They're bolted to sheet metal with backing plates I'm sure. You could also take the bars down to side wings on the rear bumper and to side steps or rock sliders. If I had stayed with my FRP top BJ73 I was going to have a full external rail system just like that fabbed up. Done this way, with the top being used mainly for lateral stability, I think it would work just fine. But as you said it's unnecessary for an awning although it would give you a great support for a proper roof rack to put light bulky stuff like clothing and tentage. Ditto a couple of Jerry cans that could be emptied ASAP and not only increase your range but then basically weigh nothing.
I've been stopping and staring at the rear corners every time I walk past...and there's a solution present, albeit not an easy one. Simply put: changing up the rear quarter trim panels at the bumper -
à la Coastal Offroad - to a structural assembly that is tied into the rear crossmember and the rear frame rails behind the tires makes everything else possible, because it gives us the basis of a mounting surface for the "everything else" in question. Therein, however, lies the difficulty; the groundwork itself is laborious, and once it's done
we still have everything else to fabricate.
This being said, there's another possible solution; if all we're really trying to do is make a structural assembly that replaces the rear trim panels...why not just make a structural rear trim piece and eliminate the rest of the bumper-building that we are only undertaking as a means to an end? I kind of want to tack some foam-core together and create a proof of concept, and then see about the possibility of modifying or creating a new trim piece that will replace the stock ones, while still providing the same aesthetic function. Of course, once we take things to that level, we may have been better-served by starting with the Coastal bumper kit.
There's almost no room inside these small trucks and putting all that stuff up on a stable roof rack would be a game changer. And good call on the roof top tent.
I agree; the small, light, incidental-use stuff that doesn't need to be left at home but which also takes up room could definitely go up top...and for times when extra supplies or equipment must be carried, having an overflow space on the roof would be ideal. It's a time-honored solution that's been proven by a lot of rigs in a lot of places, and there's really only one environment in which it offers a significant drawback: the interstate highway system. Wind noise and drag go up, fuel efficiency and stability go down, and having the lowest-profile rack is the only way to mitigate those effects. Been there and done that.
I had windshield zone corrosion which I dealt with, but for me the ultimate source of that exact same leak was the firewall grommet.
I had run a new wire through the grommet and I guess disturbing the old rubber caused a gap.
I poured flowable silicone on the wires and grommet. That stopped the water.
It's been off-and-on raining here for over a week, and she hasn't leaked a drop. We've had some pretty significant amounts, as well...so I don't know what's going on. I guess I need to get in there with a hose and start soaking things and seeing if I can find a penetration point. Good time to adjust my clutch as well; I don't think it's always engaging as fully as it needs to. Every once in awhile I'll get a momentary gear-grind when I put her into reverse, or a hang-up/hard shift from neutral to first.
I'm sensing Sundowner really doesn't care for roof top tents. I just ordered one of those slim pack aluminum ones for my 78. I'm hoping the low profile, 7.5", will negate some of the wind drag and top heaviness. how does your RTT carry.
You, Sir, are a man of uncommon perception and sense correctly: the last thing I want to deal in the middle of the night on the way to the WC is a
ladder, because those are not a welcome contrivance when one is halfway between a well-deserved nightcap and a much-needed morning brew.
For most of those uses I would say bolting through the sheet metal with appropriate backing plates will be perfectly adequate. Carrying a spare tire on the rack might require more than that though, as a tire/rim combo can get pretty heavy.
I agree. A spare tire for my rig weighs exactly 51 pounds, plus whatever the stock wheel weight happens to be. Call that 25 lbs. and we're looking at somewhere in the mid-70's...and that's almost exactly the weight of 40 liters of diesel, not counting two Wavian cans and their necessary accoutrements. Attempt to carry both and I'm at 150 pounds; adding the aforementioned awning will throw another 25 pounds into the mix, give or take, and I've never met a recovery box worth being called such that didn't weigh over 25 pounds when fully dressed. That's an even 200 pounds - or 91 metric pounds, for those of us in countries with sensible metrology - and we haven't even worked very hard to get there...or accounted for the weight of the rack itself.
To each their own, RTT's aren't for everyone. I really like camping in mine, but wish I had a good way to remove it when not in use. Overall the Prado does just fine with the tent on top, though I definitely notice a difference in any kind of a headwind or crosswind. Under normal conditions I probably see 50-100ºF higher EGT's, and my ability to carry speed in windy conditions is significantly decreased. I probably lose 1-3mpg on average.
For reference, I lost 0.8MPG on my LJ when I added the roof rack.
If you've retained your sway bars handling is still pretty good with the extra weight, Prados are pretty stiff in stock form. My front sway bar has been out since it came loose and destroyed one of the brackets this summer; at first I really noticed the extra sway from the higher COG but have gotten used to it now. Definitely increases the pucker factor on steep, off-camber trails though.
I do have the antisway bars in place; I am not a fan of disconnecting them. In the coil-sprung and sadly-misinformed Jeep world, they're usually disconnected in a misguided attempt to gain traction via increased axle/wheel travel; such attempts usually have little to no impact at articulation ranges unaffected by the disconnection, and are actively counterproductive at ranges formerly limited by the bar.
All that being said: I've been into other stuff today...and that is simply a nebulous way of saying "I finally got around to replacing my door scuffs."
Pictured: Ew.
I tried cleaning them in so many different ways, all of which failed; I scrubbed, I magic-erased, I polished, I gently-abraded, I sacrificed my last remaining virginal unicorn on a a high holy day...you name it, and I tried it. Result: nothing. No improvement. I think I actually made it
worse with all of my efforts, because when I took them out to gently abrade and/or be placed upon the sacred altar, I managed to completely sever a previously-compromised mounting tab on the driver's side scuff and prevent it from ever again fitting properly. So, at length, I bought new ones...and then promptly misplaced them for the better part of a year due to the aforementioned cross-country move; they finally resurfaced, so I figured that this was as good a time as any to get them installed.
Pictured: Also: never photograph your carpet up-close. Ick.
Thirty minutes of vacuuming later and the carpet
still wasn't clean - and I'm going to have to work on that because tiny bits of redwood-needle shrapnel do
not need to find their forever-home in my vehicle - but the new hotness was installed and it looks immeasurably better.
Pictured: It's also not broken, so...win-win.
That's one strange and intermittent trim noise solved; now there are only 7,402 left to go...all of which will be filed away until I get the diverter panel in the blower assembly repaired; it's somewhat corroded from something or other, and it likes to clatter when the doors open or shut. I'm pretty sure I'll have to replace the entire blower assembly in order to do that, but oh well; that'll give me a bunch of spare parts for when something else in the new one eventually gives out. I may need a cable as well, but I'm going to have to get my head under there and figure out what's letting the door move around so much before I order any additional parts...and I haven't yet ordered the blower assembly, in point of fact, so I guess I need to do that as well.
Also, in unrelated news: some goodies from the land of Oz showed up.
Pictured: Pay no attention to the rear windows behind the curtain.
I got these from Solarscreen awhile back, but I hadn't really played around with them until today; Solarscreen actually shipped me the wrong set for my rear quarter windows, so once they got the replacements to me - free of charge at their insistence, with a five-day arrival time from Australia, to boot - I basically checked for fit and then put them aside until I had time and brainpower to play with them. I'm pretty impressed: when the entire set is installed it's
dark inside the rig...so that's Step One towards making this thing a self-contained camping pod.
Now I can start thinking about the hard part: figuring out how to stretch out in an area that's not big enough to stretch out in.
