[outback97]

Totally forgot to take any pictures of the two Rotopax / shovel setup on the trail. But I grabbed this from another guys photos.



And this one shows the profile (kinda)


It worked great, only needed one of the gas cans but it was nice to have the extra. Stayed nice and solid over 200+ miles of dirt.

 

[Blk11Xterra]

Rola Roof Mounted Cargo Basket - Steel - 52" Long x 40-1/2" Wide x 6" Deep - 130 lbs Rola Roof Cargo Carrier 59504

Deluxe Steel Roof Cargo Basket with Wind Fairing ER-08208S | DiscountRamps.com

 

[outback97]

Rola Roof Mounted Cargo Basket - Steel - 52" Long x 40-1/2" Wide x 6" Deep - 130 lbs Rola Roof Cargo Carrier 59504

Deluxe Steel Roof Cargo Basket with Wind Fairing ER-08208S | DiscountRamps.com

My DIY solution is working great for me and I like the lower cost, lower weight and lower profile of it, so not much interest in those, although the second one isn't as bad.

The cargo baskets sitting on top of our factory roof rack always make me think of a guy wearing two hats*, just doesn't look right to me.

*Pictured guy might actually be wearing three hats, hard to tell.

 

[boXcar]

The cargo baskets sitting on top of our factory roof rack always make me think of a guy wearing two hats*, just doesn't look right to me.

I totally agree with you on that. Thinking of trying to through this set up together before I head down to the Overland Expo in AZ next month.

 

[outback97]

Found another use for the strut crossbars... firewood! And a dirty marshmallow roaster stick.

 

[chevy42083]

Pre-drilling/cutting lumber to easily transport it to a camp fire? I guess that IS the safest way lol.

Spread those out a bit, and use them as a "floor" to stack a couple logs parallel to the strut, then run a tie-strap around the strut to lock it all down.

BTW, I can't wait for my TRED Pro sand ramps to come in so I can attempt this mod myself.

 

[outback97]

Pre-drilling/cutting lumber to easily transport it to a camp fire? I guess that IS the safest way lol.

Spread those out a bit, and use them as a "floor" to stack a couple logs parallel to the strut, then run a tie-strap around the strut to lock it all down.

BTW, I can't wait for my TRED Pro sand ramps to come in so I can attempt this mod myself.

Haha yeah! It is a little odd, but... it's free from my work, it's already cut in the right size pieces and it's clean, dry wood. I just have to drill a couple holes, so it takes seconds with a drill press and wood bit.

I could also use it as a platform to carry odd sized items. Or under the wheels to get unstuck, or probably lots of other uses.

I know what you mean about the Treds, they're running out of time to get them out in May as promised. Looks like production was actually going to begin late last week though, so hopefully they'll be shipping soon.

 

[outback97]

Two months after I posted that, my Tred Pro's finally arrived. I had been hoping that with all the potential mounting holes, somehow they would line up the same as the Rotopax. Unfortunately they're just a bit off, bummer. I may go with the third crossbar when I'm carrying Treds plus fuel.

We are heading up to Wyoming this weekend for a camping trip. I don't think we'll need extra fuel but did want extra storage up top, so I inverted the strut mounts to give a little more width for the pair of Treds and our little Thule cargo box. Still need to figure out a solution for mounting my shovel on top of the Treds.

 

[outback97]

Figured I should update this, the shovel mount was incredibly simple. Just added some thick steel strap with holes and wing nuts to secure it to the Tred Pro mount.





Sorry for the low quality pics but it should be pretty easy to see how it works. Didn't budge on a 2000 mile road trip.

 

[chevy42083]

Maybe some rubbler/foam so it doesn't wiggle loose and develop a rattle? I'm thinking metal stretching, bending, treds compressing a bit, etc... something that would leave to wiggle, which would lead to wear.
It DOES look simple and effective though!

I know the treds are supposed to be "used as a shovel".... but I can't see that working well AT ALL for anything except the softest of sand.... so thats a nice convenient way to get the shovel and treds all at the same time.

