Defender custom aluminium roofrack mounts

**austravel** · 14th April 2013, 02:18 PM

Hey lads and ladettes. So a friend of a friend has a defender 90 and has asked me to make some mounts for the aluminium roof basket he has.

I did a search on the net for custom ones, but all were in steel. So, out camr pencil and paper to design one from scratch. I went through about three designs before I came to the most effective and simplest design. (Hopefully it works! Haha)

The vehicle and rack.
uploadfromtaptalk1365916550748.jpg

The mount design. Just a mock up.
uploadfromtaptalk1365916618652.jpg

This is also first time I've uploaded pics in a thread. And doing it on my phone, so fingers crossed it works.

**austravel** · 14th April 2013, 02:24 PM

Edit

**austravel** · 14th April 2013, 02:30 PM

I started with the outside clamp. It is un-equal angle. 3mm x 50mm x 100mm.

uploadfromtaptalk1365917320062.jpg

Is obviously too big so I trimmed it.

uploadfromtaptalk1365917358742.jpg

And the comparison.

uploadfromtaptalk1365917392250.jpg

My previous post is what it looks like now. (I stuffed up on photos etc haha)

**austravel** · 14th April 2013, 02:35 PM

Now as I am tapping a hole into aluminium for the stainless bolts to go into. I decided to make the back plate double thick so the bolt had plenty of thred to bite onto. (Maybe over engineering, but nothings too strong for a 4x4). So out came the tig welder and got it all in place. At 6mm thick it took some bl**dy heating thats for sure!

uploadfromtaptalk1365917664619.jpg

Next will be to drill and tap hole on an upward angle. But its sunday and so I can't be stuffed doing anymore today haha

**juddy** · 14th April 2013, 03:21 PM

Originally Posted by austravel

Edit

My wife asks, whats the Tat says?

**austravel** · 14th April 2013, 04:18 PM

Originally Posted by juddy

My wife asks, whats the Tat says?

haha you know i uploaded them and then thought, how long until someone asks haha.

Ok so on my right forearm is "No greater love hath a man than this, that he shall lay down his life for his friends. john 15:13.

and on my left forearm is "never above you, never below you, always beside you.

I was in Afghanistan...and well i think you can put two and two together.

**juddy** · 14th April 2013, 04:26 PM

Thanks for that I will pass it on to her.

They have a meaning to you and thats Important...

**austravel** · 14th April 2013, 04:29 PM

Originally Posted by juddy

Thanks for that I will pass it on to her.

They have a meaning to you and thats Important...

Thats ok.

And yer your right. I'm not a big tattoo man. But I wanted something that was always with me so this was it.

**Judo** · 14th April 2013, 08:30 PM

Where it sits inside the gutter, I assume you're putting some rubber in between?

**roverrescue** · 14th April 2013, 08:41 PM

I guess its early days which is good cos you can modify...
IMO a single angled bolt threaded into aluminium of any grade will not be a fantastic long term solution for an offroad rack mount.
Issues I see are the ?3mm angle will open with load and abuse, and the single angled bolt will not adequately clamp in the two required vectors.
Can you mod the bracket to include bolts that clamp downards on the legs and inwards on your plate?

S

Thread: Defender custom aluminium roofrack mounts

Thread Tools

Defender custom aluminium roofrack mounts

Bookmarks

Bookmarks

Posting Permissions