Four gas struts, one next to each lift point, each rated at 75 lbs lift, for a total of 300lbs lift. The load on my rack, including rack, RTT, and awning is just about 300lbs, so it takes very little effort to raise and lower the rack. I can lift the end of the rack with one hand and re-secure the pin in the upright.
The trick with lifting racks if you want to do it manually, is to be able to lift one end, then the other, which means you have to have a way for the top of all four uprights to pivot, and for two of those uprights to be able to slide a bit in the rack end. Otherwise you have to lift all four points simultaneously, which is almost impossible by oneself if doing it manually and without electric-assisted lift.
Rack in the down position.
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Rack in the raised position.
The inner bar of the uprights slides and can be re-secured with pins once in raised or lowered position. The height variance will be controlled by the distance of your gas strut travel. You can get varying lengths of travel. Mine raises an additional 6-8", which is enough to make it much more comfortable to get in and out of the cargo area when raised, and when lowered puts the top of the RTT below the height of the van for aerodynamics going down the highway. Also creates a lower center of gravity; an important consideration when on a trail.
You can get electric-assist lifts and I considered them for my trailer. In the end, I followed some good advice and stuck with the manual lift. Far easier to lift, lower, or repair if a strut or upright fails in some way when it is manual. If electric, and one fails, will be potentially much more difficult to reapir and you may be stuck in raised or lowered position.
I saw somewhere a guy that rigged an ingenious method of raising/lowering his rack with a cordless drill. He'd rigged a covered chain drive around the inner edge of his trailer which engaged a cog and screw thread at the bottom of each upright. He could drive the chain one way to lift his rack, and the other way to lower.
There are a ton more images of my trailer and rack in action at the link below or on
my insta.
Hope that helps in your design thoughts.
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Roaddude - Traveling Photographer/Writer/Artist On the Road In North America. Gear, reviews, people, places, and culture.
roaddude.com
