March 4, 200521 yr Ok so I have this rack that I made. I decide that I am going to mount it on top of the cab of my Brat. Will use the headrest tabs as anchors for the rear of the rack. I have the headrests in so the tabs are support by the headrest frame. Short of drilling some holes into my roof, how should I secure the front of the rack? BW
March 4, 200521 yr hrm... its a brat, youhave a whole bed. why a rack? roll cage/rack would be cool... the factory ones i have seen use holes drilled in the roof. morganm has a toole rack that uses the rain gutters over the windows, to clamp to
March 4, 200521 yr Yeah I'd try to have it grip to the rain gutters. No drilling involved, and you wouldn't ruin your roof if you wanted to take the rack off.
March 4, 200521 yr Author The roll cage/rack is that's the eventual goal. But the rack is made. Beside I am planning to get a tandem bike for the wife and I and the front of the rack could serve as a mounting point for the forks.
March 4, 200521 yr if you screw it to the roof, use fasteners called jack nuts. they are similar to drywall anchors. Use a length of tubing or hose over the drill bit (leave like 1/2" of the bit exposed) so when you drill thru the roof you don't punch through the headliner as well. and use silicone to seal the jack nuts. i've installed a factory roof rack to an EA82 wagon using this method with great results.
March 4, 200521 yr Those jack nuts sound like the best drilling solution, and attaching the the rain gutter is less invasive. Would it work to weld some kind of anchors to the roof? That way you could grind them off when you decide a roof rack wasn't the thing to do. It seems like a roof rack could look cool, but what about the t-tops? Will it be elevated enough? And will they start leaking if the weight of the rack deflects the roof? My t-tops leak anyway, and I hate it
March 4, 200521 yr A ski rack may be a starting point for the gutter attachments. You may be able to build off that? You have a whole bed...why are you needing a roof rack? Go S'ko! Glenn 82 SubaruHummer--roof rack 01 Forester--roof rack
March 4, 200521 yr Author I am putting on the roof rack b/c I can. The next stop is to mount the jump seats to the rack and then get a steering wheel extender to I can drive up there. Bird's eye view of traffic. Re: Jack nuts, that may be a good idea. I may end up just drilling through the headliner as it already looks like crap. A bolt and washer wouldn't look out of place. Well I guess it would since it would be shiny and everything else is din-gy and brown. BRAtenstien: I have an 82 DL w/aftermarket tops. They flip open in the back.
March 4, 200521 yr S'ko, Your scaring me now... "Mad Max" and his friends were into welding too... I'd be careful on where you drill the holes because those jack nuts could hurt if your head happened to hit them on a bump! I have to admit I like the idea of seeing over traffic? Glenn, 82 SubaruHummer 01 Forester
March 5, 200521 yr Author S'ko, Your scaring me now... "Mad Max" and his friends were into welding too... sorta like this guy... here's the site. www.madmaxmovies.com/ making/madmax2/
March 5, 200521 yr The best way without damage is to look for an old X-Cargo turtle from Sears (or similar rack from the day when hooks were used) and just use the straps and hooks that "attach" to the rain gutters. I drove from Florida to Mass. with it stuffed full... coming over that huge bridge on I-95, the wind was so bad it pushed me over a full lane... and I was fighting it too. I thought the whole Brat would go over before the load left the roof. I just lent (better say gave, I hate that when that happens) mine to a "friend" that was moving far away. hmmmm, never heard a peep from them since. *Note to self: Keep a list of things you lend out.
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