hi guys
Well now that i'm caught up on maintenance i've started to buy some toys for the disco. I picked up a bent/damaged Safety Devices rack from a coworker who swears blind that it wasn't her that probably tried to drive her Discovery into a parking garage

The top rails on the rack are quite severely bent, most noticeably in the area where the rack follows the Disco's roofline upwards.

I have lots of plans for the roof of the car, including a Maggiolina tent thats going to sit on crossbars that attach to those rails so i want to ensure that any repair that i do, is actually concerned with the functionality of the rack and not just for cosmetic purposes.

Has anyone repaired a SD rack before and if so were they just straightening out the rails, or would they weld a new rail on instead and cut off the old one?

My concern is whether straightened rails would lose their strength and be unable to support a heavy rooftop tent with 2 adults and a child.

Thoughts ?
time to visit a metal fabricator ?

p.s sorry for the bad angle on the pic. It had already gotten dark in Seattle before i thought that a picture would be helpful to ask the forums opinion.

 

I like the shop idea, they'll know how much can be re-positioned and what will need cut and patch.

 

Do you have skills working with metal? If not, I say bring it to a local metal fabber shop in town. Can't be that much to repair. For a better price, ask on the of the guys if they want some side work. While off the clock

 

just about any wielding shop should be able to cut out the tubing and replace it

 

best bet, for strength, is to scarf cut and replace. fairly cheap repair for most shops. I'd stay away from bending back and fourth, too much will fo sho weaken the integrity.