Installing Roof Rack?

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Installing Roof Rack?

Post by Brad »

I am looking for a roof rack. Can you give me the details about yours?



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Post by HenryJ »

My roof rack came off of a '91 Olds Bravada (Yes, that is the first Gen s-series styling and a four door)

At the time there were none of the '94+ s-series in the salvage yards around my area.

I was looking for the newer styled rack , which is exactly what they ended up putting on the ZR5 when it arrived.

Any of the roof racks are easy to shorten, The rails in which the bows slide , are a formed or extruded piece. You can think of them as just a spacer between the end mounting pieces.

The Bravada rack that I took off, did not have the plastic removed from the double stick tape used to seal and mount it. I could see the red plastic showing, so that was definitely a plus.

Mine has the rails in contact with the top of the cab the entire length of the rack. The curvature of the tops were a little different so, I put a slight bend in it to match (test fit a couple times). With the Gen two racks the feet on the end pieces are the only part to touch so there would be no problems there and a much easier install.

Another advantage to the newer rack is that the water is not trapped by the rails like mine does. However I am very happy with mine. It is just a little different , and most people would never know it wasn't stock. (easier to find in the parking lot too, with that extra bow)

If you have the opportunity to remove the rack yourself at the salvage yard you will get all the hardware you need for sure and see how they mount it from the factory.

Mine mounted with eight "Nut-zerts" and the double stick tape.(available at a hardware store , good automotive tool supplier or any large truck repair shop should have one)

Nut-zerts are a threaded insert for a blind hole. It is kind of like a pop rivet. Only instead of a pin that pops it is threaded and has a section that crushes. You drill a hole that fits the insert closely and using the nut-zert tool crimp it pinching the body panel. I used large flange aluminum metric threaded nut-zerts , so it would match the stock hardware.

BOY this is getting pretty long winded, sorry :?

I don't remember exactly how much I cut it down, but I think it was about 8 to 10 inches. A hack saw worked fine , then filed it a bit to smooth the roughness and touched it up with some semi-gloss black paint and a brush. The finish wasn't harmed but I wanted to make sure the end that was cut was sealed to prevent any oxidation.

Once cut down I assembled it ,measured about fifty times to make sure it was square and centered. Then marked the holes to be drilled. The holes only need to go as deep as the Nut-zert, so do something I did not. Wrap a bunch of tape at the depth you need, around your drill bit to act as a stop so you don't drill through your headliner (I almost made a mistake when the bit grabbed) You may drill through the supports that run under the skin of the top , don't worry that is OK.

Once all the holes are drilled use some sealer, I use Permatex#2 since it stays pliable, apply a light bead to each nut-zert to help seal and crimp them all. Then test fit the rack again starting all the bolts to make sure you don't need to file a hole a little to get the bolts started and that it sits down flush to the top.

Next step , GET HELP! remove the protective backing from the double stick tape and carefully set it on top lining the holes up. You MUST get it right the first time there is no going back.Once that tape is down it is stuck!

Apply some more Permatex to the threads of the bolts (screws) and tighten them down.

If I remember right I had $25 in the rack (removed myself) , Bought another bow at a different yard for $15 and about $5 worth of hardware.

You might have a bit more if you need to buy a tool and some tape.
Last edited by HenryJ on Fri Oct 08, 2004 5:17 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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Post by Brad »

Thanks.



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Post by HenryJ »

Brad, I noticed that you got a rack (roof rack thread) :thumb:



I happened to think :idea:



If you don't have access to a Nut-sert tool you could go with the rubber expansion threaded inserts (available at a good hardware store)

I acually picked up some of these to mount mine , but opted for the large flange aluminum Nut-serts.

Just thought I'd offer another option ;)

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Post by Brad »

The man at the fastener shop showed me how to cheat them. Using a screwdriver and a long nut. Hold the screw steady and trun the nut to crimp the nutsert. Hope to install soon.



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Post by HenryJ »

Good tip! be sure to use a washer as to not scrub the sert :D

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Roof rack???

Post by Mcfly Minis »

Will it mount to the roof of a crew cab without having the stock roof rack? My Sonoma crew cab doesn't have a stock roof rack.
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Re: What do you guys think about this roof basket?

Post by HenryJ »

You will have to add a roof rack to mount the basket to. Pretty easy to cut a Blazer rack down to fit. There is a great thread around here on doing that.
Gutterless mount bars can be used too. I think Steve's Superlifted truck used those. Rackattack sells the bars that I have on the back of my Avalanche.

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Re: What do you guys think about this roof basket?

Post by Mcfly Minis »

Is there a difference between the crew cab roof rack and the blazer? I would rather have a crew cab one, but can't locate one anywhere. I found blazer ones on ebay from s10warehouse.
Also is there a difference between the crew cab roof rack, and the Zr5 roof rack? Isn't one black and the other silver? Is one tubular?
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Re: What do you guys think about this roof basket?

