Roof rack

[junglejuice]

Hi all, just in the planning stage for my Cape York trip later this year and I'm looking at roof rack options.
Has anybody used any track mounted roof racks (not gutter mounted) to carry things like the spare tyre etc on a big trip with corrugations and if so was there any issues observed with the mountings ie the nutserts into the roof, my concern is with there only being 6 nutserts per side is the likelihood of failure, there is always the option of adding more enclosed nutserts but I don't know if that'll be enough for these harsh conditions....

This is my current roof rack, I'm pretty confident in the rack being fully TIG welded stainless steel just unsure about the roof....







I'd welcome any input from anyone using this method of mountings....

[xjeepping]

JJ, not able to offer any experience with this method but my trip with a 60 series many years ago was with an aluminium rack with full side rails in the gutter rather than the usual four legs per side. This was to ensure against shearing the legs during steep climbs (gunshot, scrubby) with a heavy roof load. There were stories of smashed windscreens when the whole lot broke forward.
My suggestion would be some adhesive between the runners and the roof to both provide some shock insulation and shear prevention.

Good luck with the trip. You'll have a ball. Have a look at the old Pajinka lodge then travel down the coast from the Jardine family property Somerset for the best oysters you will ever eat. Sorry if this is all old news to you.

[ajs18s]

Having a bit to do with Nutserts as a Coachbuilder many moons ago, you can trust them, as grab handles on the side of trucks, for people in wheelchairs to access in and out of vehicles.
But in this application i would remove hood liner and use nut and bolts with large diameter washers.
I have read somewhere about a sail like load pulling a large piece of the roof off.
Plus I think a load limit of say 150kg.

[eksjay]

As an added safety precaution, you could also tether the rack to the side rails.

You could thread several wires for example from the rack's horizontal tubes, through to holes in the side rails at various intervals. It would stop the rack from letting go if there was a failure in the mountings.

It was my old man's suggestion on a trip across corrugations. It worked a treat.

Question is, after 20 years, how sturdy are the side rails???

[junglejuice]

I've come up with a plan that I think will work quite well, it'll involve removing the roof lining and adding some steel work under the roof skin, some sikaflex, some more nutserts and some fiddling around...

I think it'll be worth it, just need to source some closed end large flange splined nutserts now....

[werd]

I would be concerned with the weight supported by the roof and buckling.

[werd]

Because of the Jeep's design, wouldn't the amount of flex in these vehicles pop all the nutserts?