By Tom P. on Thursday, September 13, 2001 - 05:05 am: Edit

Does roof rack decking increase/decrease wind noise on an Adventure rack?

I've got a road trip coming up and decking will really help manage the roof gear. I can do temporary decking quickly and cheaply. But if the decking does not increase noise (or actually decreases it) then I'll spend a little more time to do a clean permanent job.

I'm hoping for some real world experience here, not theory.

Thanks,

Tom Proctor
96 disco

By Kristian on Thursday, September 13, 2001 - 10:03 am: Edit

Tom- I made a plywood floor that follows the contours of the rack. I painted the bottom side OD green and the top tan. With the front sunroof open, it's difficult to have a conversation with your passenger at highway speeds (great for when you don't want to "talk"). The good part is that a solid floor has a nice tropical roof effect and I found it makes the rack much more usable.

By gp (Garrett) on Friday, September 14, 2001 - 02:10 am: Edit

Rob Davison has this on his rack as well and is detailed well in the tech section of this site i believe. I am sure he will speak up here in a bit.

By Kyle Van Tassel (Kyle) on Friday, September 14, 2001 - 02:55 am: Edit

Yes , I have been on his ass about that plywood for quite soe time now. I imagine it will soon start to rot..

Kyle

By chrisvonc on Friday, September 14, 2001 - 03:12 am: Edit

Tom, I dont notice anymore noise than normal with my decking. If you have a need for the decking then the noise issue is moot.

By Rob Davison (Pokerob) on Friday, September 14, 2001 - 04:26 am: Edit

i dont care what anyone says the plywood flooring is practicle for me. when i'm up on my roof loading furiture or lumber or whatever, i dont want to have to pay attention so see if i'm stepping on the bars.

if you are bought the rack for looks dont go with plywood... it doesn't look cool. it's ok and not really noticible but definatly more about utility than looks. thats why that posuer kyle doesnt like it. how's that snorcle doing kyle?

i will be replacing the plywood after two years because it has begun to Warp (not rot it's pressure treated). on my next sheet i will use identical measurements to whats up there now (avalible in my photo gallery) but this time i will plan on buying a bunch of aircontitioning pipe insultation and zip-tying it to the bars to add a little more cusion and cut down on the rattles. i'm also going to cut a few holes so i can weave webbing through the middle of the rackfloor. i dont want them too big or they will be uncomfortable when i sleep up there and also might catch a corner when trying to push lumber or boxes on the roof.

don't get me wrong i'm all for alternatives and would like to go with something that looks better and performs just as well. it's just that i've solved that problem and moved on to other area's of the vehicle to channle my resources.


TO ANSWER THE ROOT QUESTION:

yes, the florring dramatically decreased the noise from the rack. instead of wind dragging over all the bars it's just the top ones. i was astounded at the difference. mainly cause my rack was loud as all hell with out flooring.

rd

By Tom P. on Friday, September 14, 2001 - 04:57 am: Edit

Thanks Rob!

I'll get cracking on my decking design. And yes Kyle, it will be plywood!

Rob, about the tiedown holes through the plywood, on my first rack I used a hole saw to cut out a figure eight (two holes close together), then cut the edge straight with a jig saw for a smooth sided, elongated oval. You can make them pretty big (2-3" hole saw) and still not have any trouble walking over them. You need to make them large enough to get you fingers through to fish the rope or tiedown strap around the tubes.

About the AC pipe insulation, I used rubber heater hose. It doesn't compress nearly as much. You will be able to use much less too, since without the compression, you do not have to cover every inch of every tube.

Thanks again,

Tom Proctor
96 Disco

By joshua on Friday, September 14, 2001 - 05:34 am: Edit

Tom, I have also heard people using marine-pressure treated ply wood. I guess it will hold up better in the elements.

and of course, a good coat of paint always will give you a few more months of life, but as rob said its been a few years and he is just replacing it now.

for 25 bucks ( or whatever a sheet of plywood costs) this might just be the cheapest MOD you will ever do....

joshua

By Marc on Friday, September 14, 2001 - 05:57 am: Edit

Tom,

Use preasure treated plywood and get a can of black poly-liquid protective (like do-it-yourself rhinoliner) and it will last forever. That stuff is very easy to patch, and you can find it in any autoparts store.

-Marc

By Blue Gill (Bluegill) on Friday, September 14, 2001 - 05:59 am: Edit

http://www.discoweb.org/terrygillard/DSC01727.jpg

Terry's flooring kicks ass!

By Steve (Steve2) on Friday, September 14, 2001 - 06:04 am: Edit

oh and a small side benfit is the car will be cooler in the sun as the air space acts as insulation. BUT i'd clay and heavily wax the roof as you won't be able to clean it very well anymore. when it did this on my yiep, the plywood was not cheap!! but i thompson water sealed it for good measure.

steve

By Jeff on Friday, September 14, 2001 - 06:06 am: Edit

What about varnishing a piece of pressure treated plywood?

Nice, Terry!

By Moe (Moe) on Friday, September 14, 2001 - 06:13 am: Edit

Split metal at less than $2 a square foot might be a good alternative. Easy to shape to the curved rack and easy to tack down.

By Joshua Weinstein (Untrakd) on Friday, September 14, 2001 - 06:23 am: Edit

Just put on my rear decking, wind noise is gone! I will post some pictures in the thread and in my gallery later this week!

