Westy luggage rack roof cramps

[Jayjaysee]

Hi all

Bought my first Westy this year and loving it so far. I'm replacing the roof seal on the luggage pan roof and found that when I removed it, the cramps (that's what gunzl calls them) were all rusty. It's the hooks that you tie your luggage onto

Bought some new cramps and I've no idea how to get the old ones off as they look like some sort of push fitting bolt - the kind you don't get off without breaking!

any ideas anyone. I'll add a photo if it's not too dark

Cheers

Jason

[aisha]

I think they are pop-riveted on. If that is the case they'll have to be drilled through the centre to remove them.
You can refit them with stainless hardware when the rack is off, or pop-rivet them back on.

I plan to paint mine as they do tend to rust pretty badly. (Some have been painted already)

Are the ones that gunzl sells stainless?

[Jayjaysee]

Thanks Aisha.

That's the piccy of one. Yeah. The gunzl ones seem pretty solid and are stainless steel.

The seal went on ok. It was a right game getting the rusted screws off though to remove the roof. Replaced the capped screws as well. Someone had run sealant all round the inside of the roof originally and left the seal off altogether

[aisha]

Yeah, they look like pop-rivets. I picked up a pop-riveting tool in a bargain store near here for these kinds of jobs, but I'm not sure if the rivets would be long enough for fitting those...

Re: sealant... Know the feeling. A previous owner of mine was also a fan of sealant! No need for gaskets/seals when you can apply sealant liberally...

Taking off the luggage rack to clean underneath is one of the many jobs I have on my list also. One thing you could look into is fitting a gauze cover over the drain holes in the rack to try to prevent the accumulation of crap that gathers under there... Especially if it's ever parked under trees.

[jpennington]

fitting a gauze cover over the drain holes in the rack

Now that's an interesting idea. There are two oak trees in front of my house where my van sits. At the moment there is a couple of acorns rattling around between the luggage rack and the cab roof

How would you suggest attaching the gauze?

[aisha]

This guy 'splains it better:
http://www.vanthology.com/1Layout/Technical/Roof2.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
(Credit to the samba)

[jpennington]

Aisha,
thank you - very clear; and suitable washers on ebay for a pound or two.

BTW I noticed my 'cramps' were rusty about ten years ago. Brushed them with anti-rust primer and painted them white. They still look ok today.