Roof rack plan, ideas and a couple of questions...

[TonyN]

Shok-dude, Dodge is right on your points, the foot of the rack pushes down on the roof, the plate has to be welded to the roof if you fit it on the inside (or placed under the foot of the rack on the outside, which is actually what I had in my head, but mistyped.), or the whole thing will still push down and the plate will come away from the roof as it presses down.

I was rushing typing and didn't make it clear.

Its a pretty moot point for most people, this was a big ol' roof tent, fixed to some roof bars, that reasonable big guy sat in the back corner on and it flexed the roof in quite a bit.

[Overland Tonka]

I know I'm prob tempting fate but the alu roof rack which came with my surf has had a roof tent attached to it and it survived our trip to the northern sahara...on and off road..... I was very worried that the two thulie type feet either side of the car at the rear doors and the feet which just sit on the rear of the car would mean the rack would shake lose...but...it was fine.

I guess I may just be lucky and the next trip will throw up probs. Full belt and braces as mentioned by others is the way to go...get those plates welded on the inside...although I like the sucker option.
Picture below....
http://desmond.yfrog.com/Himg686/sca...=640&ysize=640

[Dodge]

Really ?how come?

You need to spread the load of the rack over an area larger than the bolt hole.

The ice is your thin sheet steel roof what would you want to use to spread the load of your weight thin bolts or a nice big plate.
How you do it is up to you.

What would have been a good idea is to have given an idea of how much weight you expect to carry in the roof rack and how much the roof rack itself is going to weigh.

Shok-dude, Dodge is right on your points, the foot of the rack pushes down on the roof, the plate has to be welded to the roof if you fit it on the inside (or placed under the foot of the rack on the outside, which is actually what I had in my head, but mistyped.), or the whole thing will still push down and the plate will come away from the roof as it presses down.

I was rushing typing and didn't make it clear.

Its a pretty moot point for most people, this was a big ol' roof tent, fixed to some roof bars, that reasonable big guy sat in the back corner on and it flexed the roof in quite a bit.

Ah, I get you now.

For neatness I was going to weld bolts inside the ends of the vertical box section, I think I'll chamfer the ends to follow the roof angle and use either a washer or a plate on the outside and the same inside.

Shokenore I don't expect to carry that much weight, a couple of suitcases, spare rim/tyre, tent or the odd dead body, but if I make it strong enough when the need arises I won't have to worry if I have to carry it all in one go. The subject of strength only came up because tony mentioned the flex and I didn't get what he meant but like I said I do now.

I also understand driving with a loaded roof rack, I spend my day dealing with load weights and security before we get into that.

Thanks for the input guys and apologies for misunderstanding

[Dodge]

I know I'm prob tempting fate but the alu roof rack which came with my surf has had a roof tent attached to it and it survived our trip to the northern sahara...on and off road..... I was very worried that the two thulie type feet either side of the car at the rear doors and the feet which just sit on the rear of the car would mean the rack would shake lose...but...it was fine.

I guess I may just be lucky and the next trip will throw up probs. Full belt and braces as mentioned by others is the way to go...get those plates welded on the inside...although I like the sucker option.
Picture below....
http://desmond.yfrog.com/Himg686/sca...=640&ysize=640

That's interesting, until reading that I never rated the feet that go under the doors.

Slightly off topic, how did you find fuel availability over there? I'd love to do something along those lines, but wonder if a sub 20mpg Surf is the way to go, 300 or so clicks to a tank! I'd have to double tank it and carry a couple of Jerry cans.

[Rustinho]

That's interesting, until reading that I never rated the feet that go under the doors.

Slightly off topic, how did you find fuel availability over there? I'd love to do something along those lines, but wonder if a sub 20mpg Surf is the way to go, 300 or so clicks to a tank! I'd have to double tank it and carry a couple of Jerry cans.

You can fit a couple of Long Ranger tanks giving you a total fuel load of 260 litres (Just over 57 gallons) which should give you a range of over 1000 miles per re-fueling stop but its stupidly expensive to buy new (about a grand a tank or something - and that's before you spend any time/money fitting it). The second tank goes where the underslung spare wheel goes (I think) so you'd have to have the spare(s) on the roof or rear mounted.

That's in silly money territory and you might just be better off getting something ready equipped!

[BUSHWHACKER]

...get those plates welded on the inside.......

The paint on the roof will burn!

[TonyN]

Smear some mud on it.

[alf]

galvanising roof rack

Hia Dodge, if you decide to get your roof rack galvanised. All your closed ends of hollow section tubes will have to be drilled in a few places, otherwise the hollow section tubes will burst with the heat pressure that builds up inside them. Ive seen it happen, and it makes a right mess of your workmanship belive me. Get advise of your galvanisers first. Hope it goes well for you. Take care, happy truckin, Alf

[Dodge]

You can fit a couple of Long Ranger tanks giving you a total fuel load of 260 litres (Just over 57 gallons) which should give you a range of over 1000 miles per re-fueling stop but its stupidly expensive to buy new (about a grand a tank or something - and that's before you spend any time/money fitting it). The second tank goes where the underslung spare wheel goes (I think) so you'd have to have the spare(s) on the roof or rear mounted.

That's in silly money territory and you might just be better off getting something ready equipped!

I did try to get the tank out of my old surf, I was going to mount it on the opposite side but it was too corroded, I can fabricate tanks though to save a few quid. Don't want them too big mind, it's a heavy load with 60L let alone 260L! although saying that it would only be heavy for half an hour.

The paint on the roof will burn!

Have you seen my truck?

Smear some mud on it.

You've seen my truck!

[Dodge]

Hia Dodge, if you decide to get your roof rack galvanised. All your closed ends of hollow section tubes will have to be drilled in a few places, otherwise the hollow section tubes will burst with the heat pressure that builds up inside them. Ive seen it happen, and it makes a right mess of your workmanship belive me. Get advise of your galvanisers first. Hope it goes well for you. Take care, happy truckin, Alf

Yeah thanks Alf, good call I'd forgotten that. I go to a galvaniser regularly for work, they charge the customer if they have to start drilling holes.

[MWS]

Hey, Dodge. Lifted this from the Spanish site. It's another alternative.......http://www.4runnerforo.com/phpBB3/vi...php?f=7&t=4404.......Cheers.....Mick.
Also, this........
http://www.4runnerforo.com/phpBB3/vi...php?f=7&t=1856

[123-gtt]

So, back on track has anyone removed a roof lining?

I have,I used a roof rack from a little peugeot van,perfect length and width,there should be some photos somewhere on here by me,roof lineing only need to be pulled down in the rear quarters,and next to the sun roof just to get my hand in to put the nuts and washer on.
i will see if i can dig out the pics

[123-gtt]

found it

[Overland Tonka]

The paint on the roof will burn!

Ahhh...shiny truck issues of course...yep your spot on there. Long plate and lots of bolts I guess..or if your like me I don't care about it looking crap as long as it works..

[123-gtt]

This one was took,on my first big trip away, with a sheet of wbp 18mm ply,33"wheel on top,60 lts of fuel, 20 lts water,waffel boards,high lift jack,and a big box full of camping stuff and the rack is just bolted on the roof on rubber pads,did the job nice