I don't know if I could drill holes in my fiberglass top. Is there something out there that will mount without drilling holes?

Thanks.

vmax84

 

I drilled holes in mine....it was no big deal I am very pleased with my rack setup.

 

There are a few threads on here that discuss that very question. I'd offered up a solution, but it didn't seem to go over very well. As in, no one commented...lol.

I did have some Thule gutter mounts on my 1st gen, but the fiberglass gutters broke from too much weight in several places from continuing to use them before I figured out a solution. I bought some old school aero foot racks and fitted them to my gutters.

Here's some pics. It's not the "accepted" way to run a set up nor is it the most attractive, but it works very well. All the load stress is on the roof instead of the gutters. I've had no issues even with hauling a few hundred pounds of lumber, etc.





You can clearly see gutter mounts don't work well for fiberglass with a lot of weight. I might add I like this solution better than drilling for a fixed system because the racks are still adjustable.

 

in this pic you can see the flat rails from Yakima on wich you can slide the mount points making your rack removable and adjustable.

 

Ugg, I did that to my old 1st Gen when I decided to park in the garage with my kayak mounting post still up

Tore the fiberglass channels off both sides. I never had any troubles with weakness before that, but I didn't put a huge load up there.

Erich

 

Geez, you have nice rig... You still had to drill, though...right? I had considered doing what you did, but I didn't want to drill either. Even though I knew there wouldn't be any leak issues, I was still concerned about stressing the drill holes with the weight I tend to carry.


LOL!! Oh man, sorry...I had to laugh. My wife ripped the rack off of our old '78 Plymouth Trailduster 4x4 when she drove into a low clearance parking garage with a load of hay up top. She was devistated. All I could do was shake my head in pity. Then, I had to build a custom, redneck load rack out of the materials and skills I had. A big, cumbersome thing out of 2x4's 1x6's bolted through the roof. Leaked like like a seive! We'd drive around holding a styrofoam cup in our lap (depending on who was unfortunate enough to be sitting on the pass. side) to catch the rain in heavy pouring.

 

I did have to drill.....holes are 6 per rail and there is a large washer on the inside it doesnt seem to be a problem. weight is distributed over a faily large area. I only care bikes snowboards and a rocket box. No lumber or really heavy stuff.

 

Yes, I suppose it depends on what you carry. Then, I tend to overload at times. Broke my bumper off once doing so. I can't help it...especially when I find stuff for free. Grab it while it's there!

Vmax,
If it's leaking that your concerned about, like sknkwrx says don't worry about it. My neighbor is a contractor and has put artificial gutters for his gutter mounts on all his work trucks and never had a problem. Besides, millions of folks have done it and these systems have been perfected over many years with good results. If it's your skill, then don't worry about that either. It's not at all difficult. Just have a good, sharp drill bit.

 

Yeah, those fiberglass rails don't support much. If you don't go with the mounts like thook has I don't see any way around drilling in the top for rails, mounts, or in the sides for bolt-on gutter mounts. You can see mine that somebody put on before mounted behind the original gutters:



Still, I have had no leaks with my setup and have had it up there for almost 3 months and have wheeled it, carried a good amount of weight on it, used it to pull myself up to get stuff out of the basket, removed the top, etc. I just drilled and then put some silicone in and around the bolt holes before I tightened it down. My top is not in the greatest of shape so I'm not too worried about it but still, remember that it is fiberglass. If you don't like it just fill the holes with some bondo and sandpaper, spray paint it, and the only evidence left is a few small holes in the headliner. Here's some pics if you haven't seen them:





More on my site in my sig...

 

I have a thule rack that is secured only to the cab part of my 4Runner. I carry my bike on top along with my skis. Works fine.d

 

No problem, I'd laugh at myself too I called the GF and was like, tell me people have done dumber stuff!!! Good times...

Erich

 

PM 86Original. He gave me a ton of info on his set-up for his 1st Gen. It's pretty cool, too, and doesn't require drilling. He's a pretty nice and helpful guy.

 

i did the same thing as amgraham except we didnt even use silicone. We have had some pretty hard rain since i got it on too (about 3 months). It is very stable up there and im am not worried about it being up there like it is for awhile.

 

Anybody used the gutter mounts up front, and drill into the fiberglass for the rear?

 

Right now, I'm running three Yakima load bars on my rig.(sorry no pics at the moment). Two bars are on the cab's rain gutters and the third is on the fiberglass top using Yakima's bolt on side loaders. Never had a leak or issue with carring too much stuff. A buddy of mine actually mounted a forth bar on his runner, behind the side windows. (He carried a lot of boats.) Drilling was super easy too. Just remember to measure twice and drill once!