Gear Rack/Basket ?

Jumper

I am anxiously awaiting the delivery of my new 2019 Tag XL Edge and I am starting to order a few things so I can get it ready.
I have a lot of gear from my recently sold Rockwood A-frame that I can transfer over to my new Tag, but I still need a few things.

I am going to purchase a roof mounted gear basket to attach to the Yakima crossbars, but I don't want to spend almost $300.00 on a Yakima basket and have to cut on it to clear the fan cover.
Any recommendations on a cheaper model that is not total junk and will mount up to the Yakima bars?

Verna

Check Amazon for ones under $100, but do watch for rusting. I bought one for my truck’s Shell this past spring. It’s only on the truck for travel between Arizona and home.

Also be aware that there is a 100 lb limit (debatable by some) on the contents on roof rack and in the basket. My basket weighs 37 lbs by itself.

WilliamA

Jumper,
Curt makes a basket with the same footprint as the yakima. It's a bit taller but does the job. It's the one I have on my trailer. The spacing is such that cutting the bars for the vent leaves a perfect width. Check my post: "Offroad ready" for photos. I seem to recall finding mine for around $130 bucks.
WilliamA

Jumper

I saw the ones on Amazon but I wasn't sure which one to buy, the one I was looking at was a Maxxhaul or something like that. I just want to use it for a dry bag to throw dirty clothes in and maybe a small dry box.

TomD

I’m still stuck at the post where you cut up the rack to accommodate a fantastic fan hood. I have see other posts where this has happened. I’ll get over it.

LuckyJ

You could also go with a rocket box (think ski box). Long, narrow, roomy, lockable and would clear the vent cover cause narrow enought.

georgianwinds

My Yakima rack interferes with the complete opening of the vent. However I don't see why it needs to be fully open. About 2 inches will allow the switch to operate the fan and then if the side windows in the camper are open you will get good air movement. So I did not cut mine and instead positioned the basket to crack open the fan hood by a couple of inches. No cutting required.

Jumper

@LuckyJ said:
You could also go with a rocket box (think ski box). Long, narrow, roomy, lockable and would clear the vent cover cause narrow enought.

Thanks for that suggestion! For what I'm going to be using it for, that would work great. I will post up some photos when I get the camper all setup, but first I need a camper.lol
I should have it in a few weeks, fingers crossed.

LuckyJ

@georgianwinds said:
My Yakima rack interferes with the complete opening of the vent. However I don't see why it needs to be fully open. About 2 inches will allow the switch to operate the fan and then if the side windows in the camper are open you will get good air movement. So I did not cut mine and instead positioned the basket to crack open the fan hood by a couple of inches. No cutting required.

When you say the rack interferes with tye vent cover, are you talking about one of the bars or the basket? Cause bars are easy to move.

georgianwinds

Just reading your reply now. No, I meant a bar in the basket ( not moveable).

LuckyJ

@georgianwinds said:
Just reading your reply now. No, I meant a bar in the basket ( not moveable).

Ok, got ya!

Jumper

Kuat Mini Skinny 1-Bike Rooftop Cargo Basket

Just found this at REI, I hope it fits on the rack and clears the fan lid.

Scotty49

I use a Yakima Load Warrior basket. I then cut out four bars using a hack saw (measured twice to accommodate the Fantastic Fan). When traveling, we cover the opening with two 12x24 wire shelves from Home Depot (https://www.homedepot.com/p/AllSpace-24-in-W-x-12-in-D-Short-Wire-Shelf-450036-37/206182808). They are attached together with electrical ties for easy folding when we open up the fan lid. The installation was simple and the modification was easy. I covered the cut ends of the bars with rubber screw protectors.

Jeeptag

@Jumper did you ever get the cargo carrier mounted? I am getting a roof rack and awning installed tomorrow and we are planning on taking a trip across country and need storage for our inflatable kayaks. I would love to see pictures. Does anyone know if the long rocket carriers would be ok? most are over 80” long

LuckyJ

@Jeeptag said:
@Jumper did you ever get the cargo carrier mounted? I am getting a roof rack and awning installed tomorrow and we are planning on taking a trip across country and need storage for our inflatable kayaks. I would love to see pictures. Does anyone know if the long rocket carriers would be ok? most are over 80” long

The rocket box (ski box) are great on this. Some of them are narrow enough that you are still able to open the fan lid.

This was only for transportation from location to location, and not used for sleeping cause of weight capacity, but here it is. It was a 100 miles trip with lots of hills and wind and 2 way trafic.

Jeeptag

@LuckyJ @WilliamA how is the yakama roof rack attached to the t@g? I am getting a rhino rack installed at a NüCamp dealership and they are drilling holes clear through the roof and attaching plates inside to keep it stable. They said they didn’t want to rely on self tapping screws along the rail. Is that how yours is attached?

LuckyJ

Yep, the Outback /Boondock model came with the rack from factory. They used self taping screws, one per aluminium roof cross member.

