yakima track attachments

[Gravytrain]

Hey I know this has been covered a bunch but I am looking for some pics of the hardware everyone is using to attach solar panels with angle iron to smb installed yakima tacks on my poptop. Ive read the threads but actually looking for specific pics of what I need to purchase....hoping to make this project one less trip to the hardware store! Thanks for any and all the help

[1der]

Using Aluminium angle 1/16" thick - figure what you need for dims between the side of the solar panel and the track. eg 2" x 2" x 1/16"

T Nut - Size that slides into the rack. If using T Nut, the bolt needs be short so it does not bottom out in track. https://www.etrailer.com/question-56993.html

or, T Bolt - then use a nut to secure from top
https://www.etrailer.com/s.aspx?qry=...ries_and_Parts

Links are for example pics only. They re a very good supplier - I have no affiliation.

[carringb]

Unistut is also super easy to work with, and is routinely used for commercial installs. You bolt it to the track with the t-bolts or nuts Ray linked above, with the "C" open to the sky, then attached the panels using regular strut-nuts. Steel strut is available at any home improvement store or you can get aluminum or composite strut from any commercial electric supplier store.

[Gravytrain]

Thanks for the info. Just what I needed.

[nyyankees588]

Not meaning to hijack/bump this old thread - but question for anybody who has used this approach - any idea on the weight capacity of the average fiberglass roof? I'm considering moving from a setup of gutter-mounted cross boars to unistrut, but not 100% certain that the fiberglass roof will adequately support ~75lbs of spare tire, another ~120lbs of roof box/solar panel/other odds and ends.

Obviously distributing the weight adequately is important and not every fiberglass top is created equal, but just wondering about a general idea of what people have comfortably put on their roof w/ the unistrut approach.

[Otter]

Every roof will be different, but here’s some info on my midsize CCV Poptop. It can lift 100 lbs and hold 300lbs. I wouldn’t hesitate to put any kind of rack up there but wouldn’t stress the lift mechanism by leaving much equipment on top.

I just wrote a post (#146) on installing my Yakima bars with Unistrut:

http://www.sportsmobileforum.com/for...tml#post262798

[nyyankees588]

Originally Posted by Otter

Every roof will be different, but here’s some info on my midsize CCV Poptop. It can lift 100 lbs and hold 300lbs. I wouldn’t hesitate to put any kind of rack up there but wouldn’t stress the lift mechanism by leaving much equipment on top.

I just wrote a post (#146) on installing my Yakima bars with Unistrut:

http://www.sportsmobileforum.com/for...tml#post262798

Gotcha - i'll give your thread a read. Thanks for posting. Mine isn't a poptop, so no concerns about the lifting mechanisms. More just the rigidity and ability of the fiberglass to hold the weight. My fiberglass is honeycomb, no plywood reinforcements. I work at a shop that builds wooden trailers with 6mm wood + fiberglass roofs that can easily support people on top via the supporting wood ribs that span the width of the roof panels, but the honeycomb fiberglass tops without ribs to support them are a little iffy to me.