Wilderness Roof Rack Mounting & Modification

[FineWynsFJ40]

I installed the Garvin Industries Wilderness roof rack, and so far have been very happy with it, save for one thing, which I will explain later. It mounted fairly easily, and is a very useful rack, so far tested by hauling coolers, kayaks, and beer. Oh, and people, in my "Surfing on a 40" thread. https://forum.ih8mud.com/40-55-series-tech/217990-surfing-40-a.html Do not go to Specter, but through Garvin Industries directly. It will save you lots of money that way. Some pictures here:

The gutter mounting system is an inherently flawed design, due to the length of the compression strut the clamp can work loose and damage your rain gutter and paint. The damage is visible here, where I used some Permatex anti-rust to try to head off the rust before I pull the rack off and touch up the gutter this winter.

Because of that, I studied the problem and devised a solution: drill a hole through both the gutter mount and the clamp, and bolt the two together. It's not that hard, actually quite simple, and saves a headache and hassle of damaged gutters, chipped paint, and a roof rack that is not securely fastened to your vehicle. See bottom two pictures showing the mod. I used a stainless 1.25" long #10 bolt, pan head, and ran it through. I also used adhesive to put some weatherstripping on the gutter mount and clamp to prevent further degradation of paint and the onset of rust.

I can now rest assured that my rack is secured to my hard top, and won't have any further problems with it. Now, to look for light mounts and off road lights...

Happy trails
Brian

 

[singletrackjunkie]

Ahhh, now I know what you were talking about at the GLLCA swap meet. looks good. you going to take it to the dunes in August?

 

[bsmith123]

rack

looks like a really useful mod

 

[ohrly?]

I am planning on building myself a roof rack soon, and was thinking of making some struts off the roll cage and mounting off of them, so that i can have a rack even without the roof.

 

[D'Animal]

Have you thought about mounting the clamps over your "B" and "C"?

It really is a mute point since the rain gutter will tear off way before anything in the side panel stresses.

 

[FineWynsFJ40]

I was thinking about this, has any one else had any issues of the outer clamps coming off, either rotating or popping off? I am wondering if it was just me, or if others experience it as well. I am not in any way talking negative about the Wilderness Rack series, because they are a high quality rack, and definitely a great addition. I highly recommend them, but am just curious. That is all

Brian