roof rack q's?

[jeepnmark]

i have the stock roof rack on my '89 GW. the other day i realized how wimpy this thing really was when i pulled one of the supports right out of the body by accident. i want to build my own rack but i am not sure how to attach it to the roof? can i buy gutter mounts to weld to my rack? are they strong enough. i want to build a rack that goes from the back all the way to the windshield. what would be the best way to attach it? any help would be great.

[billyrb]

Mark, where in ga are you? I have a buddy in Az. who is building custom racks, available around summer or after.....drop a line and we'll chat.

~ryan

[90wag]

I'm planning on doing the same thing. I've seen it done a couple of ways. You can use the original mounting holes and fab new brackets but if you want to go all the way to the front, you'll have to make another set of holes since the stock rack stops at the rear of the front seats. You can buy the gutter mounts from ConnFerr and fab your own basket. I ditched my stock rack after it pulled out of the holes when I was cranking down the ratchet straps on my canoe. I bought the Thule tall gutter mounts and crossbars. I'm not sure if this will give me enough support in the middle for a basket though and the mounts and bars arent cheap. Also thay are pretty tall already and if I put a basket on there I'll end up looking like one of those African buses where everyone is sitting on top of the thing! Can you weld? I'm planning on making the actual basket out of square tubing. I have'nt finalized a plan yet. Check these out. This belongs to a guy here on the board.
NYC's rack (http://photos.yahoo.com/bc/v8wagoneer/lst?.dir=/Jeep/Jeep+Photos&.src=ph&.order=&.view=t&.done=http%3a//photos.yahoo.com/bc/v8wagoneer/lst%3f%26.dir=/Jeep/Bumper)

[Joker]

Wimpy is right. Have I got a horror story for ya'. This past summer I was coming back from the lake with the boat in tow. We had one of those big inner tubes tied to the rack, and were moving along at a pretty good clip. next thing I know the whole rack came off with the tube still tied to it and hits 2 cars. Cost my insurance 3,000 dollars. So I am rackless and would be interested in a good one.

[NYC]

I thought the factory rack was kind of whimpy too. I put it in storage with my rear bumper, tire mount, and a few other parts.

I had a friend fab a new rack using the original holes. The "nutserts" were replaced with standard nuts and bolts. This summer the rack will come off and backing plates will be made and installed (I'm doing the headliner then)

Here's a few pics - use the "next" and "previous" buttons.
http://photos.yahoo.com/bc/v8wagoneer/vwp?.dir=/Jeep/Jeep+Photos&.src=ph&.dnm=RoofRack1.jpg&.view=t&.done=http%3a//photos.yahoo.com/bc/v8wagoneer/lst%3f%26.dir=/Jeep/Jeep%2bPhotos% 26.src=ph%26.view=t

[WINGO]

I picked up a used heavy duty gutter mounted ladder rack to carry my canoe and thought about using this as the platform for a roof rack. It has three gutter mounts on each side and is rated to hold up to 300#.

[linskej]

NYC,

I have seen a picture of your roof rack before, and its one of the best looking racks (roof) that I have seen. Could or would you post some more detail information about it's design?

Thanks in advance

[jeepnmark]

thanks for all of the suggestions. i was wondering though, if i were to use the holes that are there to put in real nuts and bolts, how would i do that? from inside? and would that be strong enough?
and yes, i am planning on welding my own rack.

[billyrb]

jeepnmark, you can use the original bolt holes, but what myself and a few others are doing is creating backing plates that would go between the headliners and the roof itself on the inside, and serve as additional support for the larger roof racks. This would also help with their structural integrity.

~ryan

[gwinn]

How much trouble is it to remove the headliner, install backing plates, then re-attach it without it sagging? Is the liner glued to the ceiling, or to a removable board, etc.?

[Manhattan]

The back half of the headliner is a piece of cake - the material is glued to a board that slides into a groove. The back two (four) feet are accessed by removing the headliner - sort of. The very back bolts can be a bit of a hassle to get to. I cut the steel a bit to make the access easier.

The front section of the headliner is a bit more work to take down. I haven't done that yet - I'm using nutserts for the front (two) feet of the rack.

[Tad]

NYC,
Very nice rack, two thumbs up. Here are at least 6-7 rack minded people. Now when you get the chance would you all please go out and measure starting with the rear most hole/screw as 0 and moving foward to the center of every hole/screw, then the same for the width front & rear. Please post your measurments at:

Roof Rack Measurments (http://www.ifsja.org/cgi-bin/ubbcgi/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic&f=2&t=008560)

Thank You

[billyrb]

Do I need to re-measure? Got caught up last night, and wasn't able to get out.....tonight, though...I PROMISE!!!!!

~ryan

btw, just got my FSJ sticker....talk about cool!