New roof racks for Discovery I & II from Bajarack

[Viggen]

I like the fairing as it will cut down on wind noise. Those of you who have ever run a rack of any sort without a fairing will understand the differences between having one and not. Does it have tabs for lamps on the front and back, like an SD rack does?

 

[David Harris]

I agree with BIGdaddy is there a way you can make a rack mount to the rain gutters and is as low to the roof as possible. If so that would be awsome and I would be in line to buy one.:coffeedrink:

The limiting factor there is that extra height is needed to clear the sunroofs/factory rails when open. All ready made racks that I've seen take the rails/sunroofs into account. Without them, you could bring it almost down to the roof itself. I've personally never liked racks that step down so much in the front like the later model SD or this Baja. I prefer the original SD fitted to the Camel Trophy trucks, because the basket is deeper and the top rail extends more directly to the front giving a lot more depth to the storage area and providing a nice protective alcove for front mounted lights. Looks better to me too. I'm going to weld up my own rack like this which is also built for a rear opening RTT, and has mountings directly to the chassis. Fairings are a good idea, but the one on this Baja is too small to really do much. It's difficult to run one if you have front lights, anyway. I don't really care for lights mounted on the roof. Two on the front bumper are more than sufficient and are in the ideal position for effectiveness. I'm just going to run a nice full width fairing where the lights would be instead.

David

 

[Paladin]

Two on the front bumper are more than sufficient and are in the ideal position fro effectiveness.

At high speeds, yes. At low speeds no.

Go look at an off-highway working machine, backhoe, combine, that sort of thing. Where are the lights?

 

[David Harris]

At high speeds, yes. At low speeds no.

Go look at an off-highway working machine, backhoe, combine, that sort of thing. Where are the lights?

That's because on heavy equipment there's stuff mounted up front (implements, i.e. bucket, scoop, blades, etc.) that gets in the way of the lights, so they have to be mounted up high and aimed down in front of the vehicle. From the driver's seat you can only see a certain field of vision in front of the vehicle anyway, and grille mounted lights light that field of vision fine if they are aimed correctly.

 

[Viggen]

That's because on heavy equipment there's stuff mounted up front (implements, i.e. bucket, scoop, blades, etc.) that gets in the way of the lights, so they have to be mounted up high and aimed down in front of the vehicle. From the driver's seat you can only see a certain field of vision in front of the vehicle anyway, and grille mounted lights light that field of vision fine if they are aimed correctly.

Didnt mean to start an argument but until you have had two on the bumper on and two on the rack pointed out like "corner" beams, you dont understand. I took a closer look at the D2 picture and noticed the tabs in the reflection that there are tabs there. Come on, as hard up as you are for Camel Trophy stuff, you should be all over lights on the rack and the bumper...

 

[justaddmtns]

how about once again placing the load bearing supports over the pillars? should i post up the pm i sent about a year ago after you asked me what i thought was wrong with it?

I agree, for both function and form.

 

[David Harris]

Didnt mean to start an argument but until you have had two on the bumper on and two on the rack pointed out like "corner" beams, you dont understand. I took a closer look at the D2 picture and noticed the tabs in the reflection that there are tabs there. Come on, as hard up as you are for Camel Trophy stuff, you should be all over lights on the rack and the bumper...

I'm speaking more for function than form when I say I don't care for lights up top. They do look cool for sure. But I just don't think they're really needed on top, that's all. The corner light thing is a good point, though, if you need to see right to the sides of the vehicle. If that's the case, it would be better to mount a couple of small lights on either side of the rack, not the front. I just think extra lights are better placed in front of the vehicle, not on top. And you certainly don't need six extra forward facing lights in addition to the headlights as many vehicles carry.

 

[LtFuzz]

I like the fairing as it will cut down on wind noise. Those of you who have ever run a rack of any sort without a fairing will understand the differences between having one and not. Does it have tabs for lamps on the front and back, like an SD rack does?

Yeah, I was just more concerned with being able to paint over the logo. Which is kind of ironic since I no problem slapping stickers all over the windows. :sombrero:

I just feel like the BajaRack logo doesn't jive that well with the Rover aesthetic -- seems like it'd be more at home on a 4-Runner or FJ.

But I'm seriously considering purchasing one, particularly as no one seems to be able to ship their used SD rack.

