Date: Wed, 19 Jun 2002 12:30:17 -0500
Reply-To: Max Wellhouse <maxjoyce@IPA.NET>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Max Wellhouse <maxjoyce@IPA.NET>
Subject: Re: roof racks
In-Reply-To: <B0116515371@corinth.bossig.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"; format=flowed
Some generic answers to this topic
1. You can get the QuickN Easy clamps from many sources, but one of the
cheaper is John R Sweet in Mustoe VA. Thy're like $40-45 for a set of
4. Web site is www.johnrsweet.com He sells mostly Fiberglass related
products, but does keep these in stock. His daytime phone number
is 540-468-2222. His service and shipping are second to none.
2. I have a set of 8 QNE's on my 90 GL. I bought 2x3" aluminum
channel and made 7 1/2 foot long bars to carry all my kayaks and
canoes. 4 outrigger pieces at the gutters hold 3 QNE's each spread about
20' apart. This is a very solid rack and I have made other mods to it
unrelated to this topic, but if you're interested, I guess I could shoot a
crude digital still from the Sony and send it.
In addition to a removable bar that allows me to stack the kayaks
vertically, I also epoxied some
UV resistant white conveyor belt material on the load surface which helps
the loads keep from sliding around( I hate the plastic surface that Yakima
and Thule have on their bars!!) .
3 The only time I've ever bent rain gutters on a vanagon is when a tree
limb or other imobile object has come into contact with the extended bar at
speeds great enough to move the bar and QNE's from their original position.
4. With this 8 clamp setup, I have had 18 sheets of 4x8' chipbvoard stacked
on the bars and although driving home at 30 mph (due to the tires and
suspension complaining), the racke withstood the load without so much as a
bending or flexing in the bar and no problems with the gutters of the van
or the QNE's.
5. QNE also makesa more expensive clamp that has a double footprint on the
raingutter, but I needed more spread on the outrigger.
6. I use a "thorn guard" material to fit between the QNE and the valley of
the raingutter to protect the paint. Available at most mountain bike
shops. Truck inner tubes work okay too. The plastic coating on the QNE's
will crack eventually.
7. It's a good idea to take anti-sieze compound and lightly paint the
threads and the cam pin so they come on and off easily over the years.
8. I leave my rack on up all the time and a quick calculation suggests I
have 180 square inches of additional frontal resistance with each bar. Not
sure if that would cost MPG or not. I don't get the MPG most others get on
this list however.
Bear in mind, I have a GL and not a westy. I have a total of about $200
tied up in the rack system. That doesn't include the QNE's as I had them
from a previous rack on my old 79 loaf. I had 2 routered 2x4" 7 1/2 foot
long ash bars epoxied and polyurethaned on top of that van and eventually
the wood rot would get in the areas you drilled, but man it was cool
lookin'!! You might think the rack would whistle like hell, but I left all
the ends open and they don't make a peep!! Hope this has helped.
DM&FS
e b wrote:
>Bob, I think your rack sounds very interesting-- any pictures? :-)
>And a few ?s:
>
>--do you think your rack (or other racks in general) cause air drag on the
>vehicle, even when there is no load being carried?
>(I ask because my 85GL came with a home-made system for kayak carrying
>involving 4 large clip-to-gutter deals with a pair of 2x4s, and I think I
>get better mileage without the thing up there-- but then my speedo cable
>was dying/stripping out at that time, so it's hard to know)
>
>--do gutter-mounted systems tend to bend the rain gutter rail? (mine is
>bent) or did the PO really load that puppy up?
>
>-- where did you get your "quik-n-easy rain gutter mount brackets"?
>
>Thanks!
>
>--Patrice
>85GL "Vana Blue"
>
>
>Melissa and Jerome asked, "Can anyone recommend a good roof rack for a
>Vanagon for carrying lumber and or luggage??"
>
>All, I am now just finishing up my roof rack. I made it out of 1" od
>schedule 40 aluminum tube. All the joints are "Structural Rail Fittings"
>from McMaster Carr. I used 3 pairs of "quik-n-easy" rain-gutter mount
>brackets. The rack is 10' long and 4.5' wide. It looks very safari-basket
>like, which is the look I was going for.
>
>It's going to be used to carry mostly kayaks, including a 22' sea kayak, so
>it had to be pretty robust.
>
>One thing that I noticed was that it's important to get the proportions
>right. I originally had it 5' wide, and it didn't look right...not enough
>of the "safari-basket" look to it.
>
>Including the brackets, tube and fittings, I probably have about $250 into
>it.
>
>Bob
>East Haddam, CT
>----------
