Michigan Tacomas

Thoughts?

 

Looks good, any support under the front section over the roof? That will have quite some flex with much of any weight. Rack on the work truck flexes pretty good.

 

any ideas on how? I dont exactly wanna drill through my roof or weld on it... maybe put bump-stops on the bottom as a safety measure?

 

I feel bump stops would eventually wear the clear coat like on a hatch back car sometimes.

Do you have the roof rack rails??? If so I would try to utilize those. Otherwise a good amount of gussets in the right place might be sufficient depending on what you're trying to haul.

 

no roof rack or i would... i could go the route Rattler did but i kinda like this idea if i can get the quirks worked out... idk

 

It wouldn't be a good idea to do anything on the roof, not enough support unless maybe its out near the edges. I would put a few lights across the top. It needs to be built to hold your weight you are a photographer and need to be able to use it as a crows nest.

just my 2 cents.

 

I don't think they ever had a factory roofrack for the XtraCabs. Are you trying for something similar to the All Pro rack?

I would use "1 3/4 tubing and keep it a little less. Check the forums elsewhere and see if anyone is running a roofrack on an extended cab and see how they mounted it. If not here, ExPo will have something.

I am contemplating on getting a utility cap with the doors with storage on the sides. You can get a rack similar to that on the Snugtop one. Unfortunately the cap I priced out was already over $2500 without it and I believe the salesman said that ran @ an additional $900 IIRC.

BTW, my facotry rack is only rated for @ #100 or something. I don't like having a lot of weight up there anyway.

 

Agreed! Crows nest for sure. Just sayin if she's layin on her back stretched up the center of the hood...it's a nice view.


But let's say 200 lbs. if you brace and gusset each side and maybe the center somehow...maybe x-brace it might do the trick.

 

It will be all about the tubing used and the gusseting.

 

Doesn't take much to make the truck feel a little more top heavy. I once hauled 1400 lbs on the roof rack at work...felt like the truck was about to roll! (2500 gmc)

 

Flippac tents use a pair of temporary posts on the hood when it is opened. Maybe something similar?

I would love to have a Flippac too but they are more than the topper I want!

 

That is the reason I really don't want to mount my RTT up at roof height.

 

How much does an average rtt weigh? I see them on the fjc's a lot and the way those drive they feel lean happy with no rack at all.

 

Mine is aroumd #120 I think. Mine is a medium-sized one.

 

Thanks for the input guys. New modified idea, maybe mount if half over the cab and half over the bed? I'll mock up a concept when I get back today but I think I could do it without intruding on bike handlebar space...

oh and reason for trying to do it this way: I like fabricating stuff, and I can do it for ~$100-$150

and I like this crows nest idea

 

Did you consider putting a bar across the lower part to mount the front forks on the bikes to?

 

I was thinking about that this morning... I'll have to check if I will still have enough bed length to do it but I think I do... and just mount them on a bar right behind/below the toolbox

 

I got aq bar that i bought for doing that years ago. It was adjustable and didn't hold the bikes in place well but the idea was good.

 

well i'd probably take this current support bar I have for the bike brackets and weld it in between the support beams since it already has holes pre-drilled and everything...







and here is the updated concept:

 

ya that looks like a pretty solid setup. Id add a few gussets in the corners and youll be set.