2TimingTom
Elite Explorer
- Joined
- October 12, 2010
- Messages
- 2,498
- Reaction score
- 99
- Location
- Littleton, CO
- City, State
- Littleton, Colorado
- Year, Model & Trim Level
- '97 XLT
I'm looking to increase the roof carrying capacity of my Explorer by building a custom roof rack.
Here's my thought:
Take the factory roof rack off and throw it away
Drop the headliner so I have access to both sides of the roof panel
Use the rain gutter to mount the feet of the roof rack- probably 4 feet per side
The feet would fit inside the rain gutter and bolt through with ample RTV to seal it
The rack itself would be nearly the full length of the roof. I'd like it to come far enough forward to be able to mount some lights without the roof cutting off their effectivity.
The rack needs to be about as high as the factory rack to maintain my garage parking ability.
I seem to remember someone posting a rack build similar to this- but I can't find it.
Thoughts?
Here's my thought:
Take the factory roof rack off and throw it away
Drop the headliner so I have access to both sides of the roof panel
Use the rain gutter to mount the feet of the roof rack- probably 4 feet per side
The feet would fit inside the rain gutter and bolt through with ample RTV to seal it
The rack itself would be nearly the full length of the roof. I'd like it to come far enough forward to be able to mount some lights without the roof cutting off their effectivity.
The rack needs to be about as high as the factory rack to maintain my garage parking ability.
I seem to remember someone posting a rack build similar to this- but I can't find it.
Thoughts?