2018 Ducato PVC Roof Rack sought

[dna]

Hello all,

The boss wants a roof rack installed on our Autotrail T680 PVC. This is to carry a kayak and no doubt other things once installed .

Has anyone else done this and managed to avoid the roof light and the shower vent?

I've been looking at the dimensions of the Rhino aluminium rack(https://www.rhinoroofracks.com/fiat...-rack-fiat-ducato-2006-on-xlwb-high-roof.html) but cant find any info on the clearance between the rack and van roof once installed.

We will be getting this professionally installed along with a ladder on the back door once we have a better idea of which rack to go for.

Any suggestions for alternative to the rack gratefully received (we have considered just getting cross rails but prefer the rack option)

Thanks

 

[RogerThat]

Have you got the roof rails installed? In order to take a roof rack (bars)?

I've got some pics somewhere of mine, will dig them out for you

 

[dna]

Nope - the roof has the mounting points (5 pairs u think) so the rhino rack comes complete with feet, side rails and a roller at the back to help with loading - similar to the picture below but longer!)

 

[RogerThat]

Ah right, I see.

I went a slightly different route - Thule rails, bars, roof box.

Had to remove the utterly pointless decorative bars first though

There's a guy on the AS forum who has a kayak on his - actually, he's here to - tagging Kingham

Pics attached if it helps dna !

 

[dna]

If only the kayak came in a box that small Thanks for the pictures


I’ve looked at the wind down racks but they seem to be even more expensive

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[Paddywack]

I’ve looked at the wind down racks but they seem to be even more expensive

By wind down rack I presume you mean Karitek? If so yes it's expensive but have you tried using a rear ladder and doing the dance of death on a van roof while strapping a kayak down? The thing to remember is that you can move a Karitek rack to your next van, it's also a lot cheaper than a trip to the chiropractor.

 

[dna]

Thank you fastpat . we Should probably get a quote for a karitek. I was assuming given the standard one is £500+ then a bespoke one would be significantly more.
Can you attach roof boxes etc to the karitek next to a kayak? The flexibility of a big rack on the roof was one attraction for us.

 

[Minxy]

RogerThat how did you fix the fore/aft rails to the roof?

 

[Paddywack]

RogerThat how did you fix the fore/aft rails to the roof?

They attach to the lugs

 

[Minxy]

Ah, so they don't interfere with your F65s awning attachment then?

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[Paddywack]

Ah, so they don't interfere with your F65s awning attachment then?

This was on our last PVC and to accommodate the awning with our sliding roof rack we had to jack the roof rails up using the H section. If you just wanted standard roof rails you might get away with them attached directly to the lugs.

 

[Minxy]

This was on our last PVC and to accommodate the awning with our sliding roof rack we had to jack the roof rails up using the H section. If you just wanted standard roof rails you might get away with them attached directly to the lugs.

RogerThat did you have any difficulty with attaching your rails to the lugs with your awning on?

 

[Paddywack]

RogerThat did you have any difficulty with attaching your rails to the lugs with your awning on?

As we haven't got the van anymore and I cannot remember the full details on fitting I unfortunately cannot give a definitive answer. Our rack was fitted by Karitek and whilst you probably only want the base rails I'd give them a call because if you need an adaptor to accommodate the awning they'll have it - along with the base rails.

 

[Paddywack]

Thank you fastpat . we Should probably get a quote for a karitek. I was assuming given the standard one is £500+ then a bespoke one would be significantly more.
Can you attach roof boxes etc to the karitek next to a kayak? The flexibility of a big rack on the roof was one attraction for us.

Yes, you would need to order the wider carriage bars (the bit that slides). I've had a surfski and two sea kayaks on ours and I have seen others with roofboxes on them.

PS - if you want some Thule awning rafters, side and front panels like in my photo I've got a set for sale in the classified section. Bargain!

PPS Just realised that this should have been directed at RogerThat with the Thule awning.

 

[RogerThat]

RogerThat did you have any difficulty with attaching your rails to the lugs with your awning on?

Hi there

With the decorative rails removed the Thule rails bolt down to the factory lugs on the roof. The bars then slot in to the rails and can be slid forwards and backwards to any position you like across the full length of the van.

There was a bracket adaptor kit for the awning

I think life was made easier by the fact that everything (including the awning) was made by Thule!

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