Post by HenryJ »

The Blazer rack may be exactly the same as a crewcab rack. To the best of my knowledge there is no difference in the rack components , other than possibly? length?
24digger wrote:If you buy one from the junk yard try to get one from a 2 dr blazer. Their the same ones as the crewcab ZR5. I bought one from the dealer for mine and the instructions were for a blazer. I Still can't bring myself to drill holes in the roof. I paid $154 for mine.
Length is very easy to adjust as long as it is longer than you need. The side rails slip into the feet. It is easy to cut them shorter and then just slip the feet back on. I have done this many times.
I used a shortened Bravada rack on my old S-10:

Image

The ZR5 Chevy got the black rack and the GMC Sonoma got raw (silver) rails. Other than color they are the same.

The Nissan Frontier has the tubular roof rack. It might be a hard fit as their roof has a step in it and our roof is flat. There are tons of options out there. I have seen a member install a Jeep Liberty roof rack with the integrated offroad lightbar. That looked pretty neat, but lots of work.

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Re: What do you guys think about this roof basket?

Post by Mcfly Minis »

HenryJ wrote:I have seen a member install a Jeep Liberty roof rack with the integrated offroad lightbar. That looked pretty neat, but lots of work.
I thought about doing this swap. I own a custom truck shop, so fabrication work doesn't much matter.
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Re: Installing Roof Rack?

Post by HenryJ »

Check out the Readers rides thread Lots of different racks in there.
Okie S-10:
Image

Sounds like you might have the skills to make it happen.

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Re: Installing Roof Rack?

Post by border man »

The 2door blazer rack is identical to the crewcab one. Its the rigth length and requires no modification other than drilling holes and intalling nutserts in the roof. Its what i used.
[size=75]I didn't do it, it was already like that when I got it.[/size]
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Installing Roof Rack?

Post by riceburnr2005 »

I also have the 2 door blazer rack. I have picks on here somewhere..


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Re: Installing Roof Rack?

Post by ApproachMedium »

I have a chance to buy a 4 door blazer rack for $30 bucks. The guy has two. He also has 3 full functional OHC with homelink. I am going to pick the stuff up tomorrow or friday. I may have some good parts for crews available soon to sell, its all too cheap to pass it up!

So the 4 door rack i shouldnt have an issue cutting it shorter and installing it. I think this is going to be my best bet for mounting our airhorns.
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Re: Installing Roof Rack?

Post by LoneWolf04 »

I used a 2 door model, no cutting involved and then I changed out the front feet for rear feet off of a 4 door because they were more flat and inline with the roof. You will notice the plastic spacer on the rear feet of the 2 doors have a slight arc in them while the 4 door ones are flat due to space available on the roof. Mine turned out great, no leaks, used a 2 part seam sealer and have been loading my kayaks on it all summer.
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Re: Installing Roof Rack?

Post by ApproachMedium »

Awesome. Well 4 door models are all i have available at the moment.
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Re: What do you guys think about this roof basket?

Post by barch97 »

HenryJ wrote:
And a Suburban rack on my Avalanche:

Image
Aren't you missing a latitudinal bow? :?:
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Re: Installing Roof Rack?

Post by ApproachMedium »

I went to the kids house today and he has both the 4 door one and a 2 door one. I didnt take it just yet, but I plan on getting it after I finish my major body work. So there is basically no modifications needed to install it then? Do I need to get any kind of shims etc or special bolts to install them?
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Re: Installing Roof Rack?

Post by F9K9 »

You're going to have to get some "nutserts" and do a little research on how to install them. No special tool on installation if, you research that too. Not much help, I know but, I know the info is out there.

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Re: Installing Roof Rack?

Post by ApproachMedium »

If I took it to a body shop, might they have a clue?
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Re: Installing Roof Rack?

Post by F9K9 »

ApproachMedium wrote:If I took it to a body shop, might they have a clue?
Unless you have more money than time, I would do it myself.

Here's what a quick search using Google produced. I focused on videos but, using the web search will give you some excellent instructions.

Don't get overwhelmed with some of these jobs. Once you start to do one, it will make sense.
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Re: Installing Roof Rack?

Post by ApproachMedium »

True. Well the reason why I asked about a body shop is a friend of mine owns one. I could go there and pick his brain about it and its where I probably will take it to do the work myself anyways, since he has every tool under the sun.
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Re: Installing Roof Rack?

Post by F9K9 »

ApproachMedium wrote:True. Well the reason why I asked about a body shop is a friend of mine owns one. I could go there and pick his brain about it and its where I probably will take it to do the work myself anyways, since he has every tool under the sun.
Now, that sounds like a plan. :thumb:
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Re: Installing Roof Rack?

Post by ApproachMedium »

I watched the videos on "rivetnuts" They seem to be pretty straightforward to install. I just need to find all the correct hardware to go with it.
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