Over hood roof rack.

[carringb]

Looks like I need to make my roof rack bigger for some upcoming trips. I plan on mounting my old 8' long roof rack in front of my current full length rack, so that the 8' rack is over the hood and windshield.

I would like this setup to me easily removable. So I guess I'm looking for mounting suggestions. I'll most likely come off the ends of the Buckstop, since that won't block visibility any. Have any of you seen a nice setup that can come off easily? I have some ideas, but I want to make sure there's not something easier I'm not thinking about. And it would be nice if it were rattle free. I'm guessing I need to leave some provisions for movement, to accommodate frame flex when off-road. The rear of the rack will attach the the full-length roof rack somehow.

PS - picture of an over-cab/hood setup would be appreciated.

Here is the full roof rack, which will be shifted rear-ward 11":


And this shows the old rack which will mount over the hood (it will stick forward of the bumper about 1'):

[Silver350]

Maybe its time to upgrade to a Freightliner and 48' deck.

[jage]

Can you make it one rack, tied to the roof?

Hard to tell from the photos but:
Cut the front off of the rear rack
Cut the rear off the front rack
Nest as much of the front rack in the rear

You can either do multiple pin connections and have a replaceable front if you want to run with the rear only, or make a giant slider to retract the front into the rear.

Or just make (have made) one giant roof rack that's all one piece if it's permanent and sell these two... not that I don't love salvage projects, but it seems like you'd get more strength from having a one piece rack, you avoid the squeaking and fitting issues, etc.

To support the cantilever and body/frame flex maybe just a set of tubes with a cross tube coming from the bumper, with the rack resting on the cross tube, s.t. when you twist the tube tied to the bumper/frame will twist away from the rack tied to the roof/body.

The more I think about it, the more I think it should all be one permanent piece, either a Frankenstein's rack out of the existing ones or a whole new one designed for this.

[Silver350]

How about making the front part able to slide into the rear section when not needed. When extended, you could support it off the bumper with 2" vertical tubes that fit into a vertical 2" receiver, much like a hitch.

[rockbender]

I was thinking along the lines of Silver350 - both in that you should be giving Kenworth a call and about using the 2" square tube to the front bumper for the verts. Specifically, you could use a wedge connection similar to hitch mount bike racks to help take up any free play / rattle.

While trussed sections along the rails would easily take care of the cantilever, I guess I'd be more concerned about point loading your gutter at the front most gutter bracket over the A pillar and door, don't you think?

While you're at it, you should make a flip over loading ramp that would go over the hood down to the ground! That would be killer for loading rafts.

There's not much sense in asking how much load you intend to put up there... given your history you need to design for a small dance party.

[carringb]

Ha ha. Bigger isn't always better when it comes to vehicles. A Kenworth would have a tough time on thetrails in Moab (and just about anywhere else I go).

I like the idea of a sliding rack. Unfortunately, this version probably wont' be used for more than a couple months, and I don't want to butcher the 8' rack, because I know a couple other vanners who want it. Long term, I want to make a 10' overhead rack, with powered uprights. This way I can drive sleds and quads up on the roof, by lowering the front rack to waist level and adding some ramps. (I used to have a toy hauler, but I'm not happy with the quality of those things).

Hopefully I can start fabbing something up tomorrow night.