This vehicle prep was a little different to most. With the customer having already installed a Roll-N-Lock Roller Shutter on the load bed of the vehicle our team had to get inventive in the way of how to install a requested bakkie rack and Darche Hi-View 1400 roof tent on top of the load area of the vehicle. With no channels to run bolts down the only viable option was to bolt through the roller shutter. Having measured and measured again, there was plenty of room to go through without hampering the mechanism of the shutter or damaging the car at all. We measured, marked it up and then drilled through. 

By utilising Front Runner modular Slimline II Roof Rack System we managed to invent our own kit to use to install on to this vehicle. We chose a 1475mm x 1358mm rack tray, with their roller top feet (designed to be used in mounting channels) and then a set of their mounting tracks, usually designed for going on canopies or trailers. 

These chosen products didn't slot together as perfectly as hoped. Our team had to fabricate a number of bars to slide into the channels of the mounting tracks as well as a number of reinforcing bars to go on the underside of the roller shutter to help distribute weight through the entire installation better. Once made the products slid together with ease and the rack was dropped on and bolted up. 

As mentioned in previous blog posts, the Front Runner Slimline II Roof Rack system has a lip around the edge. To install on of our Darche Hi-View Roof Tents we used a Tent Mounting kit from Front Runner to lift the tent by 30mm so that the tent has clearance over the edge of the Bakkie Rack. 

See pictures below.