Yakima-Style Towers?

[darinb]

FJoel previously said:

The regular ones for hi-lifts are... I kind of slowed progress on the modified ones now that San Frantastico has the yakima adapter solution.

Oh no! I'm holding off on buying a rack for my new FJ....waiting for your modded Dom mounts...I like Fantastico's design but I'm concerned about the Yakima landing pad--isn't it all plastic?

--Darin

[FJoel]

darinb previously said:

Oh no! I'm holding off on buying a rack for my new FJ....waiting for your modded Dom mounts...I like Fantastico's design but I'm concerned about the Yakima landing pad--isn't it all plastic?

--Darin

They are plastic I believe. Okay, I'll try to get the loose ends all tied up and release them...

Glad there is still interest. Thanks

[oldskoolboarder]

I'm still in line!

[SanFrantastico]

Yeah - the Yakima Landing Pads are 100% plastic. The official rating on a 2 crossbar system is 160 pounds.

[FJHokie]

I'm still real interested in these. Need to be ready for ski season!

[F@kken FJ]

fall is here already.....and i told the dealer "no-no" to stock rack!!! how close are the mounts to production?!?

[FJoel]

I told them the same no-no.

I'll start a thread with the revised design, get some feedback, and we'll do the group buy.

[oldskoolboarder]

I'm ready for the group buy!!

[83841]

Count me in.......Can we start a group buy list?

[FJoel]

oldskoolboarder previously said:

I'm ready for the group buy!!

83841 previously said:

Count me in.......Can we start a group buy list?

I'm glad you guys have so much faith in me, but you haven't even seen renders yet!

I've made it, if all goes well and the fit is precise, removable. I don't want to run a rack in the city, I like the smooth white top. But when I go wheeling I'd love to throw gear up there! So we are looking at a few pieces, all universal. I'll explain better in a moment.

1. Main mount: This will be a flat Dom mount with a threaded hole (stainless insert so as not to wear out) and radiused slot in it. You will use a stainless M12 (beefy and rust free) bolt to attach the second mounting part to the roof here, along with a set screw that will lock up the mount even more from rotating. All assembled it couldn't rotate anyway, but I like overdone. The beauty of this is that when you remove the rack, you will have almost invisible flush covers, that will be bolted on by stainless cap screws. Much better solution for no rack than Toyota's little clippy things.

2. Pivot mount: Will allow the 3rd piece (explained below) to pivot, as each and every set is a slightly different angle. This makes all the parts universal, and keeps your cost down. Also, better for replacing and ordering. This piece will twist along the radiused slot for alignment across the roof, and allow the 3rd part to angle itself so that both left and right mounts meet the bar at a perfect 90 degree angle.

3. Bar mount: This is the part that will house the bar. This is what I am finalizing now, as I had a better idea for a lock and release system that will aid in the "removability." This will be much more streamlined than the the original clunkers I had as prototypes.

4. Cross bar: Initially only left to right bars will be released, with longitudinal bars coming out after. I will design and make a full set of accessory mounts as well.

Now the finishing... the bars will be powder coated, as I am not about to machine 4 ft long bars :jawrop: and the extruded finish is not really suitable for a cosmetic anodize.

We could anodize everything for wear tear and corrosion resistance, then powder coat everything for a cosmetic finish. Or we could just powder coat everything. Thoughts and comments please!