Coleman Versa - RTT Trailer

demagxc

Member
Hi there, I’m the guy who stopped you on I-95 in the black Subaru Outback a couple of weeks ago in Connecticut. It was pretty wild coming up behind you as I have never seen another versa in the wild in New England.

Glad to find you here and thanks for the detailed posts. Would you mind sharing your fabrication plans for the racks? My family has an extended journey ahead of us with an all-original versa and I’m trying to sort out some things.

thank you
Glad you found the post! If the traffic was a little heavier I would have been able to direct you here, but since this is one of the only results when you google "Coleman Versa roof rack" I had a feeling you might stumble across it.

The drawing in post #2 is the only info I gave to the guy who fabricated it. The whole thing is made from 1x2 aluminum with what I think is 1/8" wall thickness. The material was originally a security fence that was run over by a delivery truck at the chemical factory my father works at. The welder at the factory was able to fab it up in his spare time.

Because he was limited by what he had on hand, the only differences between the original design and the finished product is that the uprights are welded to L channel rather than flat plate, and the cross bars are 1x2 instead of 1x1 which I am happy about. The flat plate mounting would have been much better in my opinion since the clamping force of the plate would have taken some of the stress off the bolts. However, it doesn't seem to be an issue since everything is still solid after a few thousand miles of driving.

If your trailer has the original cap, this rack really limits how high you can lift the lid but as you can see, the arms can still be rested on the tailgate. Without adding more stabilization, or a third cross bar, I wouldn't build it much taller since there is minor sway on rough roads. I am contemplating adding a cross member in between the front most verticals to stiffen it up and act as a mounting point for who knows what in the future.
 

slowblow

New member
adding more stabilization, or a third cross bar, I wouldn't build it much taller since there is minor sway on rough roads. I am contemplating adding a cross member in between the front most verticals to stiffen it up and act as a mounting point for who knows what in the future.

Interesting. Can you still take cap off? I have the OG cap and it has a piece of metal that slots into a channel at the front. You have to tilt the cap almost vertical to get it out.
 

demagxc

Member
Interesting. Can you still take cap off? I have the OG cap and it has a piece of metal that slots into a channel at the front. You have to tilt the cap almost vertical to get it out.
The cap can be removed but the channel plate at the front has to be unbolted. Once the plate is removed the lid can lifted and slide through the rack. Its not a huge inconvenience to me since I don't plan on removing the cap very often (if ever).
 

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