M1008 and M1009 Owners... Roof Rack Possibility?

[RickTheEngineer]

Good day everyone! I just wanted to throw this out there as clarification before I ask my question. I checked around the forum, as well as other sites if anyone has done what I want to work on, and there is little to no information out there on the matter. I want to put a roof rack on my M1009 Blazer, but not just any roof rack. I bed rail utility rack. But here in lies my question. I want to know if any M1008 pickup owners have also seen the M1009 variant in person and may know if the bed rails on the M1009 are significantly weaker in build strength/metal gauge? I plan to use a rack like this or similar, however I do not know if the Blazer bed rails can take the strain. I know some cutting and welding will be needed to the rack to make it all work out dimensionally. The only thing I plant to carry up there is a rootop tent and some spare food/tools on a long trip. So no more than 200lbs tops. Also, the rack is rated for 1,700lbs, which is much more than I would use it for, so do you think that removing the bulkhead bar safe to do? (See the manual I posted below, you will see a sideways mounded bar, which would interfere with the bench seat. I wanted to know what you'd think if it were not installed, since I have seen some manufacturers such as "Rack-It" do not even have them)

Here is the site

http://www.contractors-solutions.net/Pro-II-Truck-Rack-for-Pickups-with-Caps.aspx

Here is the manual

http://www.contractors-solutions.ne...oMaster/Pro-II-truck-rack-instructions-KS.pdf

If this ain't worth it, what is the best thing to do? I wanted to avoid using the shell as a mounting point since I read a lot of folks didn't like how weak it was. Plus I may want to use a soft top from time to time.

 

[cucvrus]

I made a roof rack for Crown of Thorns M1009 out of a bulk fluid steel skid. I made it 20 years ago. The frames I see now are round pipe and welded together. This type was square tubing and bolted together. I could have made it 100 + ft long if I kept adding sections and bolting the together. If you want to haul 200# something like this is easy to bolt fast. I have it held down with 12- 3/8" carriage bolts. I doubt it is going anywhere. K5 Blazer roofs are pretty tough. I have picked up a few by the roof with a forked loader. They take the straight lift but if I drove over rough terrain with the entire vehicle hanging under the roof. The roof tore and broke. Just so you know I did this out of necessity to load a car crusher. I did not just go lift a K5 and drive around to see what it could take before it broke. I have hauled 6 water cans full and 2 spare tires. It makes no road noise when empty. depending what you put up there it will hum or vibrate. Especially straps. I removed my roof rack and had it powder coated a few years back and basically have it there for novelty now. I added the tie down hooks also. I would not tie anything heavy to them. But they are there and not laying around getting lost. The rack you are showing I feel is to complex for a K5 and if you want to remove the top it will be a real head banger and the canvas top at over $1000. will not like being rubbed against that rack and making the mounting rail fit for the canvas will be a night mare. I think you may look at a class 3 hitch carrier to put behind the truck. You can wire one of them very easily with lights and fill it with hundreds of pounds. I have one of them also. I even made a small ladder that fit on the rrof rack. I must have left that laying in New York state somewhere. It has not been seen in years. Good Luck. This is my opinion and nothing is 100% accurate to specs But it worked for me and is very inexpensive.

 

[Recovry4x4]

The bed rails are not significantly weaker. Statically, the rack would be fine up there. There are pins that locate the top which may occupy the same real estate as the rack though.

 

[ssdvc]

I have seen CUCVRUS's roof rack and it looks good. I was thinking of something like what you want to do. I have seen several Jeeps with that type of system supporting the roof rack. However, as Rick said, the soft top does rub in spots and it does wear through from flapping. However, if you don't take the hardtop off, I think you could build something that hugs the top closely and will also support a good bit of weight. It would also look great.

I would build it so it extended over the cab a bit for additional space up top (and for some lights!). I was also wondering if one could adapt a ladder (like a land rover) out back on a swing away hinge for easy access. Hey, just a thought.

