Thread: Defender gutters - cracking

On my last trip we had problems with the roof racks coming off over big bumps. We run with a roof pod, which does get some stuff in it but it is relatively light by the standards of some people and would be within the rated roof load.

However the problem was that the gutter is stronger where it is supported than in other places. If you pick the points immediately above the pillars it doesn't move, but in the middle of the door gap I managed to work out it was flexing enough to allow the roof rack to pop off.

Obviously the more mounting points you have the better. I'm going to re-arrange my setup to have the bars over the hard points for the next trip.

The cracking that you see in the sealant is nothing. It's just they paint the sealant and obviously it moves under the paint and cracks.

I had my roof crack across the join between the front and back halves. They fixed that, but covered the whole car in overspray (the Bump Shop). Watch that with them.

Originally Posted by dm_td5

I knew I'd seen pic's of your rack but thought it easier to ask

I know what you mean about the full length rail support, its a very unresolved question. My preference is for the Hannibal because of the longitudinal luggage rails and having see dullbird and muddmech's one I was very impressed with it. The RackMaster would be my second choice.

Thanks Greylandy - but as I say - there does seem to be disagreement as to the benefit of this full rail system. You have admitted yourself that all your Defenders have had cracked gutters!

Originally Posted by Scallops

Thanks Greylandy - but as I say - there does seem to be disagreement as to the benefit of this full rail system. You have admitted yourself that all your Defenders have had cracked gutters!

Indeed, but I firmly believe that any half or full size rack will cause hairline cracks in the gutter paint, with or without a supporting rail. My previous rack was a Safety Devices one, they don't use the full length gutter support. As with the Hannibal rack it also resulted in a few hairline cracks around the mounting legs.




The rackmaster is probably the lightest on the market and if you don't overload it, I doubt you will have any issues with the cracks becoming more serious or causing corrosion issues.