Favorite Roof Rack? (boats, boards and a storage box)

[mbw]

my wiring runs along the driver side of the roof rack, back to the tailgate, and right now just into the tailgate between the rubber seal.

I am going to go to an off road shop soon and see what they think about a hole in the roof with a grommet to seal it. I have too much wire running out the tailgate already and I want to add a solar setup soon.

 

[toddjb122]

@toddjb122 I stumbled upon this in the LR3 section.
...
Epic pic! Great-looking lab, rig, and setting.

Ha! Thanks for the feedback.
Yes, I had that as my private launch for many years. Just lost access to it. That was me pulling the canoe out (I used to keep it there on some blocks. Easy access).

See that rack extension in the back coming up from my hitch? I'm hoping to avoid having to use that on the LR4 with the 3 bar rack I bought. We'll see. It has one bar pretty far back I'll put rollers on, and the forward bar is up by the sunroof. That front section void is why the canoe is right-side up. I could not put it upside down on the OEM crossbars without the canoe jutting the roof.

 

[crash1121]

Yes, the hitch extension is very clever, but I can see why it’d be a bit of a nuisance. I don’t see why your new rack wouldn’t accomplish what you want, while being more secure.

Looking forward to seeing some pics!

 

[toddjb122]

Rack install question!

Do you remove the top trim piece or just pop off the insert covers and screw through that? (my LR4 did not have sidebars)

The install instructions say to cut up the trim piece... something like "mark where the foot overlaps the trim, cut 5mm inside of those lines, reinstall the trim leaving gaps for the feet." (i just summarized a paragraph of text).

So I obviously want the threads to adequately grab so I have a secure connection, but if I didn't have to cut apart that trim to do it...that'd be nice. I seem to remember someone commenting that they installed their rack without cutting it. Maybe I can just buy longer bolts.

My rack is crossbars, but it is built on Front Runner's expedition rack frame. So the initial instructions are common.

 

[anglotron]

I used to have a Front Runner full length safari rack which was a great product, but the wind noise was unbearable as was the hit to fuel economy. The OEM Land Rover crossbars are a bit flimsy, so I now just run 3 Front Runner cross bars mounted to their 40mm foot kit with some custom fixing plates I made.

 

[toddjb122]

@anglotron , damn, nice mod! That actually is exactly what I was looking for. With your custom plates, you are not limited to the 4-5 stops in the OEM sidebars. So you have a lot more adjustability.

Well, not seeing that option available to me (what feet did you use for the crossbars?) I bought a similar setup from Front Runner. Although, I like the look of the OEM sidebars a lot better than what I'll be mounting. We'll see how it goes...

Do those 4 o-ring tie downs cause noise? I bought some of those as well. I was going to put them on the under side of the bar so they don't interfere with loading, but I can still clip to them to secure gear.

 

[anglotron]

Cheers, yeah, it's infinitely adjustable. I used the Front Runner 40mm foot set, but the T-nuts that come with it are Unistrut and don't fit into the LR roof tracks in a way I was comfortable with.

(https://www.frontrunneroutfitters.com/en/us/front-runner-foot-set-40mm.html)

As for the noise, there's a little bit of whistling above 80 mph, but it's generally pretty quiet and the tie downs don't seem to be a problem. There may not be enough room to fit the tie downs underneath with the feet that I used, but Front Runner does sell taller ones.

 

[toddjb122]

Cheers, yeah, it's infinitely adjustable. I used the Front Runner 40mm foot set, but the T-nuts that come with it are Unistrut and don't fit into the LR roof tracks in a way I was comfortable with...

Thanks.

I did get in touch with FR and they said I should be okay mounting without removing the trim. They suggest I cut away around the top of the threaded insert just so there isn't plastic/rubber which may break down over time. Try to keep the connection between hardware metal on metal, if possible. If not, I'll know if it ever loosens up just from using the rack.

Have a good one.

 

[toddjb122]

Sorry, that last reply is corrupt and the forum won't let me fix it.

 

[toddjb122]

Holy crap... how do you remove those damn plugs on the trim roof piece? (where the side rails go)

Instructions say insert a screwdriver, but that isn't going anywhere.
I found one youtube video, where a guy had two nice nylon trim tools to get under and lift it. I don't have those. Maybe I'll see if home depot has anything close...