Mounting Roof-Rack through the actual roof?

[Hilux_Max]

Guys,

Ive seen a couple of custom roof racks where the owners have mounted the roof rack through the actual roof.......

One is here on the expo Jeep -


And the other is on Scott Brady's tacoma, thou as much as I searched I couldnt find the pics......maybe someone can help here.

I was wondering how one would go about doing this since having the roof rack sitting of cross rails on the roof makes it sit too high up for my liking and Id like it as low as possible.

Was thinking of this Rola roof rack -


The other alternative is to mount it on to bars above the tub/tray area like I used to have a long time ago -

Ive since sold the rear bar and that particular roof rack.

Or to fabricate lower mounts so the rack sites a couple of inches off the top of the tray area itself.

Any ideas or suggestions would be appreciated.

[Jnich77]

I would mount it over the bed.... I just can't see drilling holes in the roof of a vehicle... and thats saying a lot since I'll normally cut a hole in anything...lol

[articulate]

It's easy as apple pie.

The Thule and Yakima products use proprietary (or perhaps just specialized) fasteners that either attach to your factory rain gutters or through the roof sheet metal.

I have a good amount of pictures of the an install using Yakima products to do exactly what you're asking. This might help, scroll halfway down for detailed photos:
http://www.adventureparents.com/niss...baja-rack.html

[CoastalDefender]

Ive seen a couple of custom roof racks where the owners have mounted the roof rack through the actual roof.......

Balls. Big effing balls.

[Hilux_Max]

Thanks for your comments and feedback...I think after further investigation I may try and make something myself similar to the Thule Ute Racks at the link below -

http://www.thule.com.au/products.php

Adjustable height racks for my bed area.....it will allow me to mount a luggage rack on them and raise the height depending on what and how much I have in the bed and also be a provision for me to mount a roof top tent at a later date so it could be nice and low when driving and raise it up when camping.

Thoughts?

[iigs]

I always assumed that the manufacturer put the factory rack points in a more heavily reinforced location, and that deviating too much from that was a bad idea if you wanted to hold much weight.

I aspire to build a roof basket some day, and the design I have in mind would sit the basket a fraction of an inch off of the roof between the factory rails (attaching to the roof rails using factory crossbar connectors ground and welded appropriately to mount to the basket).

If that idea doesn't grab you, it should be pretty easy to harvest the mounting hardware from a factory roof rail kit to get the quality of a factory installation. With some cleverness this might be the best way to have an impossibly short design that looks good, doesn't leak, and can bear a lot of weight.

[frumpy]

What about something like a chase truck rack that attatches to the bed but has an overhang over the cab?

[imua]

Hello Frumpy who built your bars. That is something I want to add on around my camper shell. Is your aluminum or steel. Thanks

[frumpy]

Sorry, that isn't mine. Just pulled the picture off of google but I believe there is a thread about that one on pirate (search chase racks).

[Metcalf]

I would drill through the roof on something with a replaceable roof, like a jeep, but I wouldn't do it on something that can't be replaced.

My general advise is to avoid the roof rack at all costs. If a rain gutter mount won't hold the weight you want to put on the roof, don't put that much weight there! In my opinion having weight on the roof is one of the WORST things you can do for vehicle stability, performance, and aerodynamics.