Roof Racks - So Many Choices

[rzeller]

Part of our long-termed vision and plans for our newly rebuilt Zarkov Meyers Manx was to be able to do long distance travel without sacrificing (much) with the amount of luggage, spare parts, and tools that my wife and I could carry with us. Many years ago I built a storage box that I thought would meet our needs, but after completing a few long trips I quickly realized we had a lot of "stuff" and the box wasn't going to cut it. (Here is a link to the storage box build: https://www.manxclub.com/forum/viewtopi ... =80&t=3377). That had led me to wanting/needing a roof rack. So let the search begin.

Not having the necessary fabrication skills to build a rack from scratch, like Dr. Zarkov, I was focused on commercially available racks that would fit (width and length) on the roof of a Manx tub. I wasn't prepared for the hundreds of brands, shapes, and sizes that popped up in my Google search. To narrow the choices, I focused on something with a "vintage" look similar to a VW Beetle or Bus roof rack (side note, the repro VW racks wouldn't work). In a very random search return I found what I was looking for - AA Products Inc. Universal Roof Rack - Vintage Wood Slat (X11-TW-BLK). Here's a link to the product: https://www.aaproductsinc.com/products/ ... -wood-slat

Next challenge was, how to mount it?

I looked through many examples of buggies with roof racks and most of them mounted the racks on top of a hard top - which I didn't have. A quick call to the friendly voice, Winnie Meyers, at Meyers Manx (at that time) and I had secured a 3-piece fiberglass hard top - now located in CA and I'm in NC. Since the 3-piece top was the only one that could be shipped, my choice was easy. Through a series of lucky breaks I found someone that was traveling from the east coast to Meyers Manx to pick up a buggy body so I was able to get a significant reduction in shipping. Now I had my hard top.

Off to my local auto upholstery shop that made my soft top to have them fabricate me new side curtains and rear window to fit the hard top. Done, and done.

Last step, custom attachments for the hard top to my roll cage and custom mounting feet for the roof rack - all integrated together. Enter Dr. Zarkov who knocked me out 4 custom mounting feet to hold the rack to aluminum 1 5/8 couplers that hold the hard top to the roll cage. With this setup I am able to remove the bases from the couplers and take the hard top and roof rack off in about 3 minutes.

We have just completed a 2600 mile trip and were able to carry about 200 lbs of luggage, tow bar, tools, spare parts, and car cover with us. Goal accomplished.

Here is the hard top setup with couplers and side curtains:







Here is the roof rack I found that worked perfectly by size and design:





Mock-up:



The mounting feet:




1-5/8" aluminum clamps - from Wehrs Macine & Racing Products:



Fully loaded and unloaded:




Here's a link to the full Zarkov build of our buggy: https://www.manxclub.com/forum/viewtopi ... =65&t=4480