Moderator: volvite
Of all the mounting options, gutter mounts are by far the worst IMHO. A close 2nd would be the mounts that attach to the built in OEM rack channels on some vehicles (most of which are plastic). With the PF, I use mounts that attach to the factory rack, along with new crossbars. Of all the possible setups, this is one of the strongest solutions I've had. I haven't popped off the factory racks since I use them, but I would imagine it would be super easy to fabricate a mount. I've done that a couple of times in the past & it was quite easy. Either find a good looking mount from say Thule or Yakima, then just start cutting/welding a flat plate that can then be attached to the factory holes. Or, do what I did and just weld your own 1 piece rack out of sturdy square stock. If I've totally lost you, I apologize. I'll see if I can dig up any pictures.G35TR wrote:Most decent racks use a gutter mount setup, with the exceptions using vehicle specific mounts (mostly for Land Cruisers & FJ's). I wish I could take a good close up look at one to determine how difficult custom mounts would be to fabricate.
Actually, I've been looking at the low profile rack that the Xterra guys fabricated (http://thenewx.org/forum/showthread.php ... +roof+rack), and am now curious about something similar. Something that could be used along with the factory side rails. If not, I think what what you were saying about simply removing the OEM rails (side and cross) altogether and creating something from scratch using the OEM holes.NVSteve wrote:Of all the mounting options, gutter mounts are by far the worst IMHO. A close 2nd would be the mounts that attach to the built in OEM rack channels on some vehicles (most of which are plastic). With the PF, I use mounts that attach to the factory rack, along with new crossbars. Of all the possible setups, this is one of the strongest solutions I've had. I haven't popped off the factory racks since I use them, but I would imagine it would be super easy to fabricate a mount. I've done that a couple of times in the past & it was quite easy. Either find a good looking mount from say Thule or Yakima, then just start cutting/welding a flat plate that can then be attached to the factory holes. Or, do what I did and just weld your own 1 piece rack out of sturdy square stock. If I've totally lost you, I apologize. I'll see if I can dig up any pictures.G35TR wrote:Most decent racks use a gutter mount setup, with the exceptions using vehicle specific mounts (mostly for Land Cruisers & FJ's). I wish I could take a good close up look at one to determine how difficult custom mounts would be to fabricate.
That thing looks very nice, but I have a couple of concerns:G35TR wrote:Actually, I've been looking at the low profile rack that the Xterra guys fabricated (http://thenewx.org/forum/showthread.php ... +roof+rack),
You use it to transport wet gear after diving? Seems I wish we had one after every dive trip we go on, but was always skeptical about putting tanks up top. Could become pretty dangerous in a wreak if not secured down pretty tightly.Captain caveman wrote:I have one I got from Cabela's. I think it was about 100$ and really nice. No need for the 350$ racks.