It's lower than the factory rack with cross bars.
How To Install a LabRak Expedition Roof Rack (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter KlausVanWinkle
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It's lower than the factory rack with cross bars.
Awesome job on the LabRak!
I have a lot of fir/hemlock trees around my house, and by taking the rubber weatherstrip out of my roof I think it would be a nightmare to not only keep clean, but it would hold moisture which isn't good in the Pacific Northwest. Do your roof brackets fit into the slots without taking said rubber out? I would want a bracket that you could install without removing rubber which included a flashing at its base.
I have a lot of fir/hemlock trees around my house, and by taking the rubber weatherstrip out of my roof I think it would be a nightmare to not only keep clean, but it would hold moisture which isn't good in the Pacific Northwest. Do your roof brackets fit into the slots without taking said rubber out? I would want a bracket that you could install without removing rubber which included a flashing at its base.
- Thread starter
- #23
The weather stripping on the 100s rain gutters seems to be purely cosmetic. It's a piece of thin metal with rubber on top. It doesn't appear to be water tight. Based on how disgusting it was underneath the weather stripping on both my 2000s, I'd say dirt and rain water gets trapped there between the flashing and roof.
If you want, you can reinstall the weather stripping to hide all those clips. Each weather strip would have to be cut into 4 pieces to fit around the LabRak mounts. (Windshield to 1st mount. 1st mount to 2nd mount. 2nd mount to 3rd mount. 3rd mount to lift-gate).
I might do that because the clips are ugly. But they're set so low in the rain gutter of such a tall vehicle that no one would see them but you.
I don't think keeping the gutters clean would be that hard after the initial cleaning. Some Simple Green or Castrol Super Clean keep them pretty clean. This is what mine look like now.
To answer your question, no. The LabRak mounts can't just be installed on top of the weather stripping. The OEM rack's mounts go through cut outs in the weather stripping. The load is distributed through those rectangular metal washers to the roof.
The LabRak mounts distribute the load to the roof through a much larger foot print. So you'd have to make a large cut out in the weather stripping for the LabRAk mounts to go through. It seems easier to just cut like I said above.
If you want, you can reinstall the weather stripping to hide all those clips. Each weather strip would have to be cut into 4 pieces to fit around the LabRak mounts. (Windshield to 1st mount. 1st mount to 2nd mount. 2nd mount to 3rd mount. 3rd mount to lift-gate).
I might do that because the clips are ugly. But they're set so low in the rain gutter of such a tall vehicle that no one would see them but you.
I don't think keeping the gutters clean would be that hard after the initial cleaning. Some Simple Green or Castrol Super Clean keep them pretty clean. This is what mine look like now.
To answer your question, no. The LabRak mounts can't just be installed on top of the weather stripping. The OEM rack's mounts go through cut outs in the weather stripping. The load is distributed through those rectangular metal washers to the roof.
The LabRak mounts distribute the load to the roof through a much larger foot print. So you'd have to make a large cut out in the weather stripping for the LabRAk mounts to go through. It seems easier to just cut like I said above.
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- Thread starter
- #24
I've installed the LabRak 3 times now (Twice on the Silver 100. Once on the White 100).
Installation isn't a PITA. But it is time consuming. The base expo frame is comprised of 14 parts (4 corners, 4 sides, 6 mounts) and 48 bolts (24 small allen head bolts, 12 large allen head bolts, 12 large bolts). You have to install them in order and can't skip steps because everything has to line up correctly given the minor variances from one truck to another.
I'm about to purchase a LabRak from someone in town who already installed it on his truck...are you saying you can't just unbolt the "feet" from the gutter, lift the entire assembled rack and drop it onto another truck? Do you really have to unassemble then reassemble the entire rack in place?
Cheers!
- Thread starter
- #26
You can but its take longer.
It's faster to remove and install it in two step:
1, unbolt the Frame from the feet. The frame blocks the access holes to the bolts that hold the feet to the roof. But you can remove the frame and all your accessories in one piece.
2, unbolt the feet from the roof.
When reinstalling, do the reverse but loosen the bolts on the frame corners so you can reposition things as necessary.
It's faster to remove and install it in two step:
1, unbolt the Frame from the feet. The frame blocks the access holes to the bolts that hold the feet to the roof. But you can remove the frame and all your accessories in one piece.
2, unbolt the feet from the roof.
When reinstalling, do the reverse but loosen the bolts on the frame corners so you can reposition things as necessary.
I've had my labrak now for almost a year. It is one of my most favorite mods to show off to people. I've never had a piece of equipment that I was so confident in that felt so durable. I haven't messed with it since installation and it is still tight as it was the day it was installed. I haven't had an issue with the roof gutters collecting crap and getting dirty but it is mostly the princess mobile and I run it though the car wash often.
Thanks for that...that sounds far more reasonable than completely disassembling and reassembling!
Cheers!
Thank you. This is an awesome write-up. I am installing my roof rack this weekend.
Do I need to do anything for waterproofing the roof?
Did you apply anything after the rack was installed to avoid water from getting inside, especially around the bolts?
- Thread starter
- #30
Apply some grease or anti seize to the bolts. The rubber gaskets that go between the mounts and the roof keep the water out. I haven't had any issues on either 100.
Hi Folks,
Anyone still in contact with Shane and Labrak? I've feeling he out of business.. I haven't heard from him in a year.
I bought a rack for my 80 series, and only received half of it July 2013. No luck getting ahold of him which is surprising - if the shipment was insured, he'd be covered in case of loss or mail theft. I have a separate forum thread looking for a used Labrak or other ideas on using what I have.
https://forum.ih8mud.com/threads/half-a-labrak-roof-rack-any-ideas.810487/
-Gary
Anyone still in contact with Shane and Labrak? I've feeling he out of business.. I haven't heard from him in a year.
I bought a rack for my 80 series, and only received half of it July 2013. No luck getting ahold of him which is surprising - if the shipment was insured, he'd be covered in case of loss or mail theft. I have a separate forum thread looking for a used Labrak or other ideas on using what I have.
https://forum.ih8mud.com/threads/half-a-labrak-roof-rack-any-ideas.810487/
-Gary
He's still around. Just keep bugging him. He has a lot of projects going on at once and tends to forget things.
- Thread starter
- #33
He's still around. He goes AWOL sometimes. But I know he's been hard at work on the 2.0 LabRak.
Thanks Klaus,
I got ahold of Shane and the remaining parts arrived today, plus 4 extra crossbars. Its really beautiful stuff, now I just have to put it together.
-gary
I got ahold of Shane and the remaining parts arrived today, plus 4 extra crossbars. Its really beautiful stuff, now I just have to put it together.
-gary