 

[Viggen]

Yeah, I was just more concerned with being able to paint over the logo.

Amazing stuff

 

[Paladin]

That's because on heavy equipment there's stuff mounted up front (implements, i.e. bucket, scoop, blades, etc.) that gets in the way of the lights, so they have to be mounted up high and aimed down in front of the vehicle. From the driver's seat you can only see a certain field of vision in front of the vehicle anyway, and grille mounted lights light that field of vision fine if they are aimed correctly.

Grille mounted lights leave a black hole behind any terrain feature. Is there another rock behind that rock, or is there a hole? No clue. It's just black. How steep and deep is the ravine? No clue, it's just a ribbon of blackness. I can see the terrain beyond the ravine, but that's not my most immediate problem.

Only lights positioned above the eyeballs of the driver will guarantee that light is visibly reflected from every feature within the driver's view. Lights below the bumper leave a shadow behind every feature.

I agree, there is no point illuminating things that could not be seen anway. I don't need 400 yard illumination, as a geological age will pass by the time my truck arrives there. I do need to see everything that is seeable 50 feet in front of my truck. It is illegal, and dangerous to use roof lights on any open road where higher speeds could be achieved. Their use should generally be restricted to off-highway use, which will of course come with lower speeds. I would make an acception here for long, open stretches of smooth dirt roads typical in the SW.

The problem with roof mounted lights, and why some people think they are poseurish, is because so many people are fitting Hella 4000 pencils beams up there, with a 2 mile range, on a truck that tops out about 60-70mph, and most of the time is doing 20-30mph, at best, when off pavement. I agree, those lights are somewhat pointless. But it is the lamp choice that is the problem, not the location.

Tractor work lights provide excellent illumination to 50 feet in front of the truck. They're also very affordable. Unfortunately, they're just not cool. I find affordably priced driving pattern lights to be a reasonable compromise.

Some people don't like roof lights because of glare on the windshield and hood. This is a trivial problem to solve. A simple shield under the light, or setting the lights back from the forward roof edge will solve this.

Furthermore, excessively bright forward illumination can also be a problem. The lighting typically provided by HID lamps blows out your night vision. Your pupils close. You can see everything that is illuminated very well, but you can't see what is not directly illuminated. Looking to the sides, everything is dark.

Use only as much lighting power as required to get the job done.

 

[David Harris]

Grille mounted lights leave a black hole behind any terrain feature. Is there another rock behind that rock, or is there a hole? No clue. It's just black. How steep and deep is the ravine? No clue, it's just a ribbon of blackness. I can see the terrain beyond the ravine, but that's not my most immediate problem.

Only lights positioned above the eyeballs of the driver will guarantee that light is visibly reflected from every feature within the driver's view. Lights below the bumper leave a shadow behind every feature.

Good point.

David

 

[Paladin]

Yeah.... and that should have read

Lights below the eyeballs leave a shadow behind every feature.

Roof lights have the opposite problem, in that they don't illuminate anything above the lowest hanging branch. But I don't often worry about that.

I keep my long range lights mounted on top of the bumper, where it is legal to use them on an open roadway.

 

[Antichrist]

Tractor work lights provide excellent illumination to 50 feet in front of the truck. They're also very affordable. Unfortunately, they're just not cool.

Yeah, and cheap to replace if they get broken. And less likely to get stolen.
I can see pencil beams if you're running the Baja races, Paris-Dakar and the like, but for off-road at night? Tractor floods have always been enough for me. I'm rarely in a hurry when off-road.
Obviously if one cares about what image you're presenting, then perhaps they won't do.

 

[David Harris]

Yeah.... and that should have read

Roof lights have the opposite problem, in that they don't illuminate anything above the lowest hanging branch. But I don't often worry about that.

I keep my long range lights mounted on top of the bumper, where it is legal to use them on an open roadway.

The amount you can see behind objects will still be limited by your angle of view from the driver's seat, though. In other words, roof lights are going to be able to illuminate more than you can see anyway. In a lot of cases you'll have to get out of the vehicle and walk the route to really see what's there. It's also another reason not to drive off-road at night. Some friends and I were on a night run through a forest once and the lead vehicle dropped right into a five foot ditch. No clue it was there. Roof lights may help some in this, at least telling you when you need to get out and walk the route.

David

 

[Ronct110]

Very nice racks!