Roof Rack Wiring: best way on an 80, any Snorkel Runs??

[RIDEitINTOtheGROUND]

I did a fair bit of searching and found a lot of threads with just a few responses on this, almost zero pics for the wiring runs. Maybe I missed the major one, can someone point it out? Any favorite drilling spots or secret nooks to pass wires through?

I'm building my roof rack now, and am considering getting a snorkel soon as well to run the wiring up along that, avoid holes in the leak-sensitive areas/drilling when I don't have to. Any pics/input on that would be appreciated!

 

[98 SNAKE EATER]

With 1000 watts of spotlights and a compressor on my roof, I had to run some serious cable up there

I opted for a pair of 2G. Welding Cable for power and ground and a multi-wire conduit cable for switched triggers and routed them through the right rear corner of the roof using Heyco watertight plugs

The power and multi-wire cables lead into a tool box that houses my compressor, cooling fans, relays and fuse block while the ground cable is simply bolted to one of the rack mounts

 

[MrOffshore]

Nice work on the rack. I'm about to order a tube bender and get started on a custom aluminum rack...excited to make this a nice summer project, appreciate your images, gives me some great ideas.

 

[atomicshawn]

Someday I’ll run lights to my rack. Its all wired with relays and switches in place. I just got to get in there and do it.

On my last ride, a 1991 Montero, I was running 4 Hella 500s on the rack. I drilled the hole through the plastic trim in one of the plastic vents behind the rear window and installed a heavy duty flat 4 pin connector that came with a cap. It worked out pretty slick for a couple of reasons; first, I didn’t have to drill into the body so as to avoid corrosion issues and the inherent anxiety that goes with drilling into the body. Second, I was able to disconnect the connector, cap it, and remove the rack and you could hardly tell the connector was there. I wish I took pictures, it worked well, very stealthy.

My LC looks to be a very similar design and I’m thinking about maybe trying the same trick.

Maybe something to consider. Good luck. Show us how it turns out.

 

[Tyler93]

Watching Top Gear in your Land Cruiser....You good sir are the definition of all things manly.+

 

[treerootCO]

I used one of these with the pass through base:
DEUTSCH TERMINAL


Here are some pics. I decided to hide it behind one of the supports. It might look funny without the roofrack but it works well with it. I ran 10gauge up the A pillar for the light bar and 12gauge to the roof top tent lighting.

 

[RIDEitINTOtheGROUND]

Watching Top Gear in your Land Cruiser....You good sir are the definition of all things manly.+

lol nice catch on that pic, I missed it the first time!

Thanks for all the input guys, all good tips so far. I am familiar with the Heyco style pass-throughs, great for their simplicity and waterproofing. Definitely the first thing to come to mind when thinking of drilling holes in the roof (and I'm pretty familiar with Snake Eater's roof rack, always great write ups thx)

@Atomicshawn - Going through a plastic section is nice for the exact reasons you stated, was that connector a flush mount 90deg sort of thing? The (un)plugable fitting like that and the ones Treeroot posted are a verrry intriguing idea, like the modularity.

Still need to find some "up the snorkel" wiring examples.. or is that generally avoided?

I'll def start a new thread for my build when it's farther along!

 

[Uncle Grumpy]

I thought about concealing the wiring in the snorkel but decided against it. I know you can make it water proof but I didn't like the idea of putting a hole in it in the engine compartment. If you run it behind or attached to the outside of the snorkel there's the risk of losing the wiring if your snorkel is snagged on something. I'm going to run mine like treerootCO and protect it behind the roof rack supports.

 

[atomicshawn]

@Atomicshawn - Going through a plastic section is nice for the exact reasons you stated, was that connector a flush mount 90deg sort of thing? The (un)plugable fitting like that and the ones Treeroot posted are a verrry intriguing idea, like the modularity.

Yes, that is a good description of how it was mounted. But Grumpy brings up a good point; the way I had mine mounted on the side would make it more susceptible to getting snagged by a tree limb or something. For that reason treeroot’s method might be the way to go.