Having never being satisfied with my Expedition roof rack and the market not really having the solution i was looking for (even more limited sinceine is a 90), I decided to work on a solution. Key aspects I was looking to accomplish:
1. Heavy duty (needs to be able to take a bump from a tree)
2. Complete roof perimeter protection including alpine glass3. Lightweight
4. Modern T slot cross bars for ease of mounting items5. Provisions for front mounted lights and limb risers6. Contoured design to follow body lines.
7. Super low profile (other racks are way too tall)

With this in mind and some inspiration from the g4/safety devices racks of thw past and a bit from the NAS roll cage, i went to work.
Material: lightweight and strong. Has to be thick enough to compliment the large size of the body, but not too thick to look like a roll cage. Opted for 6061 aluminum 1.25" diameter tubing with 1/4 wall thickness.

Lots of tubing rolling, bending and welding we had a profile. We then added supports and some aluminum t slot extrusions on the rear section to blend into the design.

Finish: this is where we do not cut corners. Aluminum by nature wants to reject coatings, so we had to go with the best guy in town. Many of us have seen powdercoated aluminim items like outdoor furniture peel and flake over time. I do not want that to happen. The process involes proper sand blasting to provide a "tooth" to the aluminum and to get rid of the natural oxide layer that forms. Then a special primer is applied. Then any imperfections are corrected. Finally, the powder coat is applied and baked in a large oven. We chose a finish called Caveman Black which has a very slight texture like very fine sand paper to compliment the bumper (same finish) hood decal, and plastic flares and trim.


Notes:
1. My vehicle does not have the clear sight mirror, so i did not need to provision for it. If so equipped, it will be provisioned.
2. My vehicle does not have a sunroof so we did not provision for it. If so equipped, it will be provisioned. Center cargo bars will be removable to allow sunroof and canvas top to be operated. Optional elevated basket will be offered if requested.
3. With nothing mounted to the rack, there is less wind noise than my original expedition rack (until i added our deflector to the expedition rack, then it is about the same as our new rack). I was pleasantly surprised by this. I was expecting more noise. It might be how low profile it is.
4. The entire rack is not taller than the factory roof fin antenna! So, those parking decks and garage doors should not be an issue5. I have not tested excessive weight on the cross bars, but i assume it will at least match the expo rack rating.
6. The fromt bar is great for mounting lights or light bars. Has 4 tabs on ths bar. I always felt that the current offerings of racks never took advantage of the front roof area.
7. Mounting requires no cutting or drilling. The a pillar trims need to be removed, and nut certs installed in existing holes to mount the front supports. A bit of shaving is required on the plastic a pillar trim support to give clearance for brackets. The other 6 mounts attatch to the factory roof rails.8 . Will be compatible with the LK8 rear ladder (possibly will replace the existing upper mount) and the factory raised air intake.
9. The 110 version is in the works.
​​​​​​​10. An accessory rear ladder is in the works
11. Currently we are building these in house to suit. We require the vehicle at our shop to purchase. The customer has the ability to make requests for specific features that they want on the rack to provide a custom solution for them including color and finish.
12. Pricing is still being finalized. Currently looking for a 110 customer to get the 1st 110 rack. Being 1st gets a prototype cost that is usually way less than the finished product. Mine is the prototype for the 90.

 

Best roof rack I've seen yet! I suspect there's now a "Cannonball Run" of sorts with 110 owners heading to Virginia in hopes of being the lucky first prototype

Well done!

 

What did total weight wind up being for the 90?

 

Stunning fabrication, has all the bells and whistles. I’ve been mentally flipping back and forth between all the racks available and while each has its pros, the cons are what has held me back from pushing the button on a purchase. This certainly looks like the one that checks all the boxes. Good protection all around, low profile, sturdy looks, adaptable to any carry needs. If I had the time to drive up to VA, I would spin wheels. Unfortunately, I’ll have to wait until they are offered for sale. And the color, Caveman Black, is apropos for a rugged vehicle like our Defenders. Makes me picture hairy knuckles dragging on the ground. Great job!

 

Looks really great. The low profile is really excellent.

Having to remove cross members to allow the sunroof to open would be prohibitive for me.

For the clear sight mirror, will the design by tweaked to facilitate the shark fin?

 

Don't you have sides to make it like a basket?

 

As in the OP. Yes clear sight provision if needed. The sunroof equipped trucks will just leave the required cross bars removed. It will have less cargo room, but stay low profile. Qe can add a taller basket to allow more cargo

 

Raised rails for basket look can be added to design if wanted. Also an accessory basket can be added to existing cross bars.

 

Sarek you are essentially my Land Rover Hero!

Also PS in case you weren't aware, you got a couple nice shout outs on the "Underpowered Hour" Land Rover podcast last week.

 

That's impressive work!

Matt