By Rob Davison (Pokerob) on Friday, September 14, 2001 - 06:27 am: Edit

yeah, terry's looks cool as hell. though i'd paint it black since i'm not in the desert the heat isn't a factor.

my guys telling me mine is ugly?
http://www.discoweb.org/robdavison/

but if i put that much effort into the roof i want to be able to use it as a traction aid. someday when i run out of mod's i'll look into placing aluminum grating between the bars so that in a cluster fuck emergency i can rip the roof decking down and have a bunch or sand ladder/ bridges. but like i said, thats not as important as getting my driveline bomb proof, so it gets put on the back burner.

rd

By Blue Gill (Bluegill) on Friday, September 14, 2001 - 06:52 am: Edit

No, Rob, it's not ugly...just had Terry's recent job fresh in my mind from the "News" section...

...especially love the paint job!!!
http://www.discoweb.org/robdavison/mud_0015.jpg

By Wes Legaspi (Wes) on Friday, September 14, 2001 - 07:32 am: Edit

A little late here but here's my $.02...

At first, I also wanted to put aluminum diamond plating on my adv. rack, but budget constraints did not allow me to do so. Anyways, I also went the plywood route, but instead of laying plywood over the whole rack, I only placed the flooring on the front and rear of the rack (no wood on the slope part). To secure the wood to the rack, I used u-bolts, 5 on the lower level, and 5 on the upper level. In between the wood and the rack, I used foam pipe insulation. The grand total for the material used was a little under $30. Plywood does look funny, but it still serves the purpose.

By kyle on Friday, September 14, 2001 - 07:47 am: Edit

Got termites? I am sorry but wood and cars dont mix..

Kyle

By Wes Legaspi (Wes) on Friday, September 14, 2001 - 08:00 am: Edit

hehehe, no termites yet, but since I used u-bolts, I can easily take the floor off when not in use (like now). I am taking monetary donations for an aluminum diamond plating floor project if you're willing to donate.

By Kevin D on Friday, September 14, 2001 - 08:59 am: Edit

Got termites? I am sorry but wood and cars dont mix..

Kyle

Hmmm, the burlwood in my RR hasn't suffered from any termite damage yet. But I haven't tried it on the roof rack either. However, I am looking at using 1/4 or 3/8 poly sheet with 3M 5200 marine sealant to fasten it to the crossbars without having to drill for screws or other fasteners.

Kevin D

By Robert Mann (Oldscout) on Friday, September 14, 2001 - 09:12 am: Edit

Say good bye to the floor. 5200 will not hold. Why not just coat the floor in West Systems epoxie or polyster resin.

By Kevin D on Friday, September 14, 2001 - 10:42 am: Edit

5200 will not hold? Please explain further.
I haven't used it personally, but it was highly recommended by a professional boat builder who has used it for similar applications.

According to product information from 3M, it provides a strong and flexible structural bond.
http://www.3m.com/intl/AU/marine/bonding.html

More information:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/bolger/message/10782

By Robert Mann (Oldscout) on Friday, September 14, 2001 - 11:08 am: Edit

I use a fair amount of 5200 in my other hobby.


I just do not see it holding up to the wind load with out a few bolts. I used it to hold down some sheet alum in the engine area. It could not get the bite it need on the smooth alum. It stuck the the wood just fine.

By kyle on Friday, September 14, 2001 - 11:30 am: Edit

Wood everywhere.... scarey. There are many otehr alternatives inclding urathane sheeting. Comes in many colors and will never let you down.. Metal is still my favorite ofcourse

kyle

By Ron on Friday, September 14, 2001 - 11:46 am: Edit

Can't weld wood right Kyle.

Ron "budding welder"

By Rob Davison (Pokerob) on Friday, September 14, 2001 - 08:23 pm: Edit

so you dont like the wood trim on a land rovers i guess? this is just an extension...

"never let you down"

if i get wood i better hope i can get it down, damn that would suck.

rd

By kyle on Saturday, September 15, 2001 - 09:35 am: Edit

Yes Ron , no welding there. I think aluminum up there is still your best bet.


Kyle

By herky on Saturday, September 15, 2001 - 12:29 pm: Edit

Could you "Rhino-Line" the plywood? This wood seal it and get rid of the wood look? Just curious, I saw a old Bronco today that someone had rhino-lined the whole body inside and out!

By Greg on Sunday, September 23, 2001 - 11:16 am: Edit

Kyle,

I've never looked ... can you get urethane sheeting at local Home Depot?

Greg

By Diesel on Sunday, September 23, 2001 - 07:33 pm: Edit

I used a piece of 1/8" aluminum sheet metal for my roof flooring. Have a local shop break the proper angle in the metal, and fit it on the floor of the rack. Use plenty of weather stipping on the rails to prevent wear and rubbing, and then bolt it down.

Diesel

http://www.discoweb.org/collin/lot-004.jpg
http://www.discoweb.org/collin/rack-001.jpg

By Erik Olson (Jon) on Sunday, September 23, 2001 - 07:39 pm: Edit

Finnish birch (7 ply) with both sides triple poly'd will hold up for a few years. Total cost of project: less than a hundred bucks. If you route all of the edges (1/8" round-over) the ply will hold up better too.

Insofar as adhesives go with wood, they work on a molecular level.

E