Finished my roofrack mod:



Not as stylish as some of the guys' but very functional and cheap to do. The best thing is that it now gives me a 2.3 x 1.2 m deck to use for roof tents, spare wheels etc, that and "double shelling" the roof in preparation for the desert sun.

Cheap to do and there's more detail here:
http://www.creative.gb.com/bundubash...r.htm#roofrack

I'm now looking at mounting some roof lights and fitting a ladder of some type.

PS: Sorry about the crappy quality of the pic but I've only got my kids JAMCAM at home!

 

Enzo cool mod. Do you get any buffeting on the motorway from air getting under that big flat piece?

 

Welcome back Joey!

It suprised me but no, there was no buffeting on the motorway and top speed has not been impeded noticeably. But then again it shouldn't really - there's not alot of resistence there - just wait till I start loading it up with spare tyres etc...then we'll see.

Anyway I've only really created load space - alot of load space! It's great to get up on the roof of my truck and "survey the ecene"! I'm looking at some slim line driving lights to fit between the roof bar and the roof or a row of Hella 500's and a backstop as my next mods.

Anyroad, glad you're back in one piece and I look forward to meeting up again in the near future.

Stay well.

enzo

 

so is it just a flat piece of metal laying on top of cross bars?

 

That is a lot of resistance on the wind if you take a gust the wrong way... I would be a little worried about the wrong gust at speed taking it off the roof. Is there any way you can remove the headliner and add some large fender washers to bolt the rack down?? When I had my headliner out once, I added very large fender washers and nuts to bolt my roof tracks to the roof.. Makes for a much stronger rack set-up.. Looks good though.

 

Not quite: its a 2.3m x 1.2m piece of marine plywood (plywood treated for marine use therefore it will not rot/warp in the wet), shaped, drilled, primed and painted. It is then bolted to 4 Thule roof bars using galvanised u bolts and rectangular flat plate "washers". It is a simple and cheap plan but it gives me acres of space! Also each load bar is rated at 50kgs so it gives me a max "rolling" weight of 200kgs. Of course when the truck is stopped and the roof tent opened and possibly two adults and a child up there it'll be more just as long as when I'm moving I never exceed the GVW (2510 kg).

 

Ah the posts are coming thick and fast now...! Three of the bars are clamped to the roof and the fourth is "free floating". I was thinking of running a couple of thin wire hawsers up from the bullbar, through the MP and then down to the rear bumper where I can tension them.

 

Very cool mod. I was originally thinking about doing something like that but ended up getting a Garvin Wilderness rack. Rooftop tents are the ultimate accessory for expedition vehicles and I would love to get one some day.

Can you post pics of your dual-battery set-up? I couldn't find them on your page.

 

That's coz I haven't I haven't taken any yet! Like I said I've only got a JamCam (which only takes 640 x 780 at 72dpi pics) but I'll try this evening. Basically I've got a Optima Red top as my starter and then some arb HD battery linked with a Lucas split charge system. I'll replace both batteries before my trip and the HD will be upgraded to a Yellow top.

 

do you have room under the bonnet for the secondary battery?

 

Dude.. You added LUCAS to your truck?? Gawsh.. That is like the devil!! Good luck.. "Lucas motto.. You can use any wire color, as long as it's brown..."

I like the wire guy leads very much.. I am not worried about the rack to plywood, I am worried about the rack to roof.. The rated weight is secondary to the forces of wind resistance, change the wind flow and you can get a major amount of "lift" on the underside of that "wing"...

 

I like it. Looks great.

I noticed you are considering Eezi-Awn. Have you looked at the Technitops? I really like what I see with those. I'd like to get one eventually. It would be fun to sleep up there and not have to unload the camper to sleep on the bed. (no biggie - only takes 5 minutes anyway... but it would still be nice).

http://www.offroadacademy.com/gear.php

BTW, I like your web site!

 

Hi
Thanks for the compliment on the site. Eezi-Awn (EA) are my first choice - they have such a strong reputation - but, I agree, the Technitop (T) is worth looking at. I did a comparison a while back so I can no longer remember my reasons for rating the EA over the T.

I can also buy the EA direct from South Africa (SA) (inc. shipping etc) much cheaper than I can buying locally (UK). I have a friend who bought his EA direct from SA, he also bought the shower skirt and canopy, but I've yet to see it "in the flesh" so to speak.

Of course we are speaking somewhere in the US$1000 region for the largest tent and shower skirt but occasionaly they come up here on eBay:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.d...412147735&rd=1

Or this unknown brand:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.d...605058871&rd=1

When I get back to my home office tonight I'll dig out the details for ordering the EA direct from SA.

 

Yea, that is what I am looking at too - availability. The (T) is available from Canada. I'm not sure about the (EA), if there are any distributors in or close to the US. Did you know the (T)'s were made in South Africa too? Maraisburg to be exact. I like the construction of the (T)'s case and the way it sets up. But I like the (EA) too. Very good looking tent. If I got the (EA) I would probably get the option for the aluminum case.

Anyway, good luck! Please post lots of pictures when you get it.(yes - even though they are from the JamCam )

 

Quoting Darrin http://www.roamingyak.com/:


Tent R4118.42(without SA VAT - price's have just increased unfortunately)

Ladder R289.00 (without SA VAT)

Shower skirt R964.91 (without SA VAT)

Awnings 3m R2550 (less VAT)

Awning brackets R219.00 X 2 = R438.00

Shipping R2300 (only about R1100 for actual shipping. Loads of extra charges added on!

(takes 18 days approx)

Airfrieght was quoted as R3860.00 (based on metric volume because of size)but if shipping only takes 20 odd days it hardly seems worth it)

Total in Rand was 10660.33 - on my credit card it was £682. It was more than I hoped for, but the recalculation of the shipping charges to metric volume instead of weight topped it up, and a few extras like the ladder and brackets also helped. Buying this from footloose4x4.com in the UK would have been £1100+ (just the tent alone costs £650 etc) so it is still a huge saving, and kinda fun to order from a far ;-)

I have ordered this from the Cape Town Safari Centre. Contact person was Melt de Kock. He has been quite helpful in what has been a long process. It should be easier now that they know a little more about the process etc.

Contact details:

Melt de Kock

http://www.safarict.co.za

safarict@sabertex.com or info@safarict.co.za

Physical Address

No 9, N1 Motor City, Goodwood, Cape Town, South Africa

Postal Address

PO Box 12498, N1 City, 7463, Cape Town, South Africa

Telephone

+27 21 595 3910


Fax

+27 21 595 3966

As you can see there is quite a saving if you order direct.

 

Just posted this info to the top level - start a roof top tent thread!