Roof rack options

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eriefisher

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Advocate I

778
Southern Ontario, Canada
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Dan
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LaForme
I'm looking to install a roof rack/platform on my truck topper. It current has nothing on it so I'm looking for some options/suggestions of what to use. I'm not sure if I should get some type of basket/platform and just hard fix it to the cap or first install an actual roof rack system. What do you think?
 

Pathfinder I

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Canada
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Craig
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PereferNotToSay
What kind of cap is it? A lot of fibreglass caps are not compatible with racks because they are not strong enough for a roof load.
 

eriefisher

Rank III

Advocate I

778
Southern Ontario, Canada
First Name
Dan
Last Name
LaForme
Not sure who actually made the topper but it's branded as Action Trucks. A chain that sells aftermarket accessories. actiontrucks.com they have a local store here. The roof appears to be reinforced quite well so I'd expect at least a couple hundred pounds would be safe with the proper rack and mounting. As soon as the store has some regulars hours I'm going to go in and investigate more.
 

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Pathfinder I

1,212
Canada
First Name
Craig
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PereferNotToSay
Looks like this is the one you have:


If I were you I would contact Action Trucks to ask about roof loads. Make sure you specifically ask about on and off-road load limits. It looks like some models have the ability to hold a rack, but I'm not sure about the Contour 3 that you have. The roof may look very stiff, but fibreglass is notorious for cracking. To give you a parallel, the Jeep JK/JL roof is fibreglass, and that is reason that the majority of roof racks either require a backbone (i.e. a metal substructure going into the body tub, like the Rhino Rack, that is under the roof to support the roof rack) or bypassing the roof and going straight into the frame (like the Gobi or Kargo racks) -- Fibreglass under a load will stress fracture very quickly. Add corrugations or even typical gravel-travel pot holes (with a lot of vibration and bumps) and it will be even worse. Off road where the vehicle may be thrown off-camber quickly or be jarred suddenly by a ledge makes these forces way stronger. To give an example, there's been a lot of discussion on roof loads in the Australian 4x4 community lately -- one major rack manufacturer (Rhino) reduces their roof loads by 2/3 when off road (So their 75kg rack can only hold 25kgs when off-pavement)(I may not be exactly right on the numbers there but it is a significant reduction). A failure of a roof rack is one of the more dangerous incidents that can happen -- especially in traffic.
 
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eriefisher

Rank III

Advocate I

778
Southern Ontario, Canada
First Name
Dan
Last Name
LaForme
Thanks for the info. I will be going in there next chance. I'm looking at some other items as well. I may just put a rack on the cab of the truck if needed.
 

RoarinRow

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Elk Grove, CA, USA
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I ordered my topper with Yakima roof rack rails, then just recycled the cross bars and basket I already had. They did drill into the cap to install the rails.
 
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