Roof Rack Basket

[gsbfree]

I've been contemplating adding a roof rack basket to carry extra gear like chairs, roll-up table, shower tent, wood, etc. I've considered Yakima, Thule, Baja, and Black Widow. I have the factory installed aluminum racks, with an optional rack installed in the middle of the camper. Unfortunately the middle rack is installed too far forward to attach most racks.

I discovered what seems like a perfect solution to a basket rack and it seems like it was made to fit. The basket came off of an abandoned garden center cart like the one sold here...http://www.amleo.com/index/item.cgi?cmd=view&Words=gw40 The basket is 30”W x 46”L x 7 1/2” deep and is made of plastic and large enough to meet my needs and not add too much weight when empty. My intention is to empty the basket prior to raising the roof.

I mocked up the basket to see how it would fit on the factory rack...
The dog barking out orders to me


I finger tightened one U bolt to see if it might work to attach to the factory rack....

Probably too short of bolt, not enough room to add lockwasher.

Would four Ubolts be sufficient? I don't really like how the bolt will stick up rubbing against whatever is laying on top of it while bouncing down a dirt road.

Does anyone have any recommendations on attaching the basket to the factory rack?

Is there any safety issue attaching the basket to the factory rack?

 

[davinski]

Looks like a very nice and less expensive system!

I would worry about a few things...

1. wind resistence. looks like a lot of surface area on that plastic. May pick up a lot of wind. Will have to try it. Also, watch for noise. When i had a rack and basket on top of the camper, boy did it make a lot of noise. A fairing solved that.

2. U bolts look ok. Right, probably have to be longer and with lock washers and such. Don't want it coming loose on rough roads....

3. If it came in black or white, man, that would be good basket substitute and would never rust!

good luck.

dave in seattle

 

[Tomas Tierra]

GSB,
heavy duty zip ties to hold it down??like the big, thick 400# test ones. I used to put a milk crate on top of my old camper to hold 5 gals of gas, always worked well. easy to remove with a pair of dikes.

I had drilled holes in the crate below the cargo line so the cargo won't sit and rub on the zip ties....

then maybe some spray paint...

TT

 

[Outerspace]

I'd at least straddle the thicker ribs, not go in between as in the third shot. A fairing would help with the wind drag.

Still don't know if I'd trust it.


My .02

Stephen

 

[SunMan]

My concern would be the density of the plastic, if it's like a milk crate you're probably fine but if it's brittle or not dense I could see it potentially cracking on a long hellish washboard. Only one way to find out!

 

[craig333]

Paint it up. Save some money and another bar yourself. Not hard, lots of us have done it. Just search roof racks.

 

[Tomas Tierra]

My concern would be the density of the plastic, if it's like a milk crate you're probably fine but if it's brittle or not dense I could see it potentially cracking on a long hellish washboard. Only one way to find out!

I always worried about that even with the milk crate..I figured that leaving the slightest play in the zip ties would give a little wiggle room..

 

[pvstoy]

How much UV light can that take?

It is a great idea...

 

[Yukon]

Cool idea. Like the low-cost apprach. Yakama is just way too expensive.
Recommend for sure that you use lock-nuts rather than lock washers. I agree with one of the other readers who mentioned UV light. I suspect that plastic over time may become brittle. Wonder if there is UV stopping paint?