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Jason_ODonnell's avatar
Jason_ODonnell
Explorer
Apr 04, 2017

Mounting roof racks on 1990 Dodge Xplorer Van

HI Folks. I want to mount roof racks on my 1990 Dodge Xplorer van to carry paddle boards and surfboards on top. I bought a nice Thule rack with tall towers but 3 different RV/truck places have declined to mount it expressing concerns about the integrity of the prefab fiberglass top.

Does anyone have experience drilling through the fiberglass and mounting racks? How did it go? The rack gutter replacement I bought comes with a steel backing plate. But since the RV places won't do it, it has given me pause about ruining the prefab top...

Any advice or experience would be much appreciated.

We're currently looking into getting a custom rack made where the mounts extend down the sidewall and could attach to the metal wall instead of the fiberglass

Thanks,
Class B
  • Jason_ODonnell's avatar
    Jason_ODonnell
    Explorer
    Apr 06, 2017
    Thanks for the reply! Yes, it does, but they are about 24" down the side and I am not sure about their strength. I am talking with a Van rack supplier about their tall towers to see if that can work. I have pics but don't know if I can post them here. Thanks for the suggestion

    Jason
  • PAThwacker's avatar
    PAThwacker
    Explorer
    Apr 06, 2017
    Does your Dodge Van have the rain gutters or does the fiberglass roof delete them. Many types for Van Racks with high towers are out there. Most notably MB sprinters with high roofs equipped with 14" high rain gutter tower racks.
  • Jason_ODonnell's avatar
    Jason_ODonnell
    Explorer
    Apr 04, 2017
    Oh cool! Thanks for the reply! I see, so you DID go through the fiberglass for the mounting brackets for the rack itself, but then you smartly used the more stable metal for the tie downs, which is where all of the stress and force will be focused.

    Great idea to just use the FG to basically support the racks and then the steal to support the load.

    I bought a Thule rack system with their artificial rain gutters which are basically a steal bracket.

    Thanks so much for the info and encouragement. Much appreciate!
  • GaryKH's avatar
    GaryKH
    Explorer
    Apr 04, 2017
    I did that once on my 1985 GMC camper van, in order to carry 2 canoes up top. I just used a pair of old fashioned gutter rail racks. I fabricated a piece of aluminum into the shape of a gutter(about a foot long), with about a 2" flange on top of it. I drilled through the made up gutter and the F/G top, inserted through bolts and made a backing plate of aluminum for the inside. It's a 2 person job to get it all assembled. I then drilled some more holes into the vans raingutter and installed some carabiners through the holes. This was for tying down my 2 canoes, as you don't want to rely on just the F/G, but rather the vans' steel body. It worked great! Sorry, no pics.

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