Club 80-90 Forums

this may seem like a daft question....but if I put a small roof rack on the front of my roof will I still be able to use my canopy and awning? - does anyone use both at the same time?

I have some roof bars that were attached to the actual roof when I bought the van, and if I can't use the canopy/awning with a proper retro roof rack I may as well see what I can do with these

We have a full length roof rack and fit the awning to the lower rail of that rather than the gutter, works fine and you get a bit of fresh air through too. A small rack at front or back of the roof probably won't get in the way, but it's all dependant on how long your awning & roof rack is..

we have roof bars over the cab and still can fit awning or canopy - they both start from B pillar(?) back...

only pic i can find at the moment -

we had a roof rack on the back of our tin top and found that we couldnt attach the awining or sun canopy without losening the roof rack off which was a bit of a pain.

Thanks guys....it looks like I'll be adjusting the roof bars cos I've just seen the price of roof racks!

in my girlie mind it looks a pretty simple thing to do - the roof bars were actually bolted to the front of the roof when we bought it so the holes are there albeit filled up, its a square shape so i thought about putting some wooden slats on it and prehaps getting someone (i don't yet know who or how ) to maybe make me a rail to put around it so the stuff stays on - I was going to use copper piping but Nige recons it won't be strong enough .....then all the metal can be painted black

like I say, it seems simple in my girlie mind but hubby's a little less optimistic that my efforts will work

dirtygertie wrote:like I say, it seems simple in my girlie mind but hubby's a little less optimistic that my efforts will work

my money's on hubby

Karen this is the one I had on mine before I put the hitop on. Don't know how your awning fits but mine had a channel that some plastic pipe went through and this then clipped into the gutter on the van. All I did was chopped the plastic pipe so it left a space where the roof rack was attached to the gutters. Worked quite well.

This is the roof rack I was telling you about if it's any good to you. Although it's probably overkill for what you want. It's lightweight aluminium and quite strong. You could probably spray it black.

Dirtygertie....Just my 2p....how about fitting the slats ,then using a cargo type net to hold all the stuff in/on the rack? OR screw wood round the perimeter of the slats ,standing up ,say,3" to stop stuff falling off?

RODEO wrote:Dirtygertie....Just my 2p....how about fitting the slats ,then using a cargo type net to hold all the stuff in/on the rack? OR screw wood round the perimeter of the slats ,standing up ,say,3" to stop stuff falling off?

Heeeey! good Idea.......

And just to add a footnote....
You get a lot less wind noise with the rack mounted at the back. Moved mine because the buffeting noise got on my wick!

dirtygertie wrote:- I was going to use copper piping but Nige recons it won't be strong enough .....then all the metal can be painted black

It's not a good idea to mix different metals as it sets up galvanic action (like a battery), and one of the metals is sacrificed (corrodes). Even bolts and rivets can do this when fixed to other disimilar metals.

I adapted a thingy I got from a saddlery, which was a net for putting hay in when a horse is bored out of it's brain in a horse box. A couple of snips here and there, a couple of knots, and it made a good mini cargo net. Cheap too.

Andy, Julie, & Bobdog wrote:And just to add a footnote....
You get a lot less wind noise with the rack mounted at the back. Moved mine because the buffeting noise got on my wick!

I can understand that Andy, but being a vertically challenged individual I would need to stand on the wheel arch when the front doors are open to get anything off it.......I've tried reaching the roof whilst standing on the rear bumper and I can only just about reach a couple of inches in.

dirtygertie wrote:I've tried reaching the roof whilst standing on the rear bumper and I can only just about reach a couple of inches in.

add a tailgate ladder to your shopping list - very handy

For a small front rack or a large one ,you could use steel conduit. If you know a friendly electrician,he could bend it up for you.You can get 2 0r 3 metre lengths for about £6 ,its galvanised so a coat of paint and it will look smart ..Ive done them before,made all sorts. It can be bent without a proper former without it kinking/collapsing.I usually bend mine (oo er) round an old brake drum held in the vice.

RODEO wrote: If you know a friendly electrician,he could bend it up for you.

**snigger** that'll be hubby then........I can't imagine he'll turn down a request like that from me!!!!