki is curved to go over the roof, rather like the the 'ladders' in a swimming pool.This picture on AutoTrader may help. https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201812053029305?sort=datedesc&price-from=500&make=SWIFT&year-from=1995&model=ROYALE&year-to=2000&advertising-location=at_motorhomes&page=1 The Royale was held together with screws into wooden batons so panels were known to separate from the structure. Both mine leaked and when a pheasant hit the overhang on the luton, I realised it was just single sheet aluminium. The leaks in both vans were fixed by Swift under warranty - the common area for leaks was the seal where the luton met the roof. There are health and safety risks of climbing up a ladder to access the roof and the additional structural risk that at sometime the rear panel may detach itself. There is no mention in the brochure of how much weight you can put on the roof rack. I didn't know a Boxer option existed. I had Fiat Ducatos although a VW chassis was also offered. Check the weights of the van. Mine had a Maximum Authorised Weight of 3200kg - so did the 610. The Unladen weight [MIRO] was 2623Kg for the 610 diesel [2653kg for the turbo diesel] but that did not include passengers, or any water or gas bottles, or personal items and food. Despite the leaks, the Swifts proved robust enough to cope with two adults, 2 children and a dog. We had numerous foreign holidays and UK holidays without any further trouble. The interiors wore well. We know our 1996 Royale was still active in 2016. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Styve100 Posted February 13, 2019 Author Share Posted February 13, 2019 Thank you for the info guys. I think the fact the ladder will be attached to wooden batterns under the skin is what worries me, as I weigh about 90kg the boat is 30kg it would be a lot of weight getting up the ladder, also getting the boat then to the rack and securing it would be an issue, i think my best option is, one of those folding ladders that end up sort of briefcase size and going up the side, then i can reach over and strap the boat pack down. I was only resistant to doing this as the ladder is a weight that is about 11kg and just another item you pack that you wish you didnt have too. I would probably only take the boat out a couple of times over the year maybe so probably the best temp. option. I am planning a trip to france in june so would like to take it then. I could put it inside, but with awning and chairs etc, it makes for difficult living whilst travelling and stop overs as, there is little space to put anything away such as chairs and awning. Obviously with a car/caravan option as I have in the past, when travelling if you need to stop over we stored everything in the car. The other option is a trailer, but we are getting ridiculous then, the trailer would weigh about 100KG to carry less weight just to be out the way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Styve100 Posted February 13, 2019 Author Share Posted February 13, 2019 The picture you linked is exactly what i have, the ladder is slightly different, its an alloy ladder which ends vertically then i can see two stiubs on the black frame on the top which would i assume attach to a curved ladder, but there is a gap on mine between the top of the ladder and the black frame. The boxer I meant was peugeot boxer which is what that is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.