Roof Racks

There are a few homemade ones on the forum below :-

Neil htpp://

I'm thinking about a full length one to be rigged for expedition, however the costs of pre-made ones are prohibitive and AFAICT there isn't actually that much to one.

Four, maybe up to 8 gutter clamps, cross beams and a deck, possibly with a rail around it.

Am I being stupidly hopeful that I can build one for less than I'd pay for a premade?

P.

Erm...obiviously I typed it wrong!

Neil

On or around Fri, 02 Apr 2004 15:21:30 +0100, "Paul S. Brown" enlightened us thusly:

possibly. especially if you add in the cost of galvanising.

lemme know the saort of spec yer looking for, I'll quote you for a painted steel one :-)

I bought a roof rack off the one-time events mgr of the DOC, Tim Arnold. He'd made it himself out of welded steel. He sold it to me for £100 so I presume it cost him less than that...

I used it for the Iceland expedition, it was heavily loaded daily and was solid as a rock. The only flaws were that the bars tended to flex a bit in the middle, which meant you had to make sure you didn't stand in the middle, round the edge only; and I found that straps etc hanging down between the bars scratched the roof, which would have been solved by better packing, raising the height a bit or flooring it.

Having sold the roof rack with the Disco, for the new Disco I've decided to shell out for a pro roof rack (probably a Patriot, mmm) because I need to make sure the car looks as smart as possible.

David

I've got a 'posh' one for sale - looks fairly neat but is not an expedition type (more a sporty type).

Let me know if you're interested and I'll get my arse into gear and take a piccie or two.

Take the pics and I'll let you know.

"Sporty" roofrack brings images of a couple of roof bars with a whale tail spoiler mounted on them - I'm guessing not that.

P.

I'd be interested to see pics, although sporty probably not good for me. D

Now, if you want a really _serious_ roofrack, I can help. My 110 SW is fitted with a monster of a rack, designed to carry an inverted RIB. It is bolted into the roof in 6 places and comes to a point above the front bumper, from which it is supported by a massive circular-section steel pole which is in turn attached to the top of a very substantial 'A' bar. Across the back of the rack is a steel roller and there are plates on the rack so that you can walk about on it (the dreaded chequerplate again.. very solid stuff, however). The Navy divers tell me they had the racks custom made for their L/R fleet for about £2000 each! It'd be free to anyone who can help me remove it (and find a way of taking it away!). It's heavy and adds a whole new dimension to negotiating roundabouts.

Seriously, if anyone is interested, I'll happily send photos.

Me! Me! Pick me!

Please send photos, as although I don't have a 110, I know a couple of people who may be interested...

Where are you based?

Thanks, David.

David, I e-mailed you.