Roof rack cargo basket

[biggoolies]

Having trouble finding a ready made cargo basket for the top of the cab. I measured the top of the cab to be 30x60 inches. Are there any ideas on what to use/buy? What are others using?
Darcy

 

[JRhetts]

I am very interested in any replies as well. We will be traveling to the Yukon next summer for 4 months and will need to carry some 'stuff' on top of our cab [FM260].

John

 

[VanIsle_Greg]

Lots of good roof (safari) baskets out there... I have a SportRack Roof Basket with the extension. It is what I would consider a mid-range rack.

There are others like the Gobi, the Surco etc. They are more HD than the SportRack, and likely more $$.

Sport Rack

Gobi

Surco

The SportRack I have works great, 3 years in I just repainted it, ready for another 3 years! Hope that helps?

 

[biggoolies]

Picture of your rack Greg.

Hi Greg:
Do you have a picture of your truck with the Sport rack on it? Also, how does it attach to the cab?
Darcy

 

[DontPanic42]

Carl Hunter made one to fit his FUSO. Not that difficult, Check out first entry of this posting.

http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/threads/9299-Mitsu-Fuso-Camper-examples

 

[VanIsle_Greg]

Hi Greg:
Do you have a picture of your truck with the Sport rack on it? Also, how does it attach to the cab?
Darcy

I do have a few shots of it... just added a couple of factory crossbars so I now have 4 to distribute the load more. Rack is rated for 175 pounds, so are the factory bars. It attaches with proprietary u-bolts and brackets. It currently uses quick release nuts, which actually hold it on surprisingly well. I can rock the whole truck side to side and the rack will not budge.

Old shot... 2 years back.

Will post a fresh shot today with the cross bars and some side plates I fabbed up.

 

[VanIsle_Greg]

Latest photo(s)...

Here is the attachment details...

 

[whatcharterboat]

Hi Darcy,

Just be careful you don't go crazy with the weight up there.......sure you can dial up the pre-tension of the cab tilt mechanism to a point but once you exceed the limit of the adjustment you will have a hard time tilting the cab. Remember what ever you put on the roof will basically need to be lifted by yourself including the rack itself.

john

 

[FusoFG]

Hi Darcy,

Just be careful you don't go crazy with the weight up there.......sure you can dial up the pre-tension of the cab tilt mechanism to a point but once you exceed the limit of the adjustment you will have a hard time tilting the cab. Remember what ever you put on the roof will basically need to be lifted by yourself including the rack itself.

john

John,

I found that opening both doors makes it easier to tilt the cab by moving the cg forward. Helps when tilting the cab on a hill also. But the real problem with a roof rack on a Mitsubishi / Isuzu is that, unless there is a lot weight behind the rear axle, any weight added to the front bumper or cab roof is going overload the front axle.

Tom

PS

I remember seeing a manually pumped hydraulic cab tilt on a 4 door Isuzu in 1993.

 

[biggoolies]

Thanks for the pics Greg, but it has to fit specific to the fg. Your rack is on a Jeep. Nice looking truck by the way.
Darcy

 

[whatcharterboat]

John,

I found that opening both doors makes it easier to tilt the cab by moving the cg forward. Helps when tilting the cab on a hill also. But the real problem with a roof rack on a Mitsubishi / Isuzu is that, unless there is a lot weight behind the rear axle, any weight added to the front bumper or cab roof is going overload the front axle.

Tom

PS

I remember seeing a manually pumped hydraulic cab tilt on a 4 door Isuzu in 1993.

Tom......gidday mate.

Yep. Good tip opening the doors..............common practice in workshops..... and a very valid point about overloading the front axle.

We set up an electric actuator for a cab tilt once before on a FG that had plenty of barwork all over the cab with a rack and a couple of spare tyres stored up on the roof. It was really heavy to lift manually.......2 blokes would struggle......but if anyone is going to try this be careful with how the actuator (or ram) mounts to the cab and chassis. You really need to worry about how the cab moves around so much on the tilt and lock down mounts. BTW a lot of big cabover trucks use manual hydraulic cabtilts....so the parts would be common at the wreckers .

 

[dhackney]

Our fabricator, Mark Johnson, built a rack for our cab. It's made of high strength aluminum and the rack itself can be easily lifted by one person.


Rack fabrication shots here: http://www.hackneys.com/mitsu/photos/buildup_album_19/index.htm

Rack install shots here: http://www.hackneys.com/mitsu/photos/buildup_album_20/index.htm

The integrated brush guard around the windshield proved to be a Very Good Idea in the field.

Rack closeups, etc. here: http://www.hackneys.com/mitsu/photos/buildup_album_21/index.htm


Buildup photos here: http://www.hackneys.com/mitsu/index-buildup-photos.htm

Here's what the rack looks like on the truck:

 

[dhackney]

If you don't have a lift-top/vertically expanding camper, it's a good idea to install lanyards from your cab rack to the front corners of the camper.

Scott Brady suggested this when we tested with him and I built and installed some while we were exploring the U.S. Rockies & Pac NW prior to leaving for South America.

I have no idea how many times I rebuilt them before I finally got the right proportion of shock cord to stainless steel wire. I quit counting at five. If nothing else, it gave me something to do for the two years we were out.

It helps to have a vise, swage tool and a bunch of parts, shock cord and cable. (We needed the shock cord because we had a lot of movement between the cab and the payload, so the lanyards could not be taught.)

Make sure to use all stainless steel hardware for this project.

Location: Valdivia, Chile

The shock cord is tied off / wrapped with safety wire and then covered with glued heat shrink.

Stainless steel safety wire (used in motorcycle racing, available at any good motorcycle shop). This was shot before I clipped the twist and tucked it into the turnbuckle.

The shock cord held up very well to the elements. It's from an inexpensive bungee cord.

The lanyards were a Very Good Idea out in the bush. They kept innumerable trees off of the front of the camper and provided a smooth glide path to guide anything bendable up, over and down the sides. Thanks again, Scott.

 

[kerry]

Mine's an Yakima basket with the extension.