Help; trying to build tall footed roof rack, Mercedes Westfalia

[Fish78]

Hello,

I'm hoping someone might have some ideas on this one. I'm trying to fab a roof rack for my van to mount solar panels on. I have an '86 Mercedes Westfalia with a high top. I do not want to drill into the roof, so I'm trying to find a solution where i can attach the roof rack to the rain gutters. The roof steps down in the rear; I'm hoping to build something with a relatively small footprint to fit the space. There's a convenient vent there that would allow easy routing of wiring.



I've seen super tall Thule feet in pictures from europe, but haven't been able to find them for sale from someone who wants to ship to Canada. I'd like to just buy what's pictured below...

View attachment 333605

Does anyone know if there are rain gutter style feet for sale out there that i could use for attachment, then fab up the rest of the rack?

 

[mgmetalworks]

VHB tape and some custom brackets attached to the top itself. The right choice of tape is better than screws in many applications.

http://solutions.3m.com/wps/portal/3M/en_US/Adhesives/Tapes/Brands/3M-VHB-Tape/

 

[naterry]

VHB or another bonding agent in general. Size the feet/pads/attachment brackets etc. appropriately to support/distribute your intended load and bond it directly to the roof.

 

[G jeep]

I have had yakima tall feet and shortened them. The yakima rain gutter mounts are multiple pieces. I don't know why you could not make your own spacer with a longer bolt and make your own tall towers. If you want thule, call them, you can probably order directly from them.

 

[Johny5]

If you come down to langley I can make something with 1 inch tube

 

[JBoles]

Fish,

Super cool Mercedes Van, I've never seen one of those in person. I too have a hightop van, 2006 Ford E350. It was a handicap transportation van in a previous life. I have installed a roof rack similar to what you are looking for.

Vantech makes extended towers for hightop roofs up to 24" high. Here is an ebay link: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Dodge-Ram-C...ash=item566ffe1673:g:2KAAAOSwxYxUyRhc&vxp=mtr

They make them for different width cross bars so I bet they can make them work for your van.

You can see mine here: http://www.sportsmobileforum.com/fo...amily-adventure-van-build-thread-14849-4.html
Look at the last page of the thread.

Good luck,
Justin