Sprinter Roof Rack Systems

The key to preventing rust on the rain gutters is lining any contact point with a rubber gasket material isolating metal to metal, or metal to paint as it may be.

It has been over six years, and I have zero rust on the five on each side rain gutter clamps on my 06. The orange/red rubber gasket material is sold at Home depot with several sheets in each package of about 4" by 6" in size. I am about to replace the rubber linings when the temps cool down a bit.

I have seen too many vans out here in Socal with roof racks rusting out the gutters to know that using a rubber gasket to protect the paint matters.

For less than $5 a package, it is cheap insurance against rusting out our vans. Thanks to all here.

jcmadeintheshade@gmail.com said:

The key to preventing rust on the rain gutters is lining any contact point with a rubber gasket material isolating metal to metal, or metal to paint as it may be.

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Agreed - and that's what I've done on my gutter mount awning brackets. So far so good but it's only been a few months.

I should have clarified more. It seems like some gutter mount feet also bend the gutters lips, cracking the paint and rusting even if there is a rubber layer. Do the Thule 420 deform the the gutters at all?

see photo I snapped of a vantech rack bending a T1N gutter.

Kite, that is not a pretty picture.

My self designed aluminum framed full roof rack distributes the weight along whole length of the rain gutter starting from just above the windshield. I had a bead of aluminum welded onto the rain gutter contact along that whole length. Before lowering the rack onto the gutter, I lined that constant bead with a stout piece of tubing to cushion the rain gutter along the whole length to prevent cutting into the caulk or whatever MB used in the rain gutter.

With five rack clamps distributed along the whole length lined with the rubber gasket material, 6 years counting and no rust.

I feel that distributing the clamp pressure along the whole length of the gutter is a good thing, compared to just having to rely upon the clamping points only.

If you are ever down here, you are welcome to stop by and have a look. I cannot post photos, and unless someone nearby wants to shoot a few pics for me, that is the only option.

I may head north this fall, or not, but if I do, maybe we can discuss racks further. There is no other like mine, not even close. Thanks to all here.

Has any one seen the new racks with flush solar mounts?

Personally not keen on gutter mounted racks on many levels (security of fitting, damage to guttering, stops an awning being fitted - and they just look so damn ugly!)

Adding a pair of tracks on the roof, similar to the later NCV3s have is much neater. I see some people have done that with 80/20; I used Seat Tracking for my T1N. Worked perfectly and I've got 4 PV Panels, a roof basket sitting on a pair of Thule Crossbars, and a LED Lightbar all mounted on the tracking

Here's my approach to "rubberizing" the clamp area of a gutter-clip rack:

Bicycle tire inner tubes (bought for this purpose)



--dick

autostaretx said:

...

Bicycle tire inner tubes (bought for this purpose)

--dick

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Dick,
I have used inner tube rubber at various times. My experience is that the sun/UV will eventually break it down.

EPDM roof membrane rubber will not break down from UV in the years we have left on the planet. If you need some pieces of EPDM for replacements just send me a PM. I have a bunch of scrap pieces in my hoard.

vic

Verdict on the Thule 420 feet: recommended
They fit the gutters perfectly, no bending. The feet are coated in a rubberized plastic that seems to protect the paint well. The feet are a little bulky with the plastic covers on but they do spread the load out over a long section of gutter so it's worth it.

I ended up installing four crossbars. Components were
2 x Thule 420 foot packs
1 x 421 extension kit
1 x 422 extension kit
2 x 65" square bars (just barely long enough
2 x 78" square bars cut down to leave a few inches outside the feet

421 is the right length leg extension (I could only find one set), but it turns out the 422 at shortest setting also work perfectly so I didn't have to cut them down as expected.

Biggest problem with these is finding them. I had to order from a couple different shops in the UK. Im sure there are still some out there....

link to manual
https://hollandbikeshop.com/images/346535-2.pdf

Oh yea, and i was hesitant to go the cheap route for a ladder (instead of a side or door mounted ladder), but am happy I bought the $80 extendable ladder from amazon. It's super easy to get to any part of the roof by leaning it against any roof rack leg.

I've been looking into this the past day or two and a helpful FB user pointed me at this, which looks like a good raingutter-mount solution:

i went a different route from the typical gutter mounting. Instead I used through bolts with high density weather stripping and fender washers inside the van with some glue/sealant. I'm lucky and work at a place where there are tons of van related products and we had a bunch of left over/incomplete Low Pro roof racks from flatline van co. I feel like it ought to work well and I really dig the way their racks go together! super easy- I did 99% alone. just needed help with the completed front half with solar. anyways, Flatline Van Co if anyone wanted to go this route

NewbieT1N said:

How are these working out for you? Any bending that you can see in the gutter?

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All is good, no rust or bending so far.

for an economical and heavy duty setup, consider using galvanized deep channel unistrut as a 10x42 frame that sits low profile in the roof well mounted on top of a well wide deep channel ... its modular and the mounting options are endless based on your needs. I have a 370watt LG panel that takes up MOST of the space but I can also slide kayaks on top with a removable roller that spans the width. the total cost ( including side ladder ) was under $300 .... still awaiting a flat Starlink dish

@alxco nice setup. Is that a skylight in front of the solar panel? If so what make/model is it and how do you like it?

tanks big rock ,

both the failed roof AC and subsequent 12x12 roof skylight were leaking therefore I carved out a bigger hole to acccomodate a regular "house skylight" ( 22x32 ) which can be opened partially ( & locked off ) to accept incoming air and also to access roof top through the inside ( by standing on top of bench seat.

As you know the rooftop of these 2006 T1N sprinters have a slight curvature which requires a "straight" frame box from which to mount the skylight.

This is where the unistrut frame came in handy to fabricate a"square" the smaller channel unistrut frame from which the skylight is supported.
A piano hinge w/ lock off positions was riveted onto the skylight frame / unistrut and in closed/partial open/fully open stops allow for several opening options

As for waterproofing, i undercut the skylight opening and curved the roof upwards to move water away from the edges, sealant was used on the corners and no leaks since install and with the heavy unusual rain we've had here in SoCal this winter

Although the "space shuttle" ( as i refer to this lovely lady ) is a passenger van w/ lots of natural lighting, the lighting from above and incoming Pacific Ocean breezes are a great welcome to the back seating/table area with the modification to this roof skylight

Cheers