GatorBite
Member
- Joined
- Feb 27, 2020
- Posts
- 40
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- 30
The main reason I bought my 2003 Tahoe was to get into overlanding. I have done some other work to the vehicle but quickly realized that even though it is a full size , there was not enough room on the inside of the vehicle and I decided I wanted to put on a roof rack. I browsed through what felt like hundreds of webpages and forums trying to find a low profile option that didn't just put a basket on the load bars. I was really looking for a design that used the extruded aluminum crossbars but eventually I realized there was nothing available that met my needs (wants?). So, I decided to design and build it myself.
I started with removing the stock load bars and side rails to see how they were attached. GM used 5 rivnuts on each side bar to mount them to the truck. After brainstorming some options I decided to purchase some L-track to see how it might work as a mounting base for new brackets and side rails.
In these photos I have laid the L-track and some crossbars on the roof to try and figure out if it might work. I found that there is a slight mounting width difference between the front, middle and rear mounting holes for the stock side rails but I was able to use 2 holes on each side of the truck that I could use as a reference to mount the L-track.
Because I did not know what the structure of the body and roof was like, I pulled off most of the interior panels to see if I would have any issues drilling additional holes through the roof to mount the L-track
I started with removing the stock load bars and side rails to see how they were attached. GM used 5 rivnuts on each side bar to mount them to the truck. After brainstorming some options I decided to purchase some L-track to see how it might work as a mounting base for new brackets and side rails.
In these photos I have laid the L-track and some crossbars on the roof to try and figure out if it might work. I found that there is a slight mounting width difference between the front, middle and rear mounting holes for the stock side rails but I was able to use 2 holes on each side of the truck that I could use as a reference to mount the L-track.
Because I did not know what the structure of the body and roof was like, I pulled off most of the interior panels to see if I would have any issues drilling additional holes through the roof to mount the L-track