roof rack

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890man

890man

SILVER Star
Joined
Jul 7, 2005
Threads
90
Messages
867
Location
Thousand Oaks, Ca.
I am thinking about a roof rack for my pig. I saw a few wilderness racks out there but what do you think of the size. They show 54" x 84". I don't plan on loading a ton of stuff up there but small racks look kinda goofy up there. There is also the idea of half rack and half roof top tent. I dont have the tent yet though. I would like to see some pics and see what you guys think.

Thanks
 
Rack

Here's a pic of the ARB rack. Not my truck but I have access to the spec's if your interested.

Lou
cl5 (2).webp
cl6 (2).webp
 
on the pigs, is anyone worried about these racks causing problems in the long term with the fj55 gutters? My gutters are in perfect shape and I want to run a rack in the future but don't want to bend up or deform, cause rust with my gutters. sorry to hijack, just wondering if others have had ill effects of these types of racks on their fj55's.

Noah
 
The thought of it scares me to death. I hate to weaken them in any way. I'd love to figure out another way to have a rack than trusting my gutters.
 
That is a nice pig. The sliders look like IPOR (ironpigoffroad.com). I like the look of that ARB rack but I would like to see at least four or five mounts per side to spread the load out. That would really help the gutters. I really like that length though. Ill look for the dimensions.
 
1973Guppie said:
on the pigs, is anyone worried about these racks causing problems in the long term with the fj55 gutters? My gutters are in perfect shape and I want to run a rack in the future but don't want to bend up or deform, cause rust with my gutters. sorry to hijack, just wondering if others have had ill effects of these types of racks on their fj55's.

Noah
Click to expand...
Howdy! I built my rack over 15 years ago out of a little 1/2", and mostly 3/4" square tube. I went a little overboard on gusseting in the corners, but it has paid off. I have snapped off more dead tree limbs than I could ever use in my campfire, and so far no damage. I have also hauled 8 twenty foot sections of 2x2x0.250 angle iron on it. That's way over 500#. I've never had it off, so I don't know the condition of the gutter, but I have a piece of 1/2" running the full length and the four supports on top of that. It has 4 small bolts thru the gutter to keep it from sliding around. Only trick is that the roof and gutter have a bit of a curve to them, and I didn't notice till I tried to mount it up. Neighbors got a good show while I set it up inverted on 4 buckets and jumped on the middle of it to get it curved enough to match the rig. So far I can't get more than about 5 or 6 years out of a sheet of plywood as a floor, regardless of how much I pay, or what I coat/soak it with. John
 
I'd think the problem with the gutters getting damaged would be from rust so long as you spread the weight evenly through several contact points especially if those points are in line with the pillars towards the rear.

Sidenote: dont mount your lights like that picture if you plan on actually wheeling, otherwise you'll be replacing them frequently. Unless there no tree cover where you wheel.
 
55 Rack

This 55 belongs to Clay, Fredricksburg Va and IPOR did the work, rust repair, sliders, seats etc. I like the idea of removing the roof panel, cleaning and Por 15 upper rail and Por 15 gutters. I'll have the spec's tomorrow, headed to IPOR to visit my Pig.

Lou
 
inkpot said:
Howdy! I built my rack over 15 years ago out of a little 1/2", and mostly 3/4" square tube.
Click to expand...

You cheat. There is no moisture in AZ.:flipoff2:
 
So you guys dont see a problem with a 7 foot long rack? I would keep it empty or remove it before any serious crawling, but for trips with the family ( first baby on the way:bounce:) I was thinking spare, a few gas cans, a water can or two, firewood and one of those soft wall carriers filled with light bulky stuff like sleeping bags/pads and tents. I am not sprung over yet but that is the plan along with 60 axles. I do have about three inches and running 33's. Is this going to be too top heavy?
 
890man said:
So you guys dont see a problem with a 7 foot long rack? I would keep it empty or remove it before any serious crawling, but for trips with the family ( first baby on the way:bounce:) I was thinking spare, a few gas cans, a water can or two, firewood and one of those soft wall carriers filled with light bulky stuff like sleeping bags/pads and tents. I am not sprung over yet but that is the plan along with 60 axles. I do have about three inches and running 33's. Is this going to be too top heavy?
Click to expand...

Mine is an old 4x6 Conn-Ferr. That's about what I put on mine. There's only been a couple of times it felt too top heavy.

Crappy pic:

attachment.php
 
I got the old con-fer rack as well...
283_8393.webp
 
890man said:
So you guys dont see a problem with a 7 foot long rack? I would keep it empty or remove it before any serious crawling, but for trips with the family ( first baby on the way:bounce:) I was thinking spare, a few gas cans, a water can or two, firewood and one of those soft wall carriers filled with light bulky stuff like sleeping bags/pads and tents. I am not sprung over yet but that is the plan along with 60 axles. I do have about three inches and running 33's. Is this going to be too top heavy?
Click to expand...
Howdy! I have been SO on 35's for 20 years. I even have my spare bolted into the roof rack over the front, just for ballast! Rack weighs about 40#, and floor about doubles that. Not much up there compared to 6000#down below. I have been way off camber lots of times 30+ degrees, no problem. It definitely does do some rock and roll, but I have never dropped off the original rear sway bar, and I don't think I ever will. I have some pix of it twisted up in the rocks, but they are on my old computer. I need to get them moved to this one. John
 
Thanks for the replies and pics. I think I may work with my original idea which is about 54 x 98. I can always mod it later if it is too big. What are you using for the floor? I dont really like the expanded steel look but I would like more than some cross bars every ten inches. I am thinking about some marine ply for now to keep the budget down but I dont know how thick or how much support.
 
well i dont have the rust issue, but i made a 7 foot rack (heavy duty) with a mere four mounting feet welded directly to the drip rails, i know what was i thinking? but even with just those four points i ran it about 3 yrs (built a trailer) and had 15 pallets for firewood up there once. drip rails are fine i wouldnt hesitiate to run a rack with 6 clamp-on type feet.
 
roof rack floor

I was going to use expanded metal as well, but instead used 5/8 marine ply. I painted it white and while it only seems to last for 4 years or so before the next paint job, it does a great job of keeping the roof cool in the summer. You could probably use mobile home roof paint as well.
 
RHINO said:
well i dont have the rust issue, but i made a 7 foot rack (heavy duty) with a mere four mounting feet welded directly to the drip rails, i know what was i thinking? but even with just those four points i ran it about 3 yrs (built a trailer) and had 15 pallets for firewood up there once. drip rails are fine i wouldnt hesitiate to run a rack with 6 clamp-on type feet.
Click to expand...
Howdy! You also carried the frame from a mini truck up there once, remember?? I use 3/4 marine plywood with the paint glopped on heavy. It does create a lot of shade in the summer. I have one 3/4" tube under each end, and four more spaced down the middle. My rack is 48 x 84, so I only have to cut 1 foot off the end and drop it in. John
 
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