ARE HD series advice

Awesome! Congrats, it looks good!

 

Did you have to do any suspension modification with the extra weight ? Or you running on stock .

 

He should be fine. I have same shell and I'm running the stock 2020 Off-Road suspension. The shell is under 200 pounds if I remember correctly.

 

Yes the shell is about 185 pounds, add the weight of the aluminum internal skeleton and for me at least the OTR/Linex paint job, I would estimate 200-205….

 

I haven’t done any suspension mods yet. I think the shell plus the aluminum internal skeleton/rack might total around 200 pounds.I did however install Total Chaos Bed stiffeners to make sure my tail end doesn’t splay out over time. Once the topper was installed I actually like the way the truck stood better, it looked to me less raked and more balanced but who knows maybe it was an optical illusion. I am also running KO2 265/75/16 so the tires are a little bigger than stock.

 

I have the shell painted the same color as the truck. Does the OTR/Linex paint weighs a significant mount?

 

I don’t think so, I can’t imagine it being more than 5 pounds max.

 

I have the same cap. But I have a tent. To I put icon RXT HD leaf springs.

 

Anyone out there try rig/mod bar extensions or use alternate bars? I want, in order to strap down a pair of canoes without losing bed space, to have 70" bars. ARE customer service said nothing they offer in 70" bars is compatible with the HD set up.

Looking for suggestions / insight from those who are clearly more versed in this area than I am. Thanks for any help.

 

It should be easy to rig any bars you choose. Each bar is held on by 4 bolts. Standard t slots in the top and bottom of the stock bars.

 

Thank you very much.

Well, it was pretty easy, once I got those darn bolts off. Ha. Cap came with the truck, which I bought used. The bolts, lock nuts and washers rusted and fused with the slot nuts, and there wasn't any budging them. Just a bunch of stripping the bolt head. Needed a couple of carbide blades for the reciprocating saw, and bet that all the bolts were common from frame to bar bolts. Good gamble, and it paid off; there were other slot nuts on the ARE bar top plates that weren't fused to the bolts, and I reused those, but still had to cut those heads off because the bolts, lock nuts and washers had fused to the plates... Took a couple of hours, sans trips to the store, etc.

Maybe a helpful FYI:

- ARE HD cap bolts: 6mm x 16mm, 1.00 pitch.

I also used those size bolts to replace missing ones on the interior of the frame.

Purchased the Thule ProBar Evo at 69". They're working great, and no additional noise I can hear. Picked up the new canoe and rolled around at 70 mph with no issues.

 

Did you tie the front to anything? I'll be looking to have the same set up next summer except with two canoes. Was thinking if I should put a rack on the cab to tie to.

No matter how well everything else is secured I always worry a bit with the front not tied. Especially with the straps on the cap rack so close to each other.

 

Consider RSI Smartcap, I got the Adventure and I love it!

 

I'll have two canoes up there by May of next year, so I incorporated that plan into the setup. Here's the game changer, for me:

Thule Canoe Portage:
https://www.thule.com/en-us/winter-and-water-sports-carriers/canoe-roof-racks/thule-portage-_-819001

Maybe there's a similar product, less expensive... Dunno... Had a bunch of LLBean Bucks to burn, and picked up two sets. These certainly work. That canoe was tight to the bars and portage "racks" and didn't move. At the recommendation of the folks that made the canoe, I put a piece of foam under that bow so that it wouldn't scratch the cab roof paint. They said that roping the bow off with this configuration would only wear out the paint on the truck, and not provide that much more security. They also said that I didn't even really need the rear rope, which ends up being true. I drove around with that thing on the bars for hours at 70 mph. Held fast. I was definitely nervous for a while, but the canoe didn't budge. My comfort level increased exponentially, and I've no qualms about this attachment system.

 

@TheWildernessTonic - any more pictures? Thinking about getting a similar setup with the OTR spray. Would love to see more.