 

[cucvrus]

I was going to mount folding reefer steps to the side. But when I seen how awkward it was to get things up and down from the roof rack. I just left it there for esthetic value. Loading and unloading anything in and out of the M1009 rear gate and roof area is a PITA. I have a very hard time as I grew older and have a replacement knee. Off subject. Barn doors would have been the cats meow on the M1009.

 

[RickTheEngineer]

Interesting points everyone. Thank you all for thorough answers, both with what I asked and with your builds. I'm still thinking about what I'd do, however as for the roof rack I was interested in purchasing, I too think it could make clearances a little small for soft tops, but I'm still very much in the infancy of my plans haha. As mentioned above, if the bed rails on the M1009 are comparable to the M1008, then I'd think it could be modified to work if I were to make a bed rail mounted rack. I did have one question for those that have seen or used such a rack though. Is the cross member in the item I listed for overload protection? Can it be safely removed?

 

[ssdvc]

Barn doors would have been awesome. Rick, I am surprised you have not taken a shot and tried to engineer a pair from a Suburban to fit.

 

[cucvrus]

Had it not been for the removable top. I would have attempted. I had a set of the 4 part doors from a 2000 Astro van and a set of 1991 Suburban Barn doors. But that went south quickly. It was NOT worth the effort. It took me 15 years to design a pickup bed cab combination for the M1009. I mean one that looks original and is not a hacked up mess. All I ever see is that hacked up forestry conversion that they do. Not for me. I could return my M1009 to full stock in less then a days work. That will never happen unless someone shows me the money. I have about 20 3/16" holes that I drilled to mount the bed wall to the interior walls of the M1009. I don't want to steal his thread. But I do have the cab clearance lights and a small roof rack for the Mule M1009. That is work in progress. I am working on some side racks for the rear also. Summer 2017. Thank you.I still like my Mule M1009. It looks best topless. That snow blew in the bed. I did not need to add it.

 

[The FLU farm]

If this ain't worth it, what is the best thing to do? I wanted to avoid using the shell as a mounting point since I read a lot of folks didn't like how weak it was. Plus I may want to use a soft top from time to time.

Why not build a rack that's bolted to the sides of the body, rather than to the top of the bed sides? A partial exoskeleton, if you will. It would eliminate any top sealing issues.

 

[peglegwillie]

Very good post. Gave me better info on install of a roof rack. Also same here bout age, plus lost left leg BK AMP in 74, just had right knee replaced. Aging isn't for the weak!!

 

[peglegwillie]

I agree barn boors would be great. Funny they put them on as option on newer two door Tahoe !

 

[The FLU farm]

I agree barn boors would be great. Funny they put them on as option on newer two door Tahoe !

Easy for them to do, since the Tahoe (like the older Suburban) has a steel roof.
One of many projects that never materialized; I got a Suburban with the intent of grafting its (partial) roof, sides, and barn doors onto my M1009.

 

[cucvrus]

Not worth the effort. I gave it a try. I had several issues with alignment and gave up. It was the upper hatch that was the trick. I seen Plexiglas capper windows. It just didn't do it for me. I used a scrap M1009 as a proto type. Scrap it since then. I even tried the Astro van split doors idea. Not doing it. Hack job and a massive fail.

 

[nsh57]

Here's my roof rack. It weighs about 80 pounds and carries a spare tire and fuel can daily. Roof bag worked well to for a trip out west last summer. I've had over 400 pounds up there for short trips with no problems. I do check the top regularly for stress cracks. I love having the spare up top and extra storage for camping trips. Works great at the drive in theater too!

 

[Mainsail]

I put some rails on my topper to support the roof-top tent in the summer. The trickiest part was determining the center of the topper so both rails would be evenly spaced. If I had screwed that up I would have had to buy a whole new top due to my mild OCD about those things.

The rails need three holes on each end, and they lined up with the three steps (thicknesses) on the interior of the top- so one bolt went through three layers, one went through two, and one went through where it was only one layer thick. You'd have to go look at the inside of the topper to understand that.