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Old 02-13-2007, 07:59 AM   #4
Bill
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Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: The mountains of Scottsdale, AZ, and the beaches of Maine
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There has been a lot of discussion about carrying stuff on the roof of the TM. Use the Search tool and keywords like "canoe" and "kayak" to find it. The general concensus is that the TM roof is not designed to carry any load. There are problems with how to mount the carriers' bracketry - the TM roof is made of lightweight aluminum panels, which do not hold screws well. There is no steel up there. And there are no cross-roof frame members to take screws. And so forth. ON THE OTHER HAND, RockyMtnRay has mounted solar panels on his roof, using special brackets and special glue. Those panels must weight close to 100 pounds total. You could rummage around the Solar Power forum to find it. But I would point out that solar panels have very low wind resistance - a boat would catch the wind much better, and I am concerned that it would tear out any kind of mounting brackets. In the end, I think you would do much better to mount a carrier on your van, and put the boat up there.

Re the sound of rain on the roof. I think everyone agrees that a TM is not quiet in the rain. There is considerable disagreement, however, on whether the noise is objectionable. I would describe the sound of a light rain as "Tick tick tick". In a heavy rain, it becomes "TOCK TOCK TOCK". I personally like the sound - to me it is relaxing - but that's probably because I spent a lot of time in my youth in a woods camp where the sound of rain on the roof came right through to the interior. Wonderful place. City dwellers who haven't experienced this, though, may find the noise unusual and therefore disturbing. Your personal reaction is known only to you.

Bill
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