Roof Rack Flooring

stansell

stansell

Well-known member
Jun 14, 2004
364
0
51
Norfolk, VA
Oops, started the thread under trails/events.
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Not liking my homemade design for roof rack flooring, so I am opening the floor for suggestions. I have a DII with a Safety Devices roof rack. I love the rack, but haven't seen any good flooring plans out there.
Koby, saw your flooring on EE website. Where'd you get it? Looks good.
 
GotRovr

GotRovr

Well-known member
Jun 16, 2004
377
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Koby,

thanks for the melt down info

I'm researching source for expanded fiberglass/plastic decking
 
stansell

stansell

Well-known member
Jun 14, 2004
364
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51
Norfolk, VA
Koby,
I rarely get into the real heat up here in Norther California. However, I do end up in some hot places invariably. Is it long exposure in the heat that causes it to warp? Or did it happen in an afternoon?
Rob
 
Ranger_Ivan

Ranger_Ivan

Member
Jul 13, 2004
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59
Salem, Oregon
A friend of mine just got a roof rack (it *might* be a Safety Devices rack), and is using marine grade plywood as a floor. Not sure if he's treated it in any way. He's got a backpacking tent that fits up there, so he's got the "home version" roof tent.

He hasn't had it very long, and not out in the heat yet. We're planning an excursion out into central Oregon for the end of August, so there will be some field testing then. :)

You might look into something simple and chea... errr.. inexpensive, like that. A good coat of outdoor paint should work just fine.

Just my 2 cents...
Alex
 
R

RKurk

Member
Apr 20, 2004
18
0
Aptos, California
I have a Safety Devices rack and have used a homemade floor successfully, although there is some work to make it. I purchased 3/8" MDO plywood which has a very smooth surface (both sides) of a hard "paper" (more like formica) material. It is easy to cut and work with basic hand and power tools. I covered the board with a thin>medium coat of fiberglass resin. The wood is very durable by itself, better with a coat of paint, and very very durable if a coat of fiberglass resin is applied. I have used this type of set up on other racks and it lasts for years without problems. I live on the Calif. coast (cool and damp) but travel a lot to the Sierras and desert (hot and dry) and have had no problems.

I paint the final setup (over the fiberglass coating) with a light gray marine epoxy enamel on the top and a satin black on the bottom. The light gray reflects a lot of the sun's heat and stays reasonably clean looking. The black underneath blends in with the SD rack color.

The floor takes a real beating with equipment and I use it as a camera platform as well. It will take some time to build this, but it is durable, looks pretty good (not as good as the aluminum plate ones however), and functional at a relatively low cost.

Hope this is of help.

Rich Kurk
 
GotRovr

GotRovr

Well-known member
Jun 16, 2004
377
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Richard,

Thanks for the great advice, I just may try and duplicate your floor setup for my rack

I live in Aptos as well. Are you a member of Nor Cal Rover Club?

Will
 
R

RKurk

Member
Apr 20, 2004
18
0
Aptos, California
Will,

Nice to find a local Rover person (Aptos is a bit small !). No, I don't belong to the Nor Cal group. I have thought about joining but just haven't make the leap. Send me an email at rkurk@cruzio.com when you get a minute and let me know about your Rover. I can also provide more specifics-details about the rack floor if you are interested.

Thanks,

Rich K.
 
Steve

Steve

Well-known member
Apr 20, 2004
1,395
0
Eastern Shore of MD
koby said:
All I know is that there isn't much that is "tuff" about this flooring...
Click to expand...

It seems Craig that you failed to mention a couple of things. I spoke to Ron, the product manager at Off Road Tuff and he had this to say in regards to your undesirable warping.

Ron Darwish said:
The flooring will not warp. The issue you see on Craig?s truck is the result of using improper clamps not designed for the flooring. Like any other material when exposed to the heat of the sun all day it will expand slightly. The difference with the RhinoPro flooring is that when it does expand it does not exert outward pressure like aluminum or most metals. Instead the flooring will bow if the clamps do not allow for the expansion, mainly if the vehicle is parked in the sun all day . Nonetheless, the flooring will return to normal as soon as the vehicle moves or the noon sun passes and will not suffer any damage.

Anyhow as I mentioned, if you notice Craig is using his own clamping system which is not designed for the flooring. He requested a custom flooring from us (without the cut out holes) and did not want to use our clamp system as he had his own method he wanted to use for some reason. Using the clamps supplied with the flooring (pictured below) will allow for the slight expansion without the problem Craig is having. I would also like to mention that Graig has never contacted us regarding any problem he had with the flooring and this is the first time we heard of this complaint from him. Nonetheless Craig is still using the flooring as recent as last weekend, so I'm personally not sure why we have not heard from him.

The RhinoPro flooring is being used in climates such as the hot Florida sun to the New York winters and not to forget the Nevada desert with no problems. Also we use it on our trucks here in California. So all said this is not some shady product we boast, it is a truly durable high quality product that deserves its name.
Click to expand...
 

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koby

koby

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Mar 26, 2004
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Orange, CA
koby.sigmadata.net
I knew that they would blame my clamps for the warping. They gave me no such warning when I requested the undrilled flooring.

Anyhow, I knew my clamps would be blamed by those guys, which is why I didn't make any attempt to contact them.

I will add that I saw several other trucks at Rover Rendezvous with Ron's flooring using the specified clamps that were indeed warped under the sun.
 
R

Ron L

Well-known member
Mar 30, 2004
194
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52
SoCal
Typical reply from a manufacturer. I am curious to see what is said about the other trucks seen in big bear this past weekend. :rolleyes:
 
LiveAtTheEdge

LiveAtTheEdge

Well-known member
Apr 19, 2004
195
0
Lafayette, NorCal
my dads 2000 Trek competition vehicle has a safety devices low profile rack on and it came from safety devices with flooring welded on. It's like a mesh. Inch wide strips laid length and width wise leaving square openings for tieing down accross the rack. There not really strips though, it's a sheet of metal that has had squares cut out of it, the it was formed and welded on. I'll take a pic tonite and post it later, if i can get back on discoweb. its the best solution ive' seen out there.

Jack
 
stansell

stansell

Well-known member
Jun 14, 2004
364
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51
Norfolk, VA
Jack,
I had that exact same flooring on my rig. It DOESNT work (well that is). THe previous owner had walked (or placed a heavy load) on the mesh, and the weld broke. On top of that, the mesh will stretch and bow. At least that was my experience with it. Mine could have just been 'rode hard and put away wet' by the previous owner. There is something to be said by a solid piece-plywood, aluminum, poly. Any way, my 2cents.
Rob
 
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