Camper Shell Roof Racks

[Raul B]

Nice rack. How was it supported inside the shell?

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[SDDiver5]

here are a couple examples of what im generally looking to do. i do agree that it needs to be mounted to the actual bed like a contractors rack but i dont like how wide a contractor rack is and how it doesnt flow with the side angles of the camper shell...

another problem is that my shell overlaps over my bed rails so if i do it this way ill have to notch the shell where the brackets would be which im trying not to do.

on the part that overlaps i want to mount a 50" LED light bar and a solar panel like the aluminum one in the picture....

Raul you picture stealer!! Pretty sweet idea isint it!? The one with the fiberglass fenders my buddy made for me when I wanted to go a different way with my build.

I think something like that would be so sick. It looks like one of those baja race team chase trucks rack with an overland style. I posted that pic on one of my threads and someone mentioned that with the way the rack angles in at the top you would have to be careful about the bed rails bending outward. Not sure if you saw it or not.

Still just a thought or is this something that are going to do yourself?

your truck looks good!

 

[bat]

How was it supported inside the shell?

I just have 2 brackets inside mating up with the rack outside with rubber seals. I would think for a bar light it would be fine without brackets just make sure the foot print of the leg on the front mounts is large and stay to the farthest flat spot to the edge of the shell.

 

[Raul B]

Raul you picture stealer!! Pretty sweet idea isint it!? The one with the fiberglass fenders my buddy made for me when I wanted to go a different way with my build.

I think something like that would be so sick. It looks like one of those baja race team chase trucks rack with an overland style. I posted that pic on one of my threads and someone mentioned that with the way the rack angles in at the top you would have to be careful about the bed rails bending outward. Not sure if you saw it or not.

Still just a thought or is this something that are going to do yourself?

your truck looks good!

wooops hahaha....

ill be building it myself.... if it wasnt valentines weekend i would be working on it this weekend but gotta keep the wife happy.. i think the next thing im going to do is build my mounting setup first... i still think my rack is a lil too wide so i may scrap it and start fresh once i mount my brackets to the top of the cab.

 

[MR. ED]

This is my set up. It's not perfect but it works ok for me. My buddy built the rack that was compatible with his goose neck trailer. He decided at the end to jack it up so he could put a topper on too. I like being able to walk around up on the side to attach what I need. I don't like the thick plates he used to weld the legs to. They're too thick and it messes with topper. If I were to get a new topper I would consider re-working the rack, but my old junky topper is on it's last leg so it'll do for now. Good luck.

 

[chevyexpotruck]

Here is one I found online a while back. This one does a good job of fitting around the box cap/camper shell.

http://ocmetalsolutions.com/tag/ladder-rack/







As you can see, it works well with or without the cap on the truck.

 

[Raul B]

thats a nice rack.... but as you can see in the last picture they notched the camper shell where the brackets come out. Im really trying to stay away from that because i feel it wont look good... here are some shots i just took.

from this picture you can see how far the camper shell over hangs over the bed rails.

from this next shot in the interior there is a section in the middle that seems to be thicker than the rest of the shell. im thinking of having my brackets at all 4 corners of where these thicker section is.

now i put a level on the top and there is no "flat" section. its all curved even if its a little.

how big of a plate do you think i should have on top and bottom? do you think a 4"x4" plate is more than enough? how many bolts going through it? Here is what im thinking. because the top is not completely flat i should do a 2"x4" plate with 2 bolts.

what do you guys think?

 

[Raul B]

sorry for another post.. but i have been doing some more reasearch on the exact shell i have (which is a ARE Z series) and it seems like the factory usually mounts the rails towards the end of the shell. here is an example

now im a little more confused on where i should drill and mount this thing

 

[SDDiver5]

wooops hahaha....

ill be building it myself.... if it wasnt valentines weekend i would be working on it this weekend but gotta keep the wife happy.. i think the next thing im going to do is build my mounting setup first... i still think my rack is a lil too wide so i may scrap it and start fresh once i mount my brackets to the top of the cab.

haha just playing around man. Do it! It would look so rad!

 

[Raul B]

ok so i still felt like the rack was too wide so i decided to just ditch what i already had and start fresh.

it was about 2+ hours of grinding and cutting and about 1 hour of measuring and welding.

i also have a ton of these round 1/4" thick pieces from an old job so i deced to make my corner peices out of it. not only will this help square off the edges but this is also where the mounts are attaching too from the top of the cab.

all 4 corners in place

this is what the welds look like. i thought i was going to have a hard time welding 2 different thickness but after a little adjusting i think i did pretty good

next up is cutting and grinding up some more square tubing so that i can make cross braces and all the sides.

 

[Quasimoto]

I run a Kargo Master Contractor Rack for my Lights, Awning, Spare Tire, Water Cans, Jack and other Junk. I built a plywood platform for it and with all my junk up there I still have room to set up a lawn chair to watch events.

 

[Maverick1701]

that is exactly the setup I want to run once I decide which truck I am going to buy (contractor rack extended over crew cab pickup).
Very cool rig!!!

I run a Kargo Master Contractor Rack for my Lights, Awning, Spare Tire, Water Cans, Jack and other Junk. I built a plywood platform for it and with all my junk up there I still have room to set up a lawn chair to watch events.

 

[Scott B.]

...
from this next shot in the interior there is a section in the middle that seems to be thicker than the rest of the shell. im thinking of having my brackets at all 4 corners of where these thicker section is.

now i put a level on the top and there is no "flat" section. its all curved even if its a little.
...

I have an ARE Z-Series also. Do not drill through the "thicker" section in the roof - only drill/mount to the outer, thinner section.

The thicker section has a honeycomb structure in the fiberglass. If you were to drill it, you would have to completely seal the inside of the hole to prevent water from getting into the fiberglass, and causing it to delaminate (rot). Also, you won't be able to completely tighten a bolt - the washer or backing plate will compress/crush the honeycomb structure.

I mounted a set of Yakima Bolt-Top Loaders on my shell over 10 years ago - haven't had a problem.

 

[College Kid]

Quasimoto,

Where did you get that rear "tent"? I am looking for something similar for my set up?

I run a Kargo Master Contractor Rack for my Lights, Awning, Spare Tire, Water Cans, Jack and other Junk. I built a plywood platform for it and with all my junk up there I still have room to set up a lawn chair to watch events.

 

[Mad_Texan]

Mine is not as fancy as some of these others but has proven to work very well...I have had Leer look at it and they said I installed it in the strongest part of the cap. I have stood on it right on top of one of the feet with no issue...





It has been known to carry a load...