New MANTEC Product for Discovery/LR 3/4 - Overhead Storage
- Thread starter Ian_Barry
- Start date
harbinger808
Adventurer
I think the Mantec would be great if my wife allows me to purchase my very own LR4, but for our one do it all family vehicle the BROG is the answer.
RayG let me know when I can send you some moolah for those runners
Happy get Fat and Full day to EVERYONE
RayG let me know when I can send you some moolah for those runners
Happy get Fat and Full day to EVERYONE
harbinger808
Adventurer
I plan on ordering a mantec. It seems like they are coming out with a second version that works with the factory cargo barrier. (They seem to call it a dog guard.. but i thought that was the left/right split option you add on).
if i had the time and money... extend the bottom edges of the mantec "attic" to the rear windows just above the little cubby holes. replace the glass with aluminum gull wing doors and turn that into a locker
ala DefenderBeta testing will be underway for thanksgiving
View attachment 376024
The cliff notes thus far:
-Sourced BROG attic, the usual very fast customer service & shipping had the well crafted VA made item in hand in short order.
-School got in the way of fabricating the planned runners but eventually I figured out that I'd need to have a piece that went under the grab handle and another piece that was the runner itself. Hypothetically you could do it with wider, single pieces, of metal but the fabrication there would be focused on getting the curves of the headliner area correct. I decided that the two piece construction was the simpler task. Grab handle base:
View attachment 376027View attachment 376028
The runner itself; overall length of the aluminum is 22", as you can see with bends on either end to accomodate roofline with bolt plates affixed to give the attic a place to tie into. The cut out accomodates the rear cargo area lights.
View attachment 376032
The two come together, I decided to rivet them to keep clearances tight, no comments needed on how horrible the holes for the grab handle inserts are...I was working quickly and it was cold.
View attachment 376034
Mocked up further, test fitting the handle several times throughout ensured a quicker install later. You will need to source bigger screws to give you purchase for the grab handles, I had some spares from other Rovers that I sacrificed.
View attachment 376033
Up in the truck, illustrating (perhaps) better why I went to two pieces and had to bend and such.
View attachment 376035
Another shot of it in place. As the initial comment notes, this is a beta to have it in place as we pack the truck up (you can see that is already underway from the first shot) and head up to WV for Thanksgiving. I wanted to try it out and buy myself a little room. At present, all that is up there is a jacket, a poncho liner (in an eagle creek cube), a lightweight camera tripod (that will come down before we drive) and a towel. When we get to WV and I get the chance to do some maint on the truck during the holiday it will likely get pulled down and the metal will get painted to match the headliner.
View attachment 376036
Initial impression is positive; the runners provide enough stretch to make it fit the area well and in conjunction with the BROG 550 cord it keeps the objects tucked into that unused cavity well without blocking the rearview much, if at all. I may do some minor tweaks but I can say without a doubt it will have some utility in an area that is otherwise not really used.
r-
Ray
Any chance you can post a dimensional drawing of the runners so I can try to make one myself?
Ray_G
Explorer
So I'm a long way from good drawings these days, but here's a sketch I'd done for myself to have the dimensions on hand so I could re-install my setup and still be able to make them for others if they desired. I'm not going to go into BROG LR3 attic runner business so it isn't proprietary to me that's for sure!
Major moving parts: 2" by 1/8" aluminum flat stock is what I used, the runner component is 22" long. Within that 22" the bends are at 1 1/4" from each side. The cut for the rear cargo area light is 5 1/2" from the end (or 4 1/4" from the bend). I'm setting that inset at 3" and 3/4" deep; the good thing about the runners is you can do that 2x on the flats and then the important part is being sure to bend one flat one direction, the other the opposite so they fit into the roof well.
The other piece I didn't make a drawing of really; it's an 8" section of the 2" x 1/8" stock and then I hand draw on the asymmetric holes for the grab handles (all the grab handles appear to be more/less the same-I currently have my driver seat grab handle out for the runners I have in motion now with the attic actually up in the back of the truck.
Cutting those holes is the long pole in the construction tent. At least it was/is for me. It's a PITA.
After that mating the two together is best done by mounting the grab handle piece, using some longer pan head screws, and then marking where the runner lines up to ensure the cut out is aligned against the cargo light, etc. Remove everything, rivet, reinstall.
Hope that helps.
Ray_G
Explorer
Alum LR3 runners for the BROG attic; beta testing feedback. Final version
Follow up from my long-winded, picture intensive, posts regarding the BROG attic as an alternative.
