Full length roof rack?

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Mericas_Meuth

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Hello all,

I am a new member here, first post. Have referenced this site numerous times in the past in order to fix problems with my 2003 Tahoe... It's been very helpful.

To the point.

I am looking to fit my Tahoe with a full length (meaning from as far back on the roof line as it can go, to right behind the front windshield) roof rack. Reason being is I'm into whitewater canoeing/rafting and would love the ability to run shuttle for multiple rafts at once, and that requires a pretty sturdy/large rack [emoji6].

I'm not aware of any factory produced solutions for this, but have seen many similar type racks on Toyota 4runners.

I am am all about a DIY roof rack, but I have several mental hiccups in the design stage. Namely...

1.) How to attach such a big rack to the top without having to cut into the roof (if possible), I don't think the current railing system will be sufficient to support the frontal weight of the rack (portion from the rearmost part of sunroof to right behind front windshield)
2.) If I remove the factory rails, can I utilize the factory mounting points for the new rack? Probably some fancy fabrication needed if so...
3.) How to deal with the sunroof... Probably just make a square opening in the front part of the rack
4.) How to make a support for the front part of the rack that sits right behind the front windshield... Maybe use something similar to those door jam mounts for LED bars?

I'm wanting to keep this roof rack as streamlined and low to the factory roof as possible. I am very open to any ideas about this, and I really just wanted to see if there was anyone else who has done a project like this in the past.

I'll post a picture of a good example of what I am looking for.

Thank you all for any help.20140830_135338_Richtone(HDR).jpeg7cdf80ee815fc1e5f28b5abb31a43461.jpgef860cc65ae68a73ebcfd267e9b5e4a5.jpg

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Mericas_Meuth

Mericas_Meuth

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@ladorn45

I'm using the Tapatalk app and it won't let me quote you, but I really like that, I just wish I had the option of a rain gutter mount like they show in alot of those pictures.

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ladorn45

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You can discard the cross beams and use strut mounts bolts
 
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Mericas_Meuth

Mericas_Meuth

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Has anyone ever tried taking a factory rack off of a suburban and mounting it to a Tahoe? That may allow the rails to be the entire length of the roof... I don't have a suburban with a factory rails sitting around to measure.

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ladorn45

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I don't think that will work the way you would want it to work. The suburban is basically the same as the Tahoe other then the rear being 2 feet longer. So all your mounting holes would be the same upfront and then the rails would stick out 2 feet longer in the back. If you wanted to move the suburban rails two feet forward you would have to make new holes to compensate for the change. Why not just mount the rack from front to back using the track system already on the tahoe using the uchanel bolts, and then where the rack extends where there is no rail use something like a vibration damper. SO then you don't have metal on metal. Link below as example

https://www.alibaba.com/product-detail/Rubber-Damper-Pads-Rubber-Damper-Mount_1814106673.html
 
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Mericas_Meuth

Mericas_Meuth

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Yeah that isnt a bad idea. I guess I am just trying to go for the most factory look possible.
 

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Mericas_Meuth

Mericas_Meuth

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For anyone looking to follow up on this topic, or a good forum that covers alot of off-road modifications for Tahoe's and Suburban's... Expedition Portal has a category called Full Size Domestic and covers a ton of useful info.

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