Installing tracks on Leer with Reinforced Roof?

Hi ya'll! Before you rip me a new one for asking a question that has already been posted, I have looked and read a ton of information on this topic.

I am looking to install my frontrunner tracks and bars onto my Leer shell. I picked it up used, so I am not sure of the exact spec, but I am pretty sure it is a 100XR. However, the shell has a thick portion of the roof, and I want to know if I can drill through that to mount the rails. I have read conflicting reports of "no, its cardboard and will collapse" to "yes, its stronger than the rest of the roof."

My little brother also has a leer shell on his F-150, and the rails he has on it go through the reinforced section. There is also not enough space not covered by the thick part, as it is 44" wide, and covers all but about a half an inch of the flat portion of my roof.

TLDR, I want to know if it is ok to mount my roof rails through the thick portion of my Leer's roof.

Thanks in advance for the help!

Pic of my roof:



Pic of our trucks for reference:

 

So it's not a new one so you won't ruin a new cap. LOL Kidding of course.
I'd get a 5 gallon bucket of water and set it on the roof and see what happens. Does it bow, move, shake or look like its going to crush the roof.
If it looks good I'd plan for a 6"x6" plate, top and bottom to strengthen the mounting points. All 4.
The problem with these caps is there is no interior skeleton to support the added weight, so you have to "add" support.
That's all I got.
Zim
Oh, I just got this for $350
Zim

 

Oh, I'm not worried about the capacity of the roof, I am 95% sure that it will be fine, I've seen others mounting their tents up on this same shell. I am more worried about the roof reinforcement, and whether or not I can mount through it.

 

Can't really see any reason why not.
I would still look for some interior support but the plates will help distribute the weight.
Zim

 

Update: called my local Leer dealer and asked how they would go about installing the tracks. The camper shell expert guy said that you 100% should go through the thick portion, it is the strongest part of the roof. He said he would measure it so the rails are about an inch in from the edge of the thick part.

 

I'd call Leer and ask. There should be a serial number plate somewhere in the shell and they can tell you which shell you have and give their recommendation. This is simply an observation based off my own experience when I called one of the local ARE dealers and the guy's info was different from what I was reading on-line so I called ARE and followed their advice. There are threads here where folks have mounted fans in them as well and you can see what some of them look like inside- again, there are variations between manufactures and the shells that are listed as some sort of heavy duty often have a piece of plywood instead of the lighter weight material glassed into them.

Different manufacturers vary and designs change- I know exactly which posts you're referring to because some of them are mine, which are based off what ARE said when I called them. You have a Leer, which I'm not familiar with which is why I didn't comment before, but just because your local dealer is doing it one way doesn't mean it's correct- I'm not saying it's not, he's probably right, but just because the person is working at the dealer doesn't mean they're following the manufacturer's recommendations for that particular model. Again, not trying to offend, that's just based on my own experience with my particular ARE and looking as some of the installs in my area and knowing what is going to happen if you get a leak. The track manufacturers usually have some recommendations as well; these usually include how to put their recommended sealer and how much to use, gobbing on silicon isn't the best idea, as evidenced by looking at the tops of many RVs. And blue painter's tape is your friend and also, use a small new or freshly sharpen drill bit then go larger and go slow or it'll grab the carpet.

 

Installed the tracks and everything yesterday. I went through the thick part, and sealed it up with silicone. It all went perfectly, no crushing of the honeycomb or anything. I still need to cut the bolts down, but that's it.

 

LOL, looks like my install with blue tape everywhere. Glad it went smoothly.

Most of the manufacturers make shorter bolts for the shells but they also make nuts that are designed for the inside that are rounded so you don't leave scalp on the bolt (Yakima calls theirs Capnuts but the other manufacturers have something similar); you could also use the rubber thread protectors that slip on, they sell them at Lowe's, HD, etc.
Ex.https://yakima.com/products/60-track-capnut-harware

 

Yeah, the ones that came with the kit from frontrunner were way too short. I guess I overcompensated at Ace getting these ones. I plan on picking up some caps at some point for it

 

I have the Leer 100XR cap with factory-installed tracks. They're mounted outboard of the "reinforced" section, which is the way it should be done. The "reinforcement" is just a cardboard honey comb. It stiffens the roof, but doesn't provide compression strength, which is what you want in mounting tracks. Too late for the OP now, but perhaps others can learn from this.

 

My honeycomb goes the whole width of the shell though, there isn’t any space to mount them outboard. I have my RTT installed on my rack, and wheeled the heck out of it this weekend, with no issues. Time will tell, fingers crossed it’s all ok.

 

Worst case scenario, keep an eye on it and if you start getting any cracks you can remove the rack, drill the holes larger and epoxy in some fiberglass dowels (or other appropriate material) and then redrill and mount the tracks. Same thing you do when screws strip on other projects and you can't just use larger screws/bolts. I've done that successfully on a couple of VW Westies (removing old roof racks) and boats (various repairs).

Just keep an eye on it as you don't want moisture getting into the core material- it's difficult to get it to fully dry and it'll get mold which will accelerate the material breaking down (and you don't want to be sleeping in there breathing it).

 

Along these lines, I would drill the holes larger and put in short sections of metal tubing to act as spacers so that the mounting bolts don't collapse the honeycomb structure. The spacers would be as long as the exact thickness of the fiberglass / honeycomb sandwich at that spot. The bolts should be a tight, but free fit through the spacer tubes. Use lots of sealant around them.

BTW, Prinsu recommends that the mounting tracks be no more than 42.4" apart, center to center, or else special offset mounting feet will have to be used. I imagine the same would apply for the Front Runner racks. (47" crossbars.) (I see that you have simple crossbars. You're OK.)

 

I too have the LEER 100XR
Would like to see some pictures of the tracks (view from top) and also the inside of the cap.

Thank you

 

I called my local dealer and they stated they always drill into the Tacoma Leer 100XR reinforced area!