Once on site in WV I played with the beta setup a bit more with high hopes of being able to integrate fastex buckles into both the runners and the BROG's straps. Ultimately this included using some grommets in the webbing that held on the female buckle with an overall concept like this:
Close up of the attachment at the runner's bend:
Unfortunately this yielded what I consider sub optimal performance as it gives too much sag back to the attic with no real ability to tighten further. Guess this is what happens when you adapt an LC product to an LR! Since I'm not consistent with my camera angle, this may/may not illustrate why I think it lets it sag too far:
I did try reversing the buckles to have some wrap built into the setup and such, which did get some tension but wasn't really the endstate I was looking for:
One side note that I will say is worth doing to the BROG attic is adding a second cord lock (it comes with one that allows you to adjust tension of the 550 cord, but that makes for a need to pull 550 cord from the far side almost like tightening a shoe lace from the bottom up to the top-by having a 2nd lock now you can tighten on both sides):
In the end I decided my desire for quick detachment was getting in the way of the simplest way to get the tension I wanted, so I tried just putting a grommet in the BROG's strap right near where it meets the attic:
My able assistant and I then took the bold step after trying it on one side of doing the other two, and cutting/sealing all the ends vice having a bunch of 1" webbing taped up but unsightly.
A shot of it up and bolted in place with each end attached via the grommet method. The attic is now held fairly tightly up against the cavity the rear moonroof has but there is still room to put things in/out and adjust tension via the 550 cord:
So overall I spent a lot of time chasing the perfect mousetrap-in my opinion-to end up almst back where I started when I had bolt plates on there to run the attic's strapping through and just hold it in place with a triglide. That said I do like the grommets being held in place with stouter hardware and at $100 I don't mind cutting the straps. In theory taking it in/out quickly would be nice but I realized perfect was the enemy of good enough for my needs since I rarely have people or cargo back there where that would really be needed (and worst case its soft, just push it up!).
r-
Ray
Follow up from my long-winded, picture intensive, posts regarding the BROG attic as an alternative.
Once on site in WV I played with the beta setup a bit more with high hopes of being able to integrate fastex buckles into both the runners and the BROG's straps. Ultimately this included using some grommets in the webbing that held on the female buckle with an overall concept like this:
Close up of the attachment at the runner's bend:
Unfortunately this yielded what I consider sub optimal performance as it gives too much sag back to the attic with no real ability to tighten further. Guess this is what happens when you adapt an LC product to an LR! Since I'm not consistent with my camera angle, this may/may not illustrate why I think it lets it sag too far:
I did try reversing the buckles to have some wrap built into the setup and such, which did get some tension but wasn't really the endstate I was looking for:
One side note that I will say is worth doing to the BROG attic is adding a second cord lock (it comes with one that allows you to adjust tension of the 550 cord, but that makes for a need to pull 550 cord from the far side almost like tightening a shoe lace from the bottom up to the top-by having a 2nd lock now you can tighten on both sides):
In the end I decided my desire for quick detachment was getting in the way of the simplest way to get the tension I wanted, so I tried just putting a grommet in the BROG's strap right near where it meets the attic:
My able assistant and I then took the bold step after trying it on one side of doing the other two, and cutting/sealing all the ends vice having a bunch of 1" webbing taped up but unsightly.
A shot of it up and bolted in place with each end attached via the grommet method. The attic is now held fairly tightly up against the cavity the rear moonroof has but there is still room to put things in/out and adjust tension via the 550 cord:
So overall I spent a lot of time chasing the perfect mousetrap-in my opinion-to end up almst back where I started when I had bolt plates on there to run the attic's strapping through and just hold it in place with a triglide. That said I do like the grommets being held in place with stouter hardware and at $100 I don't mind cutting the straps. In theory taking it in/out quickly would be nice but I realized perfect was the enemy of good enough for my needs since I rarely have people or cargo back there where that would really be needed (and worst case its soft, just push it up!).
r-
Ray
Thanks Ray! exactly what I was hoping for
Ray_G
Explorer
Krylon Khaki (the camo flat paint color from Wally World).
harbinger808
Adventurer
trust me... 10x better than mine will ever be. i dont even have tools or a workshop space :/
harbinger808
Adventurer
Much aloha and mahalo to RayG for making a set of runners for my second BROG Attic. Does the job it was intended for and makes our rear cargo area much neater and convenient!