3rd Gen Montero Initial Impressions/Build Thread

[Inyo_man]

Great set up! Very resourceful solution on the clamping units.
I've run a full sized rack mounted on the factory rails with no problems for a number of years.
However, I've heard from friends in Australia that they do eventually fail.
The OEM horizontal rails are attached to the roof mounts by way of two small tack welds (You can see these if you remove the plastic covers).
The horizontal bars on the factory rails will begin to pull down (towards the roof) and eventually separate from the roof "feet" when the small tack welds give up the ghost.
Rhino Rack makes a rack that utilizes the roof mounting tracks. Their HD rack comes with three cross bars, three track mounts and has 10mm clearance. This is on my list of future purchases. Right now, I just try not to overload the system, if it can be avoided.

 

[fatrat]

Some great rides you got! Obviously you like vehicles that can handle the curves. :ylsmoke: My 1st car was a very modified Datsun 210 then moved to bikes & Miata's. I now daily drive a 1st gen Monty which I freak in' love! Anyway, looking forward to watching your progress.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 2

 

[Sabre]

I checked the deflection of the OEM load bars with that big spare, two full cans of gas AND the high-lift jack...nothing. Then I climbed up there myself. There was some deflection of the roof...just a bit, but the load bars themselves didn't flex. After 3,000 miles of the above heavy loading (obviously more than that cheap aluminum rack was ever meant for) on some really jolting terrain in Moab, the aluminum rack has started to really show wear but the Mitsu's own load bars and roof are perfectly fine.

Inyo, that's great info about how those bars are actually attached and the future than can be expected if they're pushed too far.

 

[kchristian]

The build is complete and we are now in Guatemala. It wasn't much of a build thread, sorry. If anyone wants any detail shots or has any questions about what we did, let me know.





More pictures and details on the Blog:
http://wheretheeyesgo.blogspot.com/p/the-montero-and-its-mods.html

 

[Sabre]

Hey Christian, that's a great job you've done! The truck looks very sensibly done for what you guys need.

What wheels are those?

 

[kchristian]

Thanks. They are procomp 7069's I believe. Just basic aluminum wheels, nothing too fancy. They were something like $95-98/each, but I got them at cost from the guy that fabed my sliders and brush bar.

 

[Monterorider]

Super!

 

[Purpledawg]

Enjoyed your photos from your blog how expensive was fuel down there? BTW What the height clearance from your platform to ceiling lip. Trying to decide which Montero to get gen 2.5 or 3. Travel with 2 labs in dog crates. thanks

 

[eurosonic]

Great job on the build.
With so many Gen3s here on Expo, they really begun to grow on me.

 

[Inyo_man]

Have a safe trip. The Monty looks great!!! The Central American Jungles are amazing-enjoy!

 

[pajombre03]

I wanna see more of that awesome roof rack!

 

[kchristian]

I wanna see more of that awesome roof rack!

There isn't much to it honestly. It's 1/2" square tubbing with expanded metal and a few u-bolts to the standard roof rack. We threw it together in an afternoon. It's been working great however. We carry a tire, 10 gallons of water, 5 gallons of gas and a couple camp chairs up there. I left a big opening for the sunroof. I like the low profile look and everything gets strapped/bolted down anyway so there was no point in welding on big ugly sides.

Couple more pics:

 

[off-roader]

Nicely done on the rack! I'm itching to replace mine with a flat one as well.

btw, how well did the elastic netting work to hold the water? in my experience they allow all sorts of things to escape. Even the tops of storage!! I almost always recommend ditching them for ratcheting straps instead.

 

[pajombre03]

I love the rack. I'm looking to build something exactly like that soon. It looks great, the hole for the sun roof is perfect. I can't believe I never thought of those simple U bolts, it makes total sense. Great job.

 

[kchristian]

btw, how well did the elastic netting work to hold the water? in my experience they allow all sorts of things to escape. Even the tops of storage!! I almost always recommend ditching them for ratcheting straps instead.

It's worked fine so far (7k miles, 8 countries.) It was one of those many things that on the day of departure I realized I hadn't figured out. So I grabbed it from the box of old motorcycle gear (used to carry my bag on the backseat of my CBR for about a year). I keep thinking I'll replace it but it's nice to be able to pull a tank down quickly.