Roof Rack Storage

There are quite a few companies out there that offer storage boxes for the roof racks. Many of those companies really like their products. Maybe they are worth it, I don’t know. What I do know is that I only needed water-resistant storage. Surely I could find something that wasn’t so expensive.

Jason Fazio Photography’s Racked Delica L300

I’ve been in need of some additional storage. Not that I needed more room, I just found that a lot of what I was carrying was necessary to have, but not necessary to have inside or often. Think things like tools, recovery equipment, chairs, camping equip.

I first started with adding lid limiters

I plan to add solar panels to the top of the boxes in the future. With that being said, I needed a way to ensure the boxes didn’t open too far and destroy the solar panels. I decided to start with some simple cable limiters.

LED light / Mount concept

I bought a few clips that go to garage door openers. I planned to rivet these underneath the lid so that the lights would shine downward onto the stored gear inside the box.

The Clips riveted on quite easily. Tho, I did have to drill the hole out just a bit in order to get the rivet to pass through. Marking the holes was the most difficult part simply due to the design of the clips.

The ends of the clips hang down a little bit, but I do not foresee this to be a problem. If it does create an issue, I’ll address it then. They seem sturdy and aren’t sliding around at all. The lights are easily removed for charging.

The rooftop box interior lighting comes on after dusk but only when they sense motion. I’ve had them mounted for a few months and have not recharged them yet. So far so good.

POTENTIAL ISSUES:

*Thinking through all of this, I could foresee items in the box shifting and setting the motion sensors off thereby causing the light to come on while the box is closed. Maybe this happens, maybe it doesn’t. Either way, I am sure I’ll manage.
*I may end up with water passing through where the rivets were placed. However, the holes are pretty much perpendicular to the ground where they pass through the box, so if I do, it’ll likely be minimal. So far, I’ve seen no evidence of any leak at all.

Sneak Peek

Sneak Peek

Look closely at this image and you will see hints at my next two Five Billion Star Hotel blog posts.