Roof basket and ax/ shovel mounts

Upgrades and modifications to Trims, Seats, Carpets, Roof Racks, Panels, Dashboard, Bumpers, Rocksliders, Paint, Decals...

Moderator: volvite

User avatar
ZPOC RDY
Posts: 49
Joined: Thu Jan 21, 2016 2:10 pm
Location: Paso Robles, CA

Roof basket and ax/ shovel mounts

Postby ZPOC RDY » Mon May 30, 2016 12:05 pm

It's been a while since I've had a vehicle worth doing things to besides stickers, so I've been more than excited to add just a roof basket and mounts for an ax and shovel. Moved my spare to the roof a while ago, but wasn't too worried about it up there without the rack. My wife surprised me with the purchase of the rack, extension, fairing and cargo net, so I got it all setup before going snowboarding. Didn't really need it until I went camping. It seems like a decent-sized vehicle until you shove your wife and 2 kids in there with enough camping gear for a 3-day trip. Wouldn't have fit everything without the rack.
I followed the lead of a member on here and got the Rage Powersports HD RB-DLX-V2 roof cargo basket, 24" extension and fairing all for $223 on Amazon. Another $12 or so for the cargo net that fit perfectly. All that fits exactly over the factory roof rack, and I was lucky enough to already have the crossbars that I've heard aren't actually factory (must be on the loaded SE I found). Strapped down the spare with a couple ratchet straps and I still have half the basket for cargo. The rack came with hardware that was pretty annoying to work with. What passed as nuts were just plastic wingnut style things with an inset metal threaded nut. They were intended for easy tool-free removal, but tore up my hands putting them on, so I swapped those out for a wingnut and a couple washers to raise the wingnut up enough to fully rotate so it doesn't hit the crossbar mount. Then had to chop off 1/2" of the u-bolt they gave me, as it is a universal fitment, and my crossbars are fairly low-profile and the u-bolt stuck up into where cargo would be. Capped it with rubber caps I got from Lowes.
The basket made a horrible howling noise without the fairing, and the fairing rattled a bit until it settled, and now doesn't make much noise, but I'm used to whatever wind noise there is. I didn't want to spend >$400 for a Thule or Yakima rack, and am pleased with this.
Image

For the ax and shovel mounts, I found a solution on an FJ forum. A couple Quickfist clamps that fit 1"-2.25" bolted to a couple split-ring hangars that bolt right to the tube rim of the roof basket. I had to adjust the 2" ring they used to mount to the FJ rack to the 1/2" I used for my rack, and it worked flawlessly. It's tight enough to hold the 5 lbs or whatever securely. All together I spent about $35 for all the pieces for both mounts (2 pairs of clamps $24 shipped from Amazon, 4 bolts with washers from Lowes for $4 total, and 4 split-ring hangers for about $7. Going to add a small padlock to each tool for security.
Image
Image
Image


User avatar
Thupertrooper
Posts: 674
Joined: Sat Jun 15, 2013 10:17 am
Location: Mesa,AZ

Postby Thupertrooper » Mon May 30, 2016 10:35 pm

Looks nice i still need to figure out what route im going for my roof rack.

User avatar
ZPOC RDY
Posts: 49
Joined: Thu Jan 21, 2016 2:10 pm
Location: Paso Robles, CA

Postby ZPOC RDY » Wed Jun 01, 2016 8:45 pm

I wish I knew which member it was. All I know is it was a Dark Slate Gray LE V8. He got the Rage and powdercoated it and welded a plate to the front to mount 6-LED spotlights.
This is his ride:
Image
(I saved this pic to show people what mine would look like..also planning to get those rims)
Anyways, I loved the way this rack looks. Most others have a dip in the front or rear and I wanted to have a complete ring all the way around that was high enough to keep the center of gravity of most stuff inside the ring. And the price was the big issue. I have never seen the importance of spending $400+ on a roof rack when they all have more or less the same cargo weight capacity and cargo area. But I like to stick with what I know and he provided all the pics I needed to know it fit and looked good.


Return to “R51 Body Interior and Exterior”