Safari rack build with a twist... 58x100"... on an 80? (1 Viewer)

[freerifleman]

Here's a crazy idea, I want a Tepui 3-man rooftop tent to open over the rear hatch with its vestibule, and I want room for 8 cans (not 7) across the front of the rack, odd numbers just bother me... both of which amount to 56" (inside) dimensions, and with 1" dia round tubing for the rack, making for 58" wide... and the gutters are about 52". I have two Pelican 1620 cases that line up perfectly between the cans and the tent with a few inches to spare. They are 14" in height, matching the fuel/water cans, and will be a great place to stow seldom-used recovery gear I take out on the trail for mere "what if" scenarios.

Here's my CAD-ish concept:

The left side is the front and I plan to hang it out a bit over the edge of the windshield, but not too much more that the INTI design. That 8" space up front is for the lights and maybe an antenna mount. I tried factoring in limb risers and protecting the snorkel on the passenger side as well. I'm curious if it would create a thunderous amount of road noise?
I've looked at Gamiviti gutter mounts combined with his mounting plates, and figured I'd offset them based on where the mounts, gutter, and rack coincided, perhaps where it is depicted, or moved inward a few inches.

Why 6" wider than the roof gutters? I've seen where many roof-mounted gear have been protected by the sides of the rack, and figured it would do the same to the sides of the vehicle, but I don't know if anyone has any experience with racks wider than the roof, so I figured I'd design it and see what input I received here.

Last consideration: I'm planning an ARB with side protection bars connected to the sliders (another future build)... I could run two load support bars down from the corners of the rack onto that cross piece to help support the extra weight (400 lbs) the 8 cans would put on the rack. I see this type of set up quite a bit on some of the extremely long safari racks on the FJ45 rigs out there (which do not see highway speeds of 75 mph)

Also, I'm seeking comments on the 100" in length... my kids are afraid its airplane shape will lift our trail rig, lol.
Please feel to comment away Thanks!

 

[Blade 80LC]

On the plus side, that is one expedition load of gear on the roof.
On the minus side, you have clearly given up on parking indoors. I just got rejected for the 3 parking structures at the local hospital. Their tallest parking spaces are 6' 8". My Cruiser is 6' 9".

 

[socallove]

yikes, so you are looking at roughly 800lbs on your roof rack, then another 300-400lbs with 3 people in the tent.
I've seen the ARb side rails in person, they are flimsy and not all that strong because of the way they attach under the truck.
Your rack support bars onto the ARb side rails will be catching a lot of brush and branches and narrow passages. But I don't think your rack will be long enough to reach the ARB side rails.
Just my observation, not an expert by any means. Try to draw it out on CAD to see if you like the way it looks, to fit 8 cans on your rack, you will need the inside to be at least 56" wide.

 

[DylanICON]

I would be concerned about connecting the roof rack to the side bars. the bumper and side bars are frame mounted and the rack is body mounted. because the body is on rubber body mounts it moves independently of the frame. connecting them could cause some really high forces trying to restrain the body, possibly ripping or cracking your gutters.

just my opinion but: I'm not a fan of the rack extending out past the body from an esthetics stand point.
when I built mine it started at 96" long and 49" wide. as I started building it and mocking it up I didn't like how long it was and cut it down to 90". My front lights are a separate bolt on hoop to the front however.

 

[freerifleman]

yikes, so you are looking at roughly 800lbs on your roof rack, then another 300-400lbs with 3 people in the tent.
I've seen the ARb side rails in person, they are flimsy and not all that strong because of the way they attach under the truck.
Your rack support bars onto the ARb side rails will be catching a lot of brush and branches and narrow passages. But I don't think your rack will be long enough to reach the ARB side rails.
Just my observation, not an expert by any means. Try to draw it out on CAD to see if you like the way it looks, to fit 8 cans on your rack, you will need the inside to be at least 56" wide.

Thanks for the comments socal, it's good to hear criticism. I've not messed with the ARB bumper or side rails as of yet... I may make my own side rails then

The main reason is for the tent which is also 56" wide (48" long, then 96" or more with the vestibule opened) and I even considered leaving one water can and one fuel can empty while secured on the roof (so they are balanced out), but available for emergencies.

Do you know if anyone carrying 7 cans and a tent have had issues with weight on their rain gutters?

 

[socallove]

I don't know anyone that carries 7/8 cans and a tent on their rack, I'm pretty sure there are some hardcore expedition guys out there that does it on long trips. Someone here on mud told me his C pillar cracked because he had too much weight on it, this was almost two years ago.
Some will tell you too much weight on top will change your center of gravity, it will make it easier for your truck to roll over.
Again, I have no personal experience with cracked pillars or COG problems, I haven't put anything on my roof rack other than a 40# bumper.
If that's what you want to achieve, you can always cut some holes on the roof and floor, then put supporting tubes onto the frame...

 

[freerifleman]

View attachment 1083095 View attachment 1083096

I would be concerned about connecting the roof rack to the side bars. the bumper and side bars are frame mounted and the rack is body mounted. because the body is on rubber body mounts it moves independently of the frame. connecting them could cause some really high forces trying to restrain the body, possibly ripping or cracking your gutters.

just my opinion but: I'm not a fan of the rack extending out past the body from an esthetics stand point.
when I built mine it started at 96" long and 49" wide. as I started building it and mocking it up I didn't like how long it was and cut it down to 90". My front lights are a separate bolt on hoop to the front however.

I love that CAD! I just used Mac Keynote... what program did you use? I'll try that... part of it is trying to visualize what it would look like, I was even considering making the base from PVC and sitting it up on the roof!

I agree on the side bars... I can't recall where I saw it done, it may have been at the Overland Expo... the safari rack was extended out 24" forward of the windshield and attached to an exoskeleton. They may have even used ladders on each side. I think it was an Excursion. It seemed a bit much until I recently saw pics of one on a FJ45 somewhere in Africa and it got me thinking... the gutters must be protected, and these are good things to consider. Has anyone built one off an exo? That would be interesting... I'll do some more research.

Thanks for the comments!

 

[socallove]

here's the full thread on this rig, i think it's pretty cool!

http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/toyo...2-my-fj80-build-trail-pics-exo-39s-5-29s.html

 

[freerifleman]

On the plus side, that is one expedition load of gear on the roof.
On the minus side, you have clearly given up on parking indoors. I just got rejected for the 3 parking structures at the local hospital. Their tallest parking spaces are 6' 8". My Cruiser is 6' 9".

I like to try to think of everything, but as you well know, the devil is in the details. This is good info... my carport is 7'11" and I have my doubts there, too, once I do the OME 3" and move to 35's... so hospitals will be off-limits, lol! I should check my covered parking at the airport, too.

Thanks for the comment!

 

[freerifleman]

here's the full thread on this rig, i think it's pretty cool!

http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/toyo...2-my-fj80-build-trail-pics-exo-39s-5-29s.html

Nice! I remember seeing that... he did great work, too. I don't think I'd ever consider 39's but it looks like he did good work. Proof the 80's are good at everything off-road with a few extra mods...
My wife is shaking her head, remembering how much I wore my welding hood on my recent trailer build: https://forum.ih8mud.com/threads/m100-tactical-overlanding-trailer-build.848466/page-2#post-9752973