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Not to be outdone, the Chinese promptly copied it. These copies are available under quite a few different brands (Bison, TMS, Cabela, etc.). I recommend the copies, as they are cheaper and the paint is a simple satin black; the Curt's paint is more of a gray.
The copies are not structurally perfect, though; certain dimensions are slightly different from the Curt racks.
which is how I created the Mother. Between the Curt and the copies, the lengthwise center tubes don't line up, so you can't quite mix and match between the Curt ends, for example, and the copy extensions.
I bought the base rack and two extensions. The result is impressive, and fits the top of the GL just about perfectly:
The clamps that hold the rack to the crossbars need to go on the end segments, not the extensions, and work out to a nearly perfect spacing.
I don't know if it was manufacturing errors or just luck, but the rack arches up slightly through the extensions. Any load placed only in the center will thus flatten out the rack.
I did a few tweaks in the installation:
These being low-budget racks, there's a bit of an issue with water getting in the joints where the ends are bolted to the extensions - or to each other, if you don't use extensions. They're just painted mild steel, both the Curt and the copies, so if you're going to leave the rack on and out in the rain, you'd better seal the joints and provide an exit for any water that might intrude, or you'll get rusty water seeping down over your fine automobile. Some guys seal the joints with caulk; I opted instead to cover the joints with heat shrink in the appropriate sizes. I also drilled tiny weep holes in the undersides at the corners so that any water that does get in has a way out.
The center lengthwise tubes are not quite aligned, and seem like a weakness in the pairing of the extensions. I took out the plugs in the tubes and inserted 5/16" steel dowels to force them to align.
I replaced the screws, etc., with stainless, just because. They're metric, but stainless metric hardware, along with the steel dowel, is at your local Lowe's.
Got the heat shrink from Chinese suppliers on Ebay. Takes time, but it's cheap.
The brackets that hold the rack onto the crossbars are held on with finger nuts. I replaced those with stainless nuts and cut the excess bolt length off after installing, so the protrusions don't catch on the rack contents.
A couple of large elastic nets, and I'm ready to toss a bunch of lighter weight stuff up on the roof and bug out of town should the SHTF.
Last edited by eric_in_sd; Jun 20, 2017 at 12:46 PM.
I've had something very similar to that for close to 15 years, now. The one I have is made by Yakima. I don't use it a whole lot, but it's fantastic when I do need it. Likely the same as yours, but the top, perimeter "bar" is the same size as Yakima cross bars, so accessories can be quickly fastened right to the safari rack's top bar.
One customization thought: I found cheap black plastic acorn nuts that can be used to cover the exposed rod ends when the clamp finger nuts are not used. They're called "Metric Black Nylon Acorn Hex Cap Nut". This works if you have, as I did, only a short length of exposed threads.
Hahahaha where did you think I got all the great ideas from? Sorry if I messed up the lock on your garage door.
Serious q: What do you think about the "deflector" on the front? My racks came with several sheet metal panels for the front and parts of the sides. They aren't structurally necessary, but I was thinking about installing the front one.
Hahahaha where did you think I got all the great ideas from? Sorry if I messed up the lock on your garage door.
Yeah, that was a $300 lock!
Serious a: I haven't used the rack on the GL, yet, so maybe the airflow is different. But on previous vehicles (Durango and Suburban) I would notice a whistling without the deflector. I also have a second deflector that attaches below the existing one and sets down on the vehicle. That helped quiet it down a bit more, too.
You're the guy that bought an 07 with like 10k miles on it, and the EORP, right? I'd love to have that package, but gave up on retrofitting it.
Hey, if you want four wheels to put a second set of tires on, I've got 'em boxed up and ready to go.
Heh, no - I'm the guy who picked up a seriously depreciated '07 with 160K and the EORP on it just recently...I'm thinking of it in terms of being a G-Lite. Outfitting it with 31" tires, do tell more about your wheels!
Haven't taken it off road yet but it's all there and it works.
Outfitting it with 31" tires, do tell more about your wheels!
They're just the stock 18" wheels. However, with 265/60-18 you get 30.5" overall diameter tires.
Pretty sure if you want any kind of serious off-roading wheels, you'll want smaller than 18" and, ideally, bead lock. I was thinking you might want to do as I did, which was to have two sets of wheels.
But if for some reason you want extra stock wheels, let me know.
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