As Joy noted, I've got a couple of extra air springs (gas struts) on
the poptop to offset the weight of the Pak-a-Sport cargo carrier and
it's contents (carrier weighs about 110 pounds empty).

The trailer is a 6x10 trailer with a Vee bump out in front. Weighs
about 1500 pounds empty. I did have a pinball machine in it by the
time of the camp out (circa 300 pounds), plus a slider and front
passenger door, and a couple of misc things, for an additional 200
pounds of weight. On Sunday the doors came out and another pinball
machine went in.

The trailer sits up about 7 feet high (interior is about 5 1/2 feet).
About the same height as my Westy without the Pak-a-Sport on it.

And it's not just the upgraded engine, I've got big brakes up front
and rear disc brakes for added stopping power.

On Oct 16, 2006, at 11:23 PM, Joy Hecht wrote:

> Eh, he cheats!  He's got struts that help push the poptop up with that
> 100-lb carrier plus whatever he's stuffed inside of it!
>
> Not enough assistance for me to be able to get his poptop up - but
> almost.
> So that kind of struts should enable me to pop the top of my van
> with a
> 47-lb kayak!  I've got to put struts on my poptop before I return
> to life on
> the road...
>
> But Kim was also towing a really huge trailer - eight or ten feet
> high,
> maybe?  It was mostly empty this weekend, but if it if were full,
> that would
> be some serious weight!  Of course he's not driving with a waterboxer
> engine, either...
>