By Mikey on Thursday, April 19, 2001 - 05:51 am: Edit

I need/want a roof rack and for the longest time i was going to go with the LR adv, but have been told it is very heavy plus it needs a floor and you can't hold that much wight, that's what i have heard. And the new Hannibal rack is very strong and sturdy and i can get it with a tent!
Any thought on either rack

By Ronald Brown (Ron) on Thursday, April 19, 2001 - 06:02 am: Edit

The adventure rack weighs about 70lbs? You do not need to put a floor in it as it has cross bars. You can put 500+lbs up there it just won't be very safe to drive in that top heavy.

Ron

By Joshua Bova (Jbova) on Thursday, April 19, 2001 - 06:06 am: Edit

Where are you located? The best rack I have seen in terms of capacity quality and value is the Kaymar rack. These are sold in the US by Acme-Outfitters, A full length rack for a Disco is less then $500. I would have one except that it would cost me too much to ship it here from CA. If you are on the west coast, check it out. There is a link to their site in the resources section under vendors. Hannibal stuff looks to be built well, just really expensive. The Kaymar rack is rated to more weight then you should ever have up there.

-josh

By mikey on Thursday, April 19, 2001 - 06:11 am: Edit

I'm in Dallas/Forth Worth.
I like the way the Adv. rack looks, but still question it use.
Does Acme-outfitters have a web site or does some one have one in the photo gallery

By Ronald Brown (Ron) on Thursday, April 19, 2001 - 06:21 am: Edit

I like the way the Adv. rack looks, but still question it use.

I have been up there standing on it and I am no lightweight. I have also transported a series truck roof on it. It can;t be beat but it is expensive.

Ron

By CODISCO on Thursday, April 19, 2001 - 06:21 am: Edit

The Hannibal looks like a fine rack, but as someone once said, do you want your Disco looking like a construction vehicle?

By wes on Thursday, April 19, 2001 - 06:52 am: Edit

Here's the link to Acme-Outfitters:

http://www.acme-outfitters.com/products/kaymar/roof_rack.html

I thought about the Kaymar, but I went with the lr adventure rack anyway. The floor is a little hard to walk on, but you can make your own flooring for it. Besides, the contoured rack looks better, with a straight rack, it does look like a contractors truck :-)

By Rob Davison (Pokerob) on Thursday, April 19, 2001 - 07:19 am: Edit

I've hauled +400 lbs of lumber and drywall on my adventure rack and it didn't bother it. it's all one piece construction welded from tubes of steel

see the website:

click here please


Hannibal rack is aluminum and inherently weaker.

if you want the strongest , most durable and best looking rack out there....... the ADVENTURE RACK is the only choice.

By johnny on Thursday, April 19, 2001 - 07:34 am: Edit

Hannibal Rack? I think they look like plumber racks. Those that are mounted on top of chevy trucks and carry a load of pipes.

Why would you want to turn your Discovery into one of those plumber trucks?

By mikey on Thursday, April 19, 2001 - 09:05 am: Edit

ok thanks
i guess it's the adventure rack for me!

mikey

By Jerry Crawford, 98 D-I on Thursday, April 19, 2001 - 10:29 am: Edit

I have to contradict the chap who said because a rack is made of aluminum it is weaker. This is not so. I can't point you to the exact web site at the moment but I recently read an engineering design summary about the weight to strength ratios of 1" square steel tubing vs 1" square aluminum tubing. A constructed beam of aluminum has something like 40% less weight and an equal or greater strength than the same beam made of steel. It's all in how you design something.

Finally, I have to agree that all other roof racks lack class when they sit on a Disco. The do look like construction truck racks out of JP Whitney catalog. My fantasy is an Adventure roof rack made of 1" tubular aluminum.

By mikey on Thursday, April 19, 2001 - 10:52 am: Edit

Any engineers want to try to build me the adventure rack out of 1" tubular aluminum

Mikey

By Rob Davison (Pokerob) on Thursday, April 19, 2001 - 12:24 pm: Edit

you are on the right page, it just doesn't apply here. just because it is out of aluminum doesn't make it weaker if it was designed correctly.

too bad it is not designed in such a way to make it superior in strength though, especially if you hit a low hanging branch, look at the little piece of aluminum stretching from leg to leg, then compare that to the adventure, not to mention it's bolt together construction.

the whole thing is weaker. period.


rd

(the highlander rack is stronger yet)

By MarkII on Friday, April 20, 2001 - 01:43 am: Edit

Just a thought but everyone seems to agree that a welded rack is stronger than bolt together. Makes sense. So does that mean If I were to weld my Garvin rack together I could make it stronger? What are everyones thoughts on that?

By Damian on Friday, April 20, 2001 - 02:05 am: Edit

Personally, if you can get one in the US that is, I'd recommend the Safety Devices rack. It's basically the same as the CT one only fits to the gutters and no through the roof to roll cage. It's on my shopping list at present though at arround £ 600.00 UK it's not cheap. Hate to think what that would be over the pond !

By Ben Gott on Friday, April 20, 2001 - 04:00 am: Edit

Damian,

It is expensive here.. Saftey Devices Gutter mount rack is what we call the Adventure rack here.. It contoured to the roof of the disco.. Just thought I'd fill you in..

-Ben

By Bill B on Friday, April 20, 2001 - 04:18 am: Edit

Ben,
Safety Devices does make another rack that is not contoured and it is what was used on the Camel Trophy trucks. The real CT rack bolted through the roof into the internal roll cage, but the version you can get now mounts on the rain gutters like the Adventure rack does.

By ho on Friday, April 20, 2001 - 04:27 am: Edit

http://www.discoweb.org/clay/clay1.jpg
this one is the safety devices expedition rack.
you can get them from stable energy.
http://www.stable-energies.com/

By welder on Friday, April 20, 2001 - 12:16 pm: Edit

If you get the Hannibal rack, make sure you show the crack of your fat ass above your tight jeans, because your Disco will look just like the plumber's truck.

By nadim on Friday, April 20, 2001 - 12:20 pm: Edit

LOL

By E Snyder on Monday, April 23, 2001 - 12:10 am: Edit

I have a Garvin wilderness systems rack and use it all the time. A flat floor is a huge advantage if you ever plan to sleep on your truck, set up lawn chairs, you name it. I had an expanded metal floor made, and the key to someone's earlier question about making it stronger was running additional floor support bars out on to the ends of the rack. That way, all your load doesn't rest on the cross bars supplied, but gets spread out over the entire perimeter of the rack. I have had half a dozen people on my roof with no problems. The wilderness rack also has 4 brackets per side, which helps spread load all around your gutters.
Someday I'll figure out how to post photos and get some pictures and a scan of the drawing I used to have the floor made posted.

PS- I don't really think it looks like a contractor's rack, although the hi-lift jack, the ax and shovel, the canvas awning, jerry cans, and the limb risers might have something to do with that!