Should I Rebuild my Roof Rack?

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Troop4x4

Troop4x4

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Austin, TX
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Hello all,

I've got a 1987 Isuzu Trooper II 4x4. It has a 2.3L 4cyl, so it's underpowered for a large SUV. I welded up a steel roof basket mounted by Highland gutter mounts, it weighs about 90lbs empty. The end goal is to put a roof tent up there (Tepui Ayer). My girlfriend and I didn't find out about roof tents until after I built the roof rack, but now I'm wishing I had made the front tall to allow clearance for the lights (like I did) but then raper the height down to nothing and have the rack be flat for the rear 5-ish ft of it so a roof tent can sit nice and low on the bottom rails of the rack.

My question is; should I modify this steel roof rack which might bring the weight down closer to 60-ish by eliminating the top rail, OR, should I take this renovation opportunity to completely rebuild a roof rack out of aluminum? It would be much lighter, But do you think it could support a 100lb tent plus people? I'm not really worried about cost, just wondering if the [dramatic] weight reduction would be worth it.

Thanks in advance!



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Troop4x4

Troop4x4

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Traveler I

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Austin, TX
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9812

SeguineJ said:
Part of me sees it as really nice simple storage to go under the roof top tent base which could come in handy if you're doing a camp table or slide camp chairs under it. Just a thought.

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That was something I definitely though about. But my hang-up is if I did that, then the tent would ride even higher, and the vehicle is already top heavy, and that's more drag on the highway as well.


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SeguineJ

SeguineJ

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Troop4x4 said:
That was something I definitely though about. But my hang-up is if I did that, then the tent would ride even higher, and the vehicle is already top heavy, and that's more drag on the highway as well.


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That is very true. And something to consider. But just thinking Abit out of the box ya know? Our whole community is about adaptation. So it really comes down to what you think ad wabt for your rig.

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Troop4x4

Troop4x4

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Traveler I

60
Austin, TX
Member #

9812

SeguineJ said:
That is very true. And something to consider. But just thinking Abit out of the box ya know? Our whole community is about adaptation. So it really comes down to what you think ad wabt for your rig.

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For sure! I think I've decided I'm going to rebuild it out of aluminum. The only thing I want up that high is the tent, and anything else I can find places to put lower to keep the CG low. The High-Lift already has a soon-to-be spot on the grill guard and the Jerry cans can mount behind the spare tire, and the rest can go in the back of the cab. At least, that's what I'm planning. I'll keep posting here when I start on the aluminum frame.


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Urban gorilla

Urban gorilla

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I used steel, I originally thought weight was gonna be a problem and considered aluminum. The only problem is I did not have the ability to weld aluminum and it would have required a slightly different design than I had drawn.

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