Roof racks and rust! (1 Viewer)

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Joined
Jul 29, 2017
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Location
Whitsundays, North Queensland, Australia
Hey guys,

I've spent a lot of time and money getting my 60's roof rust free. I was thinking of possibly fitting a roof rack but I read some guys saying it's a big no-no as these trucks are very prone to rust in the roof. Is there any way to get around this? Or am I better off not fitting one? Or perhaps only fitting when i need it?

I only want to fit an awning, and put my swag/tent and fuel cans up there. Any input? Thanks!
 
I have a rack with a lot of contact points on the roof, every three months or so when I wash it I'll go through and one by one pull each contact clamp off and give it a good cleaning to get any collected gunk. Takes about 30 minutes but worth it! I think the reason it rusts is because of the dirt and gunk that collects and holds in moisture. Maybe I'm wrong but that's what I always thought
 
If you spray an anti-corrosion compound in the gutter every once in a while & let it flow down the entire gutter, the gutter will never rust out. I had an ARB full length roof rack bolted on my roof for 20 years and the gutters were in perfect condition. I sprayed the gutters with Boeshield every once in a while. It dries to a waxy film (and attracts dust).
What suffers though is the actual roof. When the rack is up there, you can't wash the roof and over the years, the neglect to the paint begins to show with little rust spots (after decades).
If you get a roof rack, my advice is to remove it once a year and wash the roof well, then wax it. That should keep it protected.
 
A lot of roof rust doesn't originate from the outside. But inside where multiple layers meet and good ole Yoda made them bare metal and it's the kind of 70's metal that rusts easier. It will pop from the inside out.

The real only way to deal with it is to cut out the area and repair. Lots of good threads on here about it.

If for some reason you have the head liner out a series of small holes inside could be made to spray an anti corrosion oil into the areas. So it can penetrate between the layers of sheet metal.

With roof racks it's also important to have rubber on the feet. Not just metal to metal. The vibrations of metal to metal where thru and rust. I run a rack with rubber feet and it's not much work to keep ok. I have pulled and touched up paint thou.

I suggest prior to mounting the rack clean the gutters and brush some extra paint into the gutter for a little extra wear resistance.
 
I had a Thule rack, 4 cross bars with feet, on my 80 series, and I don't think there are any rust issues with those. The steel is galvanized and covered with that black plastic stuff. If I had to do it again, I'd do exactly the same thing. Light weight, simple, and also easy to remove if required.
 
A lot of roof rust doesn't originate from the outside. But inside where multiple layers meet and good ole Yoda made them bare metal and it's the kind of 70's metal that rusts easier. It will pop from the inside out.

The real only way to deal with it is to cut out the area and repair. Lots of good threads on here about it.

If for some reason you have the head liner out a series of small holes inside could be made to spray an anti corrosion oil into the areas. So it can penetrate between the layers of sheet metal.

With roof racks it's also important to have rubber on the feet. Not just metal to metal. The vibrations of metal to metal where thru and rust. I run a rack with rubber feet and it's not much work to keep ok. I have pulled and touched up paint thou.

I suggest prior to mounting the rack clean the gutters and brush some extra paint into the gutter for a little extra wear resistance.
Thanks! I recently had the rust cut out of it and the boys sprayed Valvoline tectyl into the inside of the roof and in the one spot it actually seeped right through a pin hole!!
 

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