roof rack on topper?

[colodak]

most fiberglass toppers, regardless of the manufacturer, have a 300 lb weigh limit. I currently have an ASTRO topper with a full Yakima system. 72" cross bars, adjustable track, load warrior basket, 2 bike carriers, as well as a shovel, ax and hi-lift attached to the rack. Occasionally I'll have a spare or some other items up there. I've looked into putting a RTT up there, but from talking to all the companies, they say no more than 300 lbs total weight. Since a RTT weighs about 130 lbs, I weigh 250, and the wife 140, I think we exceed the limit. Not to mention you would need 4 crossbars, as Yakima rates the bars to 100 lbs ea.

 

[2scars]

Usually they are talking dynamic, not static, weight. Weight when driving and maneuvering is more difficult to account for and that is what they rate them for. I am 200 lbs and I ft up on mine and laid out flat, did even flex.

 

[zscott]

Here is mine. Been using it for hauling all sorts of items including a RTT for about a year now. No issues. My topper does have a thicker roof for more weight but the reason I feel comfortable carrying heavier items is the distribution of weight. The rack is mounted to thule/yakima tracks but I had a client mount it directly to his topper with good results.



Before Paint


Mounts




With RTT

 

[redneckjeepr]

homemade roof rack

 

[jerstw]

I know this is an older thread but since I just went through the process of installing the Thule track kit on my topper I spent a fair amount of time trying to figure out the optimal placement for the tracks in terms of load carrying capacity. After talking with two different Leer topper dealers and measuring a couple different ones that had factory / dealer installed track systems I ended up mounting my Thule tracks 6.75" inward on my topper from as measured from the top edge of my side windows following along the radius of the round topper edge. The reason I took this approach is the window is essentially in a fixed location and seemed to be one of the more accurate points to measure from. This also is about 2" into the radius of the top of my particular topper which I was told by both Leer dealers I spoke with is generally considered the strongest point on the roof as there is a greater likelihood for the overlapping of fiberglass from the manufacturing process; not sure that is an entirely accurate statement but was plausible enough for me to go off of in drilling 10 holes in my topper. Now the trade off, on my Ram topper at least, is that since the topper narrows slightly towards the tailgate when all was said and done the "Feet" for my crossbars to mount on were spaced about 1.75" wider in the front of the topper vs. the back. Since I will rarely be sliding my Thule racks front to back this was not a big deal to me, however if I were needing to adjust the placement of my crossbars frequently on the tracks I would have made them 100% even and perpendicular to the left and right side as the feet can be adjusted easier; in reality they can still be adjusted just have to mess around with the tiny allen head screw in the feet assembly. In the end I think my tracks / rack are mounted in as good a spot as they can be for max weight management.

ZScott - Does your cab roof mounted rack go into the factory Toyota roof rack holes or did you need to drill into your cab? Asking as my brother is considering rack options for his 2013 Tacoma and your setup might be what he is looking for.

Thanks

 

[calstar]

Thanks for reviving this thread jerstw. The build below(posted earlier in this thread) looks to be emt using pre-bent 90s, flattened ends on straight crossbars and emt couplers. 3/4" emt is pretty sturdy stuff(try bending it with standard emt bender), and !" is really strong.

As a bonus its cheap! I'm surprised its not used more in diy fabrication roof racks, lots of possibilities. The galvy/zinc coating requires caution when welding due to toxic fumes but respirators and fans will take care of that hazard.

Thoughts??

Brian

 

[SportsmanJake]

Now the trade off, on my Ram topper at least, is that since the topper narrows slightly towards the tailgate when all was said and done the "Feet" for my crossbars to mount on were spaced about 1.75" wider in the front of the topper vs. the back. Since I will rarely be sliding my Thule racks front to back this was not a big deal to me, however if I were needing to adjust the placement of my crossbars frequently on the tracks I would have made them 100% even and perpendicular to the left and right side as the feet can be adjusted easier;

Thanks

My Leer topper is flared. I originally installed Yakima tracks that ran parallel to the edge. I redid it so that they were parallel.

 

[Ducky's Dad]

I originally installed Yakima tracks that ran parallel to the edge. I redid it so that they were parallel.

I have Yak Tracks on two fiberglass shells. I installed the tracks parallel to each other to make it easier to move things around as my needs change.