WTB Roof Rack / Cross bars / Kayak rack

Hi there,

Just bought a 2006 Silverado 2500HD Crew cab. It has a 6.5 foot bed. I'm adding a camper shell, and I need a roof rack and bars to bolt to that(right?) to transport my Scupper Pro. If anyone has something like this, please let me know. Any suggestions are welcome, because I know nothing about this stuff and really don't want to screw up my truck.

Thanks
napajustin

So just as an intro, the basic rack system is a set of adapters specific to your car/truck, towers that use the adapters and connect to the bars, bars, and fittings for the toys you attach to the bars (like kayak saddles, bike racks, etc).

Off the rack options:

If you're buying your shell new, you may be able to get a factory installed rack system. Some shops can install tracks on your camper shell to hold the towers, which spread the load over a wide area.

There are a lot of used shells out there that already have racks built in too.

DIY:

A common, and relatively inexpensive method is a set of Yakima 1A rain gutter towers, round bars, and some raingutter adapters for your shell. Make sure that your shell can handle the load though. Some fiberglass shells are thin. I'm a bit wary of this method because the rain gutter adapters put the load on the screws holding the adapter to the shell.

I'd recommend looking into some older Yakima SST towers. Like the modern Q towers, they have flat bases meant for a car's roof. Unlike the Q towers (and better for it) the base plate is steel instead of plastic. You can drill a couple holes in the base plate, drill through the shell, and mount to a home-fabricated plate inside the shell. Here's what I did with my camper, but with U bolts to the camper frame instead of a plate inside the shell. Not the most elegant solution, but the shell is going to rip apart at the seams before the towers come off.

I'm an advocate of doing it myself too, because I don't really trust the 16 year olds working at the local rack shop.

Hey, thanks much for the feedback. I'd rather do it myself as well. I'm still looking for a used shell AND rack stuff.

Thanks,
Justin

Glad to help. One issue you may have if you use plain bars like me (I'm not a big fan of the saddles) is that the kayak may touch the cab of the truck. I'm not concerned about the paint job on my truck, so I don't really care, but on your newer truck, I'm guessing you will.

I have two pairs for Yakima A1 Raingutter Towers (used) and the body brackets (new) that I am looking to unload. I am pretty open to a price. All can be shipped. You can see in the little drawing in the 2nd link for the brackets how they attach to a shell. total DIY. Bars are simple to get on CL.

http://www.rei.com/product/490005/yakima-1a-raingutter-towers-set-of-4/?cm_mmc=cse_PLA-_-pla-_-4900050016&mr:trackingCode=CBF180BF-B6AE-DE11-93DB-0019B9C043EB&mr:referralID=NA&mr:device=c&mr:adType=pla&mr:ad=54042182680&mr:keyword=&mr:match=&mr:filter=70911770080&msid=hV2FC219_dc|pcrid|54042182680|


and


http://www.rei.com/product/494242/yakima-wide-body-brackets-1-pair