RTT on an Isuzu Trooper?

[double moo]

I am looking to put a RTT on m 2nd gen Trooper. Has anyone here done this? What tpe of rack - and how to mount it is part of the question? the RTT plus 2 of us will be roughly 500 lbs up there. Most of the racks I have looked at don't recommend over 125 lbs. The factory mounting points are easily accessible - would I need a rack long enough to hit all six points? or just the rear 4? Any help is appreciated.

Moo

 

[mountainpete]

There are a lot of people here with Troopers and I will defer to them on the mounting points. However I will say that the majority of racks are rated below 125 - 150 lbs as a moving weight, not a static standing still weight. While stationary, racks can take considerably more. I have had almost 1000 lbs on two Yakima crossbars while stationary just to test it. The fiberglass canopy was flexing like mad, but the rack was fine.

Anything over 150 lbs while moving changes the weight balance of the truck enough to make it unpredictable on the road and very tippy offroad. Hence the lawyers usually apply maximums around or below that weight depending on the vehicle.

Pete

 

[Corey]

I am not sure what years the 2nd gen Troopers are, but Autohome shows some Mitsubishi here.
http://autohomeus.com/gallery/mitsubishi.php

 

[tdesanto]

I am looking to put a RTT on m 2nd gen Trooper. Has anyone here done this? What tpe of rack - and how to mount it is part of the question? the RTT plus 2 of us will be roughly 500 lbs up there. Most of the racks I have looked at don't recommend over 125 lbs. The factory mounting points are easily accessible - would I need a rack long enough to hit all six points? or just the rear 4? Any help is appreciated.

Moo

Go to Yakima's website and see what's recommended for your vehicle. I would recommend 3 crossbars. I am not familiar with the different generations of Troopers, but if yours has raingutters, then I think you're in very good shape.

What model RTT are you looking at? Lots of us are very familiar with the different models and what works best.

 

[double moo]

No gutters... that would make this a lot easier!!!

 

[Corey]

Oooops, I just realized I went to the wrong section on AutoHome, my mistake.
Here is the Isuzu section.
http://www.autohomeus.com/gallery/isuzu.php

 

[ZooJunkie]

Built my own rack, and it can easily support 200lbs-300lbs on it.

Cheap and effective.

http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=6605

 

[double moo]

Built my own rack, and it can easily support 200lbs-300lbs on it.

Cheap and effective.

http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=6605

I read through this the other night. Never did see the finished product with stain and sealer!!! About the curve - how much shimming would it take to level out the 3 cross bars? I like the ARB full length rack - but it looks like it needs to be flat. With the ARB you can get the 4" tall rack in front with no siderails in back... to allow for the RTT.

My question still circles back to the strength of the surco TR-100 brackets... and whether the Trooper mounting points will take the heavy load of a couple guys and the RTT - appr 500 lbs. The ARB site doesn't note any mounting for the Trooper - or racks for that matter... but the LC rack should be the roughly same size.

 

[ZooJunkie]

The trussed center is because the center support tabs where not perfectly 90s from the mfg. I bent it as much as I liked and never did removed them to get it close to 90, in fact I like the truss in it now. Not much work. If you buy your Surco supports, make sure they are all the same angle before you mount them.

I never did finish the staining, got lazy, and it's been holding up just well. Of course you can see the weathering the wood has gone through, and in hindsight, I should of used redwood for the whole thing, it's currently spruce and pine, and pine doesn't last very long exposed w/o oil staining.


If you sit your rack on all 3 supports spanning the roof, it will easily support 500lbs. I had about 200lbs sitting on the rear two supports without an issue going up to the Sierras. You can easily sleep 2-3 guys on my roof w/o issues.

I recently had about 322 sq ft of soaking wet carpet on my roof that I had to drive on the freeway for 15miles w/o an issue. Soaking wet carpet is HEAVY!!! No issue You just need to spread the weight on your roof and you'll be fine.

 

[double moo]

I read a brief mention over on itocuk.com that ARB had stopped making the Trooper mounts becaused of roof cracking. Can't find anymore about it! Anyone know of this issue? Maybe have to go to plan 'B' and skip the RTT....

 

[Mike S]

If you do not have side rails, I would strongly recommend a Thule track system that bolts to the roof with certnuts. This set up is about as strong as any factory rack. It will accept both Yakima and Thule towers - many as you like. I believe that the rating is 165 Lbs (Dynamic) and the static load capacity far exceeds that. The problems that most people have from heavily loading the roof rack occur when the vehicle is moving - problems from a high CG and damage from flex under load.

Your roof tent should weigh in at between 70 and 155 lbs., but lighter is better in all cases, provided that it is up to the task.

M