Gen 1 Roof Racks

[Mojave Jack]

I did a search for a roof rack thread, but didn't find any, so I thought I'd start one to try to pull together the various options for mounting a roof rack on the Gen 1 Montys and Raiders. When I picked up my Gen 1 the previous owner had fabbed up his own brackets. The problem was that he didn't gusset them, so two out of six ended up breaking from flexing, and when I removed them they had already rusted through the rain gutters.
BR
The original mounts

BR
I had pretty good luck with Perrycraft roof rails on my previous pickup, so I though that might be a good solution for the Monty, too. Not so much. There's so much about the Monty that is beefy, but the roof apparently ain't one of them.
BR
Roof rack on Perrycraft Adventura roof rails

BR
They couldn't take the weight, and after two weeks of Baja roads the roof rails were denting the roof and pulling out the screws. Ok, so back to the drawing board. Since I now have 28 holes in my roof to weld up (don't ask; I mounted the rails too far inboard the first time, so I pulled them off, silicone up the holes and remounted it closer to the chord...which ultimately didn't help, so now twice as many holes ), plus fix the rain gutters, now if the time to decide the best way to remount the roof rack, this time hopefully in a way that won't do any more damage! I've considered going back to gutter mounts, but also thought this might be a good time to fab up some really sturdy custom mounts. I'd like to put my Con-Ferr rack back up, but have also thought about an RTT down the line, so I'd like to keep it flexible.
BR
I'm pretty certain that a lot of you have experienced something similar or are contemplating a roof rack, too, so I'd appreciate seeing your solution. Any recommendations or brainstorming is also welcome and appreciated!

 

[jeep-N-montero]

May find something here as well https://www.google.com/?gws_rd=ssl#q=gen+1+montero+roof+rack

 

[Mojave Jack]

Yeah, it seems like the most popular choice is the gutter mounts. I'm not seeing any custom mounts, and I'm really curious if anyone is doing that. I've thought about bending plates to match the contour of the roof right at the chord, and bolting them through the roof panel. If they were wide enough and went right across the chord, they should be as strong as possible. Then I could weld uprights to those and either mount tabs at the top that my Con-Ferr rack would bolt to, or run rails the length of the roof for either my Con-Ferr or a platform for an RTT.

 

[jeep-N-montero]

I picked up a set of these and they are very beefy http://www.gamiviti.com/html/products_roofracktowers.html

 

[Mojave Jack]

Thanks for the recommendation. Those look like good options. What height did you buy? The 45 degree risers look like they'd be fine, especially with my Con-Ferr rack, which is probably wider than I really need. I like it, though, because I can access it easier from the side and can hang things off it while we're camping.
BR
Anyone have any experience with DiamondRax (http://www.diamondrax.com/#!mounting-systems/c8y4)? It looks like they're just getting their website up, but I see posts about their gear going back to 2010 or so. I like the look of their Bulldog clamps with the Triple Dog Gutter Supports, but can't find them for sale anywhere.