Date: Wed, 28 Oct 1998 11:15:45 -0600
Reply-To: Max/Joyce Wellhouse <maxjoyce@IPA.NET>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@vanagon.com>
From: Max/Joyce Wellhouse <maxjoyce@IPA.NET>
Subject: Re: Proud New Owner needs roof rack tips
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1
Christine: I prefer the Quick and Easy brand rain gutter racks that give
you the flexibility of using a wide variety of crossbars. They retail for
about $45 for a set of 4 and if you have trouble finding them, contact Mad
River Canoe Co. in Waitsfield VT. Think the 800- goes 942-2663. 2x4"s,
pipe(they have a full rack set also w/ pipe) can be bolted and shimmed to
have level surfaces for yor wood products. I wouldn't trust Thule for a
lot of weight. My rack has 8 QnE's that spread the load even more(GL, not
westy) and have have 13 sheets of 1/2" blandex(chipboard) up there. The
vehicle is top heavy and we didn't drive very fast getting home, but the
rain gutters tolerated it just fine.
Your problem is going to be attaching a pr of Yakima " Top load" or" side
load" brackets to your pop top. Someone else will have to help you with
how far forward or back the rear bracket needs to be, but reinforcement of
the poptop fiberglass is critical. Simply adding a metal plate to the
inside area will create a stress riser and crack the glass where theplate
ends. A better solution is to reinforce the area with additional
fiberglass/kevlar/epoxy laminate so thew load is spread out and is bonded
to the roof. You can p-mail me if you need directions on how to go about
this. I would, however, position the front rack as far back as the
raingutters allow. Whether or not you could get away with ussing the top
loader brackets on top of the shell, I don't know, but it would take more
reinforcing than the side loaders. Most bicycle shops sell Yakima as do
canoe kayak shops. The latter would most likely have them in stock.
Expect to pay about $35/pr for the Yakima stuff. Not sure if adding a
second pr of side loaders would spread the load adequately or not. Yakima
makes a high quality rain gutter rack bracket(the 1A), but it's made of
plastic primarily(okkay for boats and bikes) and the QnE's are cast
aluminum. I also add some old car tire tube strips under the friction
point between rain gutter and bracket to minimize paint chaffing.
Dimwitted moose and Flying Squirrel 90GL 123k NLR AR
----------
> From: Christine Castigliano <ccastigliano@SPRINTMAIL.COM>
> To: vanagon@VANAGON.COM
> Subject: Proud New Owner needs roof rack tips
> Date: Tuesday, October 27, 1998 1:05 PM
>
> Thanks to everybody on this list for making my six-month search for a
Westy so
> rewarding and educational. The excellent help folks gave still wows me...
>
> While on an anniversary trip to Vancouver BC this last weekend, my
husband and
> I bought a white '90 with 96,000 miles, skylight, extra seat, great bike
rack,
> int/ext in good shape but not mint, replaced heads, (although one is
leaking a
> bit). All for $9,300 US. I'll be swapping out the speedo for one that
reads
> miles and driving it through customs Friday.
>
> The only thing we really need is roof rack that can accomodate 4 x 8
sheets of
> wood. Should we look into Thule, the most common brand around here? Or
are
> those strictly for bikes, kayaks, etc?
>
> Does anybody know of a source for a used rack, or can suggest any
improvised
> rack ideas?
>
> thanks,
> christine in seattle
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