Camper shell roof rack help.

I'm thinking about installing a roof rack on my shell. Has anybody done this? What do you recommend? What brand? Where to get? Any part numbers would help. I know yakima has a system but it is pricey. I've seen tracks elsewhere for cheap then you buy the rail riders from yakima but no sure which ones. Any help or advice would be appreciated.

 

Anybutty? Bueler?

 

I used to have a leer with yakima rain gutter mounts added on another truck, good stuff,clean look when the rack wasn't needed. I say shop n price online. See who has em locally like ski shops,kayak shops. Lately I run a thule rack(xsporter) that connects to Tacoma's rail system for my kayak.

 

his avatar doesnt suck either!

wow.

anyways, back to mundane things. i have a yakima on my topper. i've spaced it to hold 2x4's better than my bike. my bike is currently wedged into the shell.

 

Well I got some peoples attention! Thanks for the reply. Nice setup, thats what im looking for. You dont know what yakima rail riders you have (Towers - sometimes they have a number on them). Im assuming you have tracks to hold towers. They make I think a 1,2,3 rail rider system for tracks. I can get a different brand track system for way less than yakima and the rail rider are suppose to work with this track.

Thanks.

 

Same question, with thule/yakima tracks, it looks like you use control towers and landing pads #1. But there are also the older rail riders.... (1 2 or 3)...?
also... why do you have pictures of my wife?

 

Im looking at doing the same thing.

sub'd

 

I've got the Yakima rails on my ARE shell. Installed them about a week after I got the shell in 2006 and they've been on there since with no problems. I've carried all manner of junk up there including a couple of kayaks and a canoe at the same time, lumber, furniture, etc. I usually leave a bike rack and kayak saddles on it all the time.

The big thing is to measure carefully then drill pilots holes. I taped mine off, marked where the holes needed to be then used three different new drill bits to increase the size to what I wanted. If you start too quickly or use dull drill bits you risk chipping. If your shell is carpeted inside, mark your bit with how deep you want to go or you'll end up wrapping your carpet in the bit. If your shell has the thicker honeycomb section in the middle you want to make sure you mount the rails outboard of that section; it'll compress if you try to mount through it.

Yakima instructions say to use a small amount of silicon instead of gobbing it on and that's what I did. So far no leaks.

This is the only picture I had handy on this computer which kinda shows them- I went with the 66" bars for greater versatility.