 

[outback97]

Maybe some rubbler/foam so it doesn't wiggle loose and develop a rattle? I'm thinking metal stretching, bending, treds compressing a bit, etc... something that would leave to wiggle, which would lead to wear.
It DOES look simple and effective though!

I know the treds are supposed to be "used as a shovel".... but I can't see that working well AT ALL for anything except the softest of sand.... so thats a nice convenient way to get the shovel and treds all at the same time.

I thought it may loosen up too, but on this trip it did not. I have some inner tube rubber that I carry in the tool kit for things like that, but didn't need it at all. Conveniently, this particular shovel nestles nicely in the pattern of the Treds, like it was made to fit there.

Yes the Treds would suck to use as a shovel. Better than your hands I guess. I also carry a packable snow shovel that would be better in loose sand and, well, snow... it fits in the rooftop cargo bin.

 

[outback97]

I moved the strut crossbars back under the side rails, adding the third bar back into the mix to allow me to more easily mount up both Rotopax and Treds (and a shovel).

Using them on this past weekend's winter camping trip, I discovered one problem with the strut bar and spring nuts: ice

Wet snow from the day before had melted and then frozen in the track and rendered the spring nuts immobile. I was in a hurry since I was getting ready to leave for my trip, so I grabbed some isopropyl alcohol and mixed some 100 proof ice melter. Poured it on the nuts and in the track, and after a few minutes I could move them where I needed to.

 

[BCBrian]

outback97 YOU ROCK!

I finally completed and installed my take on your idea. Thanks again for taking the time to answer all my questions, your help made the job a lot easier and also saved me a bunch of time.

See my build thread for pictures.

 

[outback97]

I finally completed and installed my take on your idea. Thanks again for taking the time to answer all my questions, your help made the job a lot easier and also saved me a bunch of time.

See my build thread for pictures.

Looks great Brian!

 

[outback97]

A lot of times I don't need to bring extra fuel, or just need the 2GL in the wet box for a little fuel insurance, but the crossbars continue to be really handy for carrying the Tred's and a shovel. Finally got around to taking a couple better photos of that setup.

I used the quickfists for an easy place to stash my roof mounted NMO mount CB antenna when going through some low hanging branches. Took just a moment to unscrew the antenna, clamp the base in the quickfist, then drive through the branches without ripping anything off. Worked great.

I have thought about getting some star knobs rather than the simple little wing nuts, but it seems like that would draw more attention to what's up there, so for now they're doing the job. I have not had any significant loosening up with this setup on many weekend trips to the desert, and week long road trips over several states.

 

[outback97]

I'm going through some of my threads with broken Photobucket image links and replacing them with Google hosted files. Tedious process but hopefully this helps somebody out in the future.

 

[outback97]

A few people have asked about any changes or improvements made to this setup. Really the only thing I would add is that when you have the strut mounted below the rack, it works best to have some kind of spacer between the legs of the ubolt to keep the pipe clamp from slipping into the strut channel.

I used a little chunk of ipe (it's a very dense, strong rot resistant wood) and cut it down so it just fits in the channel. It has held up really well but you could use HDPE, aluminum, or many other materials as long as they fill that space.

Again, this is only when the strut crossbars are mounted below the rails and clamps. When the clamps are inverted there is no need for a spacer, though I have used a shorter set of ubolts and shaved them down slightly so the threads of the ubolt don't protrude over the top of the low profile channel.

 

[outback97]

Found another use for the strut crossbars... awning mount. I am working on a cleaner setup but this worked great for last weekend's eclipse trip.

Stacking the two 4GL rotopax worked OK on the highway but did loosen up a bit on some rutted roads where there was a lot of rocking and bouncing back and forth. It's very rare that we would need to carry both 4GL cans stacked but I will have to come up with a more secure system for the future if we do.

 

[TurboChris]

I'm going through some of my threads with broken Photobucket image links and replacing them with Google hosted files. Tedious process but hopefully this helps somebody out in the future.

Thanks for taking the time to do that. I for one appreciate it as I just found this thread and this mod is going to be on my short list. Thanks!

 

[Reese]

Great ideas for a general guide. Thanks for the writeup and photos.