Storage Case for roof rack

I have no experience with the Vault line. But I can say 100% Pelican cases are legit. I’ve seen many “Austere” environments; -13 to 120+ degrees, trucks, planes; you name it; all with some very important stuff loaded in them… The pelicans did their job. (Same for Hartgig (sp?).

you can save 25-50% buying lightly used off eBay (just watch the shipping costs). That’s where I got mine

 

Awesome, thank you for the info and photos. That really helps. I have been on the fence about getting the prinsu because I don't want to obstruct my moon roof (after all that's why I got this Taco lol), but I need the extra storage. After seeing yours, I am pulling the trigger.

 

I actually remembered to grab a more detailed shot while I was out on the trails yesterday. I’d forgotten that I moved my front-most crossbar back one slot to attach a pair of Prinsu grabhandles where I wanted them, but the moonroof is still mostly unobstructed & you can see the former attach point where I now have silver loops mounted.

 

Thank you! That's really helpful. How's the wind noise? How do you like those handles so far? I found a Prinsu rack on offerup and bought it. Time to install it soon.

 

I have an 83L Roam. Built like a tank and Sherpa sells $55 brackets to mount them.

 

pics?

 

I only hear slight windnoise with windows down while travelling at speed. I installed the rack more than a year ago, so I really don’t recall how much the noise increased or even if I truly even noticed it. It’s nothing at all to be concerned about.

I’m indifferent about the handles. I won a pair at Overland Expo West ‘22, so I installed them dead center on either side. On a whim decided I wanted a second pair, so I’d have two on either side. I already have some Diode Dynamics flood lighting on each side of my rack but the form factor of those lights doesn’t integrate very well on the side of the rack, so I’ll soon move/repurpose them elsewhere and use my existing floodlight wiring to power 4 Prinsu Camp Lights, which integrate directly into the handles for a much cleaner install. Long story short, if I didn’t already have my SwitchPros circuits run to the rack for my flood lights and had I not won a pair of the handles, they’re pretty useless and I’d never pay $250 for 4 little handles. I mean really, the rack itself serves as your handle. You don’t need a handle bolted to another handle. So unless you plan on adding lighting into the handles, I call them a waste of money at roughly $120 per pair.

A couple pro tips for installing the rack- you’ll need to remove the rubber trim pieces that sit in the roof channels to which you’ll bolt the rack. If you want to reinstall those trim pieces like I wanted to, you’ll need to create holes in the trim pieces for the spacers and bolts that affix the rack to the roof. The trim piece has a metal spine running through it, so if you try to drill holes through the trim piece, you’ll just hit the metal spine and your drill bit will move to one side and (worst case scenario) you’ll damage the trim piece beyond repair or (best case scenario) you’ll end up with a sloppy and chewed up trim piece hole that is off-center. I measured out my spacing for the holes, then snipped out with sidecutters a piece of the metal spine just slightly larger than the diameter of the spacer(you’ll need a razor to slice the piece of spline from the rubber trim once you’ve snipped through it), and I then used a 19mm metal punch to make super clean holes in the trim piece. I then installed the spacers using clear silicone into the channel over the threaded bolt holes in the roof, then reinstalled my trim piece. The trim piece holes will fit perfectly nice & snug around the spacers if you’ve been perfect with your measurements. Add some more clear silicone through the spacer holes into the roof channel bolt holes, then lift the rack into place and bolt it down. This will net you as perfect of an install as can be done, and you’ll have no possibility of water intrusion since you’ll have a tight seal from trim piece hole to spacer, from trim piece to roof channel, from spacer to roof via silicone, and from bolt to bolt hole via silicone.

Attaching photos of my current Diode Dynamics flood lighting & the Prinsu lighting that will replace it, along with when I just had one handle per side. Also attaching a photo of the punch I used for the trim piece holes should you decide to do the same.

 

These are the Sherpa mounts for the Roam cases. I’d planned on going this route until I found all the Roam cases were too long and would cover my sliding roof unless I mounted them side to side, which then negates using the Sherpa mounts, unless one fabricated some sort of adapter.

 

I’ve carried countless highly classified pieces of nuclear-certified equipment & NSA encryption materials & devices in Pelican cases during my time as a USAF missileer. The USAF vouches for Pelican, as do I. The Pelican Vault line is to VW as Pelican proper is to Porsche, but I’m just carrying camping & recovery gear on my roof. The occasional shotgun too

As far as used, there is a seller local to me here in Phoenix that sells tons of used tough cases from several makers. I’d assume one could find the same in most large metro areas. My Vaults were like $150 each on the shelf @ the local Cabelas & were perfectly sized for me, so I didn’t see much need to hunt down a pair of suitable cases elsewhere in hopes of saving a few bucks.

One more thing to consider about the Roam cases- there’s nothing inside- just cavernous plastic. So unless you’re packing shit tight in there, things are gonna roll around back & forth make noise, possibly causing damage to other things or to themselves. Pelicans come with removable foam that sandwiches things in place to prevent this. I take the bottom foam out & cut rubber ‘cork’ mat to fit the bottom, then just leave the top foam in place. Nothing moves around & it keeps things silent.

 

Thank you so much for the informative description and photos, especially the installation tips. I will definitely take my time and follow your recommendations and grab myself a hollow punch as well. I agree, the handles are a bit pricey if you can just use the rack itself to grab on to. Tho your setup with prinsu handles with integrated lights looks clean. The handles give it a nice industrial look. Once I install it, will have to play with the setup and see what works me. Thanks again.

 

How sturdy does it feel with those mounting brackets? Any play?

 

Crazy talk. The fact that the trucks in pics in these threads have half empty boxes is mere coincidence; the roof storage is a must!

 

Yup, those. I am planning on getting the 95L and mounting it parallel to the windshield (the short way vs the long way, parallel to the doors) - but now I need 2 additional Sherpa Roam mounts.

It is a clean and simple install and reasonably priced. So far so good.

 

Can’t say. I decided not to go with this setup.

 

Youtube is full of ‘EDC’ dudes who buy unnecessary storage so they have an excuse to buy unnecessary stuff to fill said unnecessary storage so they can talk about it for content. When in need of content, just talk for 30 minutes about how this stupid little light or this stupid little pocket knife is better than that other stupid little light or that other stupid little pocket knife. One guy had ‘no storage in his doors’ because he kept 1 bottle of water, 1 bottle of hand sanitizer, 1 set of latex gloves, 1 set of rubber dipped gloves in every door pocket at all times for each of his passengers. He then spent 10 minutes talking about how he kept inventory so he could replenish each door. Dude set his shit up like a hotel room

My bed is usually full of coolers and firewood and motorcycles and ramps and mountain bikes, so I definitely welcome extra roof storage.

 

Just got done with a 11,500 mile trip with the Vault cases. No leaks.




Family of 3 so we needed the space.