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Date:         Sun, 8 Mar 2015 01:22:58 -0600
Reply-To:     Max Wellhouse <dimwittedmoose@CFU.NET>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Max Wellhouse <dimwittedmoose@CFU.NET>
Subject:      Re: TracRac TracVan Roof Racks
Comments: To: "Mudd \"Not Jack\" Sparrow" <rummaging@YAHOO.COM>
In-Reply-To:  <63654733-A8AE-489E-87EA-36E8C7269B96@yahoo.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=windows-1252; format=flowed

On 3/1/2015 6:36 PM, Mudd "Not Jack" Sparrow wrote: > So here the TracVans with the custom hooks. They work well enough, but though you may not be able they should really be staring the curve outward at a higher point. Maybe 1/4 inch higher, but without changing the rest of the shape and curve. > > Because there is clamping or pinching of the hook at the lower side of brackets square hole as the hook exits this square hole in it's descent. > > As the hooks go over the outer edge of the gutter there is no touching between the hook and the gutter. > > Some old painters tape is still on the gutters from the Thule Professional Racks I once owned. And this tells a story. Those racks fastened directly to the outer edge of the gutters, and the tape was meant to protect this the painter from the attachments of the rack to the gutter. > > So these TracRac TracVans Roof Racks, with custom fabricated hooks are overall, even with the current flaw to the hooks design, much better than both the Yakima and the Thule Professional Racks I owned in the past, with respect to treating the rain gutters appropriately. > > Some people are of the opinion, one should just use cheapo racks. But, that's just an inexpensive way to damage the Vanagon, and allow rust to destroy something precious. > > Along the area of the gutter of the sliding door, if the curve outward of the hooks began a little sooner, then I could bring the base of the hook inward a little more, and this would elevate the lowest point of the hook a smidgen and clearance of the sliding door would be better for a sliding door that is properly aligned. > > There is some birds eye view curvature to the rain gutter at the rear, and since the brackets that fit into the rain gutter are fairly long, it's best to position the front of the rear (black) brackets 66 inches from the door jams of the front doors (the rear door jams, of course). This will be straighter than further back. > > The distance of the of the bracket for the rear rack, as measured from the end of the metal to where the bracket touches the rack or silver beam should be 4&7/8 inches on the driver side (port side), while the passenger side (starboard) bracket should be close to tight but still loose or moveable. This is per measurements with a Festool tape measure down the center of the rack while upside down, before mounting. A short metal ruler of six inches would have been more accurate. > > With an old bed sheet or blanket over the roof, you can stand starboard side passenger side, and holding the still somewhat loose bracket end in your hands, after placing the brackets both 66 inches from front door jams (skipping over the sliding door jam if course), you can then stand on something and tighten up the starboard side brackets. > > The front racks are positioned according to the cargo box you use. But here the the length from bracket to the end of the metal silver rack (omitting the plastic end cap) should be 4&5/8 inches. This means the ends of the front rack are shorter, and the middle is wider, because here the rain gutters are a tad further apart. > > As with the rear rack, the front rack should be tightened on the driver side (port side), but a tad loose and moveable on starboard side (passenger side / curb side), so that while you stand on curbside and lift the rack up onto the blanket covered roof, you hold this loose bracket and keep it secure and steady as you place the rack on the van. > > After positioning the rack, wiry the port side (driver side) bracket in it's gutter, you slip the loose bracket into the other sides gutter, and tighten the loose bracket with a ratchet while keeping the black bracket flush with the silver rack or beam. > > The hooks are then secured using a manual Festool screw driver wirt a four inch extension and a 1/4 inch hex bit. The supplied Allen wrench will not work due to the curvature of the roof. > > The supplied nylon nuts will also not work. They're a joke. These are the ones used to fasten the black brackets to the silver rack (beam). Four of them jammed on me. And some of the others are iffy, and will probably jam if I ever try to remove them. > > I bought some stainless steel nylon nuts from True Value. Think they're 3/8 with 16 for the thread. (That's what the label said at the store.) > > These nylons nuts are much better than what TracRac supplied me with. > > Cardboard on the ground is vital to protect the racks while fussing with them. But even then, when at least one bracket is attached, you should still lay them on their side, each time you walk away, or get up off the ground. > > These racks are super light, and if you so much as grace your toe while stepping over them they'll go sliding. I managed to nick on of the brackets that way, despite being super careful. > > Had I put the rack with attached bracket on its side, and also had much wider cardboard for floor protection, the TracVans would have been better protected. From me. And my toe. > > How do you distinguish port side and starboard for the racks? > > I considered the side of the silver racks, with the slot for inserting trac bolts into the grooves or tracs of the racks to be the starboard side of the racks. It's this side that should be initially kept loose and easily moveable, but with the nuts near to tight, so that ratchet movements are minimal once the racks are on the roof. > > Note: this means you don't normally remove the plastic end caps to slide these peculiar trac bolts into the rack grooves, or "tracs". I call them peculiar because they have heads that are neither round nor oval and cannot be locally sourced. > > So. Ideally. When ordering TracVans you would also order extra trac bolts, and also extra square nuts. > > I lost one square nut. And could not find a square nut as nice with local hardware stores. At the same time, one of their square nuts from TracRac jammed on me. Their square nuts are stainless steel with one side having beveled corners. But. One of their supplied nuts lacked beveled corners. > > This might be the one that jammed on me. Have to hack saw it off. > > So. I should have ordered extra square nuts and tossed any square nuts that lacked beveled corners on the one side. > > And. I should have tossed the stainless steel nylon nuts the supplied the day the racks arrived. > > The stainless steel nylon nuts I bought and liked much much better are made by the Midwest Fastener Corporation. Bought from True Value Hardware. > > So this completes this chapter. Did anyone actually read all this? > > I wish I could have read this a long long time ago. > > Note, that even with the one jammed square nut, preventing one of the hooks from functioning, because the base of the hooks are 2.5 inches, there is still sufficient grip. And that just underscores the enhanced safety of wider (at the base) hooks: if one square nut becomes loose, you have fallback with the other hook. > > Epilogue: > Now that I think of it. The "slot for bolt insert into track" should really have been treated as port side (driver side). So this side should have been measured and firmly tighten (when attaching black brackets to the silver racks), and the non-slot side should have been the starboard side (passenger side and curb side), for keeping the bracket loose before tightening after tucking into the rain gutter. > > Why? To make it easier for when adding a solar panel to the port side, because of course, in the US it's best to to access a cargo rack on the starboard side (curbside and passenger side). > > The way I've done it, I'll have to either remove my cargo box, or take off the black plastic end caps on the driver side when I'm ready to add the solar panel. > > BTW, the racks should be close enough (almost 100% certain of this) to easily support a 26 x 60 Kyocera Solar Panel. For some reason I used to think, the racks would be so far apart from each other, that I would need something longer than the solar panels length to allow attachment to the racks. I use the old school Quick N Easy Rack clamps and simply put strips of slit 1" tubular climber's webbing over the area that rests on the area between the raingutter and the bar bae. The hook is coated so it won 't scratch. YMMV

DM&FS


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