PrInSu Design Studio Roof Racks BS Thread

... copied and pasted to the wrong place

 

LocationDateLocal TimeActivityLaurel, MD, United States 05/14/2014 10:40 A.M. Arrival Scan

 

I already owned a punch set so I did the punch trick and the install came out super clean looking. You will need to remove the entire strip from the truck so you can hit it really hard on top of a piece of wood. When you remove the strip you will want to clean off and replace the two side tape at the back of the cab near where the strip tucks into the rear window rubber.

For my Snugtop camper shell caprac I cut 1 1/4" OD aluminum tubing painted to match my truck at approx a 10 degree angle and created shims. I used rubber washers on either side of the aluminum "shims" and M10 stainless bolts and washers up top and large washers and nylock nuts inside the roof of the camper shell. . I also punched the center out of the rubber washers so I had a 3/4" open hole in the middle so I could move the shims around to micro adjust / level the rack.

The reason for needing adjustable and different size shims is that the roof of the camper is convex in all directions.

 

That's a really clean install!

 

My roof rack is still holding up great, sealed it up better a few weeks ago and doesn't leak any water. I was going through a trail that has tree branches as low as the hood or even lower and the front of the rack sorta "hooks" the branches every once in a while, trying to figure out a solution to that problem, any ideas?

 

So when you put it on the roof of your truck did you go all the way through the cab? I can't picture how it works.

 

Super clean install indeed! I wonder if this is a better option than installing Yak/Thule tracks. Any close up pics of the Cabrac mounted?

Again, well done!

 

Cant wait til it stops raining so I can prep and paint!

 

These look awesome! Subscribed, don't want to lose track of this so I can save up and buy one

 

Put them on so I can order them already!! At this point I may have them shipped to my dad's place in Texas and install them mid trip

 

That photo was the roof of my camper shell not the cab of the truck. I have a double cab so the cab rack was a straight bolt on install into OE holes.

 

Ah ok. I have an 05 AC so no holes.

 

I believe the kit that he offers for your truck includes rivet nuts to drill and install in your cab roof rails just like the double cabs. It is a piece of cake to do, I have used rivet nuts for years.

 

Thanks, FYI - sorry for the late replies everyone I have been dealing with living inside a mandatory evacuation area from the "Cocos Fire" here in San Diego...been a rough few days with very little sleep. Been living like Fred Flinstone for a couple of days :/

I attached a close up of how good it looks if you do a clean job with the punch idea. You can actually see ash from the fires on my truck in the photo.

If your going to do the punch trick here is what I recommend for getting the holes dead on right. Remove the entire weather strip and lay some painters tape on the roof of the truck across from each set of holes. Use a speed square up against the outside edge of the rain gutter centered over each hole and transfer a center line onto your painters tape. Reinstall the weather strip and then transfer those lines back onto the weather strip using the square again. My holes all lined up perfectly and you can see how perfect the punched hole fits the supplied spacer hardware.

 

I just checked his website and found some good pictures of the rivet nuts installed. They look good as long as you get a good sealant in before you put them in. I'm guessing that drilling all the through is a must and not a big deal for me now that I have seen it. Now it's time to save up for this, it's next on my big buy list.

 

That looks factory! Nice! What size punch did you use?


Finally stopped raining!

 

color matched with a retro look in progress

 

Fit test, not mounted.

 

Would a deflector wider so it is close to the roof help with wind nose?