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Originally Posted by Danny74
I believe, the most people think along the same lines that I do. That we want to put a rack on our extended cab, but rather than go through all the work and hassle of piecing together a system or completely custom fabricating something,. And if there is no complete, ready to go kit available, we wish to find a rack on another vehicle that we can do some slight modifications to that would work on our truck.
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Here's a perspective from someone who does upfitting of vehicles everyday, for years, multiple parts options, on multiple choices on several vehicle platforms without discounting your own perspective(s). What you mention here as far as "all the work and hassle of piecing together a system" you totally contradict in the second half of your comment, just wanted to point that out. Yanking a rack off of another vehicle and figuring out a way to make it work on another is exactly the same thing involved, the only variable that changes is new parts vs old parts, and the perceived value of either; and that doesnt mean cheap is good and or of any quality whether relying on the component itself or the work involved in securing it.
We've seen people miss-load a rack made for the vehicle itself and because of improper loading or more prevent, overloading, watch that rack come right off and we're talking name brand racks designed and made for those vehicles.
If that were the case, every rack would be of one type, design, and capacities and everyone would just have to figure out a way to make it work on their vehicle platform. Outside of that, clearly you haven't taken into consideration all the variables; static weight vs dynamic weight being number one concern. Just because a component that works on one vehicle, this case being a rack, doesn't necessarily mean it works exactly the same on another vehicle. Just like when we do lift kits. Out of a hundred trucks even with similar kits and or components done, I've yet to see two come out exactly identical.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Danny74
The frontier is only holding about 145 lb. Someone mentioned, & believes the Aesthetics is not that great. I for one disagree, and love the way the Frontiers roof rack looks. I think that the frontier would be the best roof rack to put on a ranger, maybe cutting it down a few inches. Also I wonder where the weakness and that rack would be, maybe it might be possible to strengthen it. But it certainly is the cheapest option, finding a roof rack from another vehicle at the salvage yard taking it off and putting it on our Ranger. I'm willing to bet that the majority of people that want a roof rack would be preferring that way.
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Here's where Static loads and dynamic loads begin to make sense. For example, The Front Runner bed racks, can easily hold well over 1600 lbs in combination of the rack and the supporting mounts. But that doesn't mean the side rails of the bed of the trucks will support that weight even when evenly distributed around.
In the sense of a "Roof Rack" The mounting points matter so here's what you'll find. the 145lbs is Static weight, meaning standing still it can hold XXX.XX amount of weight, (145lbs). The dynamic weight, or what some people refer to "working weight" is the weight load while the vehicle is in motion. The reason for the difference is that when moving, your vehicle is turning, accelerating and braking, which all exert lateral forces on the top of your vehicle, and can make it unstable, when driving. In other words, when your vehicle is stationary, the steel frame or Frontier rack can easily take the weight of 145lbs. but while moving that will be significantly lower.
I don't know what size wheel and tires you have but when I see OE racks like the Frontier and see a spare tire mounted up there with a 33" or larger I avoid them. My trucks run on average 17" wheels with 33" to 35" mud tires. My 34" tires with 17" aluminum wheels, with 38oz of Ride-On material inside actually weigh in at 102lbs with full air. which I guarantee is over the dynamic weight load capability of the OE Nissan Frontier rack by possibly 20-30lbs alone. Not exactly a safe situation. I made a post above with a video link, it's full of valuable experience and information, you might like it.
The Frontier rack is severely limited in its own right on the vehicle it was meant for, same as the explorer rack, add in modifications of cutting and welding and you might make the rack handle more weight, but not the vehicle itself and that is further compounded by the fact of you will be taking a pre-existing component from another platform with a fixed anchor point from that vehicle. If that only allows you to mount to sheet metal, that's an accident waiting to happen unless you're just mounting a rack on the roof just to pose next to a near empty and un-functional rack. Even taking to task the fabrication of a bracket to widen or shorten can alter and change weight distribution and capacity. Back at square one.
Without going for a hard sell, a safe and reliable means of securing a rack with components meant to mount where you needed them to, the ability to have or even change out some brackets to alter or customize the height with semi-permanent mounting or legs, and create a rack that works for the specific size needed, add in expedition bars whether just along the sides, front, or all of the rack IF you wanted a basket style rack, and or have almost 75-80 accessories meant to make cargo latching and storage solutions dramatically simpler, highly functional, even safer, are where the benefits start to shine. Add in the quality and or extra options of adding in more slats to make a platform that you could setup for photography tripods or even remove the rack when needed and add in just a set of crossbars. the point is multi functionality is key. Anything you can use to serve more than one function or purpose without locking yourself in should be considered more than a benefit. Weight is always the concern. And if it also looks good,.. bonus!
You might be looking at it from the perspective of ONLY costs.. to myself when I am on the clock for a customer, time is money and far out weighs many product costs as the guys doing the work and their time, even my own time costs far more than trying to reinvent the wheel. And my job is to get the customer what they want within a realistic manner, not sacrifice quality, safety, or service. Cost is a moot point when you find value in everything else.
In short, like I said you're doing the same things only choosing new parts or older parts, and purely on the basis you think you're going to save some money whether that thought is short term or long term depends on how many corners you cut everywhere else to save a dollar or even time.