And when you locate the bars on the rail, you have to try to be as close as possible from the screws, since this is where the roof is the more solid. In between the bars, the surface is kind of soft, with could bring surface deflexion.

Make sure that they drill trough those aluminium bars.

And btw, so far, Nucamp as never really comit to detail load range. Only saying that capacity is 100 lbs, no matter how large the thing you are transporting, of how strong the wind will be.

This is like a 100 lbs canoe would react and exerce the same pull as a 100 lbs torpedo. ???

WilliamA

Hmmmm.... Sounds sketchy. My rack was factory installed, but this is one case where I'd want to use the screw into the frame as opposed to bolts/nuts. Having been up in the roof, I'd have to say there isn't much in there unless you can hit the cross-ribs. If the mount goes into or around the ribs, then you'll be okay. Otherwise, there's not much up there. As LuckyJ say's, the max load will depend entirely upon how much frame support you'll have and even then, I'd not build a deck on it to watch the sunset. There are too many variables to make a guess at maximum load, I'm not seeing much over 100 lbs up there unless you can tie off the front and rear, like a canoe or kayak. That would help. I measured my roof structure today and my crossmembers are 3/4"X3/4" aluminum tubing. While that's not much, the aluminum tubing thickness is pretty robust so there's that...

WilliamA

LuckyJ

I will have to look at the vid that was provided by Nucamp, it is here somehwere, but my feeling is that they are a little more tyan 3/4x3/4.
'Let me make a quick search in my post.

But the thing is that they only lay on the walls structure witch only as a bown frame around the wall sandwich. Also, the XL co pare to the regular, might have a little more flex because of the width (distance between the side walls).

As for capacity, if yakima is able to give a static and dynamic capacity for their rack, the engineer on conceptor that works for Nucamp should be able to do the same. Unless they are designed on napkins on the corner of a table, while dri king coffee.

Ok, I will look for the vid now.

LuckyJ

Here is the link to the vid.

https://teardrop-trailers.vanillacommunity.com/discussion/163/t-g-roof-framing#latest

The aluminium framing might be 3/4 thick, but the are at least 1 to 1 1/2" wide. But it is more a guess than a real mesure.

WilliamA

@LuckyJ said:
. Unless they are designed on napkins on the corner of a table, while dri king coffee.

Hey, that's how I do it.....

WilliamA

LuckyJ

@WilliamA said:

@LuckyJ said:
. Unless they are designed on napkins on the corner of a table, while dri king coffee.

Hey, that's how I do it.....

WilliamA

And so do I, but we are in tye upgrade part of things! Creativity is supposed to be done like that, not conception with specification.

WilliamA

LuckyJ,

True enough...

WilliamA

Jeeptag

So I got my tag back and I am extremely impressed with the roof rack. I do have plates that were installed for improved strength. They told me I could put upwards of 400lbs on without worries. Of course I do not plan to ever load the rack up with that kind of weight. I wanted to show some pictures so people can see other roof rack and awning options. 98” awning on this rack and drove 70mph and I couldn’t tell it was added.

WilliamA

Looks good. It would appear that they targeted the cross-beams in the roof. Nicely done. Love to see a photo of the rear brackets and inside plates. A bit of detailing and that's that!

Can't tell for sure from the photos, but it looks like they got it very level! Kudo's....

I see you are also using the Aero crossbars. They are much nicer than my round-tube factory stuff. Quieter and much stronger as well.
WilliamA

Jeeptag

They did a great job getting it level. Here are a couple more photos of the mounts I think a little paint and they will blend in well. I got some pretty detailed prints of where all the cross bars in the roof are also so that made it worth it for future projects.

LuckyJ

Very nice indeed!

Question about thoses 400 lbs capacity. Is it the rack capacity, or the roof capacity.

The thing is that since nucamp will not comit to any of those, we are in my mind at the same point. Can we trust the roof.

Hope you have the answer, cause I am very interested in it.

Luc

Jeeptag

The way it’s bolted on it goes through 2 roof cross members that go from side to side and the weight i feel is being distributed at the strongest point where the wall and the ceiling connect. The ones installed by the factory relys on small screws that are tapped into the aluminum. I can’t guarantee the weight limit but the dealer had me convinced he would be comfortable with twice the load capacity of the ones NüCamp Installs. I plan on loading these up with gear since we plan on putting 10k miles on Je@n in the next couple months. I will keep you guys updated

Jeeptag

the manufacturer states 209lb rating while driving

LuckyJ

@Jeeptag said:
the manufacturer states 209lb rating while driving

Where did you get that from? Nucamp??

The question I have is related to roof integrity and as nothing to do with the rack itself.

I have the same Yakima rack on one of my vehicule (I agree, not with those slider) and I trust that rack by experience with more that 350 lbs dynamic. Static, even more. But I also trust my vehicule roof for that load.

The T@G have no side wall structure, but for a bow around the edge. And no idea how the roof attache to the walls. This is probably the weak link right now.

But please, tell me where you got that 209 lbs dynamic, and I will be super happy for my self at least for the weekend.