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What does everyone think of this roof rack design (regardless of vehicle ie G or Pinz)?
Do you think the solid panels are an issue in any way?
Does the raw aluminum 5 bar reflect heat like white would?
I assume it may work like a Land Rover with the safari roof to keep the inside cooler? Painting them black seems nuts to me as the black would act like an oven IMO

Unless your rack is so small that you expect most of your cargo will extend past the edge, I'd recommend a rim to hold cargo on the rack:

One or two items, put them in a corner and just a strap, maybe two, is sufficient to hold them in place. Without a rim you would need a LOT more straps and might still not have your cargo secured. Similarly, the expanded steel that is on this rack makes a great place to hook to, in any location. And surprisingly, the small shadow that the expanded steel makes is a whole lot cooler than would be expected. YMMV.

if the cross members are done with uni-strut or some kind of L-track or E-track, Lashing fore and aft combined with port and starboard would be sufficient. Not to mention a RTT can be mounted to this one with ease.

Just some food for thought but I think the solid aluminum might give a bit of lift at highway speed like a wing or catch a gust of wind like a sail at the very least it will hold water that might pool on it with your gear trapping it in. I think a grating or expanded metal would let both air and water flow through eliminating any of those problem even if they may be just slight issues.

I believe you're exactly right- the polished aluminum will reflect light and heat, while black will absorb it and radiate it later. Both would shade the actual roof. The water issue is a good point- maybe perforated aluminum would have been a better choice? At least you'd get 75% shade and allow water through.

How is water an issue?

I agree about the heat. My ex SIII Rover had the safari roof. That design is more about the air gap and shadowing the real roof more than reflecting light/heat.

My concern with racks is always weight and how that affects your center of gravity. My old rack was kept as light as possible. No tires or full fuel cans.

I agree that the color of the material is almost irrelevant; the cooling would be substantial anyway. The rack has the added convenience of its use as an observation platform. I'd also be concerned with topheaviness, and would use it to carry light, bulky stuff. I hava a K and don't like the high center of gravity. Ideally the panels would be removable in order to permit cleaning the roof. If Andre lived closer I would have already built mine.

What about all aluminum construction (the 5 bar panels are already alum) - that should make it lighter than steel and help with COG?
Looks like the panels are removable but not 'easily' - I think the use of cam screws would be better than the 6 bolts they are using for quick/easy removal

One reason I was asking as I have been looking at various roof racks and since I live in Canada part of my equation has to be snow and ice load on a 710M (would be of little concern on a K obviously) if your camping or outside for any extended period.
I could see heavy wet snow @10" deep causing some serious issues with the soft top.

Laying out material for light weight roof rack that is very easy to remove when not in use. Machines a piece of stock to fit inside conduit prior to welding. Unistrut will be used on the top.

Hoops have not been cut in picture yet. The front brackets are made from scrap pieces I had laying around which have not been cleaned up yet.

I've been pleased with mine. Its all aluminum so weighs less than 200lbs total so easy to remove if needed. The top is mostly covered in a series of buckets between the cross members. Down the center is two runs of aluminum square tubing. One carries antenna cables and the other carries power to lights.

Here's a photo from above and a few from the sides. There's more photos at http://facebook.com/sarpinz if you're interested. There's also a few in another thread on the forum here.










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Gadgetfreak,
Do you have a pic from the rear?
Thanks

Here's a couple.







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Added a new piece to roof rack today. Will mount High lift jack to it tomorrow for testing.

I like the sticker placement