Mounting Roof Rack to 1st gen?
 

I want to mount a Surco Roof Rack to my 88 4runner. I had one on my 85 using the mounting channels you can buy from Surco. That was a nightmare. Thinking of bolting it thru the hardtop. Any ideas, pics, suggestions, tips?

thats what i plan on doing, buying a self tapping screw kit or just drill and bolt/nut combo, i dont really care, as long as it doesnt tear my ÅÅÅÅ too bad.

shawn, what was the problem with using the rain gutter mounts...I've considered it because I'd prefer not to drill and have unsightly bolts in my celing.

I have the bolt thru mounts. If you use silicon sealant, it never leaks, and you can't even tell they are there, as i brush painted them grey. They work great.

Can't go wrong.

Are they noisy when you drive at highway speeds?

the rain gutters do not seam to be very strong. I'm thinking nut and bolt combo with rubber washers. Any pics of 1st gen with roof rack.

The guy that's building mine suggested these


http://www.rivetsinstock.com/rivet47.htm


here is his write up

How do I put my rack on?

The easiest way to mount the rack is by using a few sets of u-bolts. I used that method for years but I now prefer to drill through the front to rear support bars of the rack and continue through the factory crossbars and through bolt the rack down with stainless button head allen socket bolts and locking nylon nuts and washers on the bottom. The bolts make for a really strong, clean looking and low profile installation.


Another mounting option: I can build you a set of mounting feet for the rack which will allow you to mount it directly to your roof or factory rails, they run $100.00 for the set of four.

I use threaded rivet inserts to install the racks on vehicles with no factory racks.. Take a look at the set at rivetsinstock.com and see what you think. There's a special tool you'll need to install them. It usually runs between $20-$40 depending on your supplier. You'll need to use steel inserts on your roof.

You can get the set of threaded rivet inserts installed at a local body shop if you don't want to purchase the tool and do it yourself. The inserts will allow you to bolt the feet directly into the roof without removing the head liner (if you have a head liner), they are really strong and will also allow you to remove the rack if you should ever want to.

If you have rain gutters, you can get a set of Quik-n-Easy towers and crossbars at canoegear.com. They are the most affordable set up on the market right now.


Hope it helps

Look at the first gen

https://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c...e/IMG_1164.jpg

I don't know that mounting to the rain gutters is a bad idea. I just figured it wasn't very strong by the looks of it. I would also not prefer to drill thru the top unless it is definitly stronger.

On my 85 that I had before, I used mounting rails that are made by surco but they install using the same type rivot deal as mentioned before. The rivets supplied were not long enough to go all the way thru a hardtop. Probably for mounting thru metal roofs like a 2nd gen. I didn't realize that till after I had already drilled into my top.

Can anyone tell me how strong the factory rain gutters are?

I'd personally install Yakima Tracks. I did this on my Pathfinder without issue. Line up the tracks, mark holes, drill, and insert their fancy anchor. Looked factory, and you couldn't see it through the headlinder.

If you don't have a headlinder, Yakima also sells a bolt/nut kit used on Wranglers. It looks factory, and holds strong.

on my dads 86 runner we had a rack in the gutters like the grey runner up there, lasted for a while but after putting things on and taking them off over and over the back gutter started to break. upfront its metel, out back its fiberglass, after a while it just tore it apart. kind of flaked apart. i dont think you should use the gutters on the removable top. upfront is strong, we now have a bracket screwed through the top right behind the fiberglass gutters and we use that now.

the thing that we cary is a canoo so it is pretty heavy.

im gonna get the track and rails, and get a roof rack off of a suv at the PnS tommorrow, just gotta either take ÅÅÅÅ off or drill out rivets. cant be too bad.

I have a Surco safari rack bolted directly to the top. I used the CH100 track mounts. If I remember correctly, I needed slightly longer bolts. The rectangular nut ends are hidden under the metal headliner frame for the front mount and sit in an air pocket near the curved rear window for the rear. I used black silicone to seal it.

If I get the chance, I'll post some pictures later.

my rear mounts are metal, not fiberglass.

Is this your doing? I know mine are fiberglass because of a chunk missing on the rear-most edge...

My rear mounts are metal, my rear raingutters are fiberglass. I put on extra mounts because i knew the gutters wouldn't take the weight.

:pat:
Duh sorry, I didn't connect your last post with your first one.

Rather than me typing up everything again, try this thread.