Instruction manual for roof racks on box body motorhomes or caravans

Roof rack fitting instructions for fitting a roof rack to an A-class, B-plus-class, C-class, or caravans 

Thank you for purchasing one of our New Zealand-designed and manufactured products, and for supporting local business, rather than imported products. 

These instructions are for the long wheelbase roof rack.

This pack should contain the following items:

• 2 x side rails @ 2360mm long - one left and one right
• 2 x side rails @ 1400mm long, one left and one right
• 2 x connectors plated to bolt the long and the short rails together.
• 2 x front brackets - one left and one right
• 2 x rear brackets – one left and one right
• 2 x heavy duty rails @ 1300mm
• 3 x light duty rails @ 1300mm
• 6 x light-duty brackets for attaching the tube to the rails.
• 16 x M6 x 40 Button head stainless steel bolts
• 34 x M6 x 20 Button head stainless steel bolts
• 34 x flange nuts 24 x black pop rivets
• 24 x black pop rivets
• 8 x Tech stainless steel 10g screws

Prep the roof of your van; make sure it is clean and free of any wax so the adhesives and sealants will adhere to the roof surface.

Choose your installation location and temporarily set up the side rails on the roof (without adhesives); do this on both sides. Bear in mind that most of these motorhomes and caravans were never designed to carry heavy loads on the roof; the roof construction is usually a composite structure consisting of fibreglass foam and plywood. Designed to be lightweight. The strongest place on the roof is right along the edge above the side walls. We originally designed these roof racks specifically for these vans to spread the load along the entire length of the roof edge.

Once you have temporarily set up the side rails along the edge of the roof sides, you can measure across the roof, subtracting 70 mm from the total width of the roof rack footprint, which is to allow for the offset of the side rails, see image below

If this vehicle is a long-wheelbase vehicle, the side rails will include a long and a short rail on each side.

The kit will contain a connector plate to bolt the 2 rails together.

Cut the front and the rear heavy-duty square tubes to the required length to fit between the two side rails. If you have purchased heavy-duty tubes for the entire rack, also cut the central tubes 

Turn the heavy-duty tubes so that the grooves in the bolt holes in the horizontal plane face downwards, as shown in the image.  

With a file around the top edge of the tubes so that they will fit neatly into the internal diameter of the upper bend in the side rail.

The reason you want the groves pointing down is so the tube is forced snugly up against the top of the side rail.

Now you can bolt the heavy-duty cross bars at the front and the back.

If you are planning to use the optional wall-mounted awning brackets to mount an awning on the roof rack, you need to fit the 2 heavy-duty rails approximately at the centre where the awning brackets will be fitted, so that the forces acting on the awning brackets are supported by the heavy-duty cross bar. This is a great option because the awning's full weight when rolled out does not rely on the strength of the composite wall structure, which is the same as the roof structure.

Once you have fitted the heavy-duty rails, you can cut the lightweight tubes to the correct length to suit the width of the roof rack, as described earlier. Using the black pop rivets, attach the light tube to the side brackets.

Using the light tube attachment brackets, bolt the lightweight tubes into the desired location to suit your needs and the roof landscape, without interfering with the opening of roof hatches, solar panels, or satellite dishes.

Assuming you are happy with the location and layout of the roof rack on the roof, mark the location with a pencil, and with some help from a friend, lift the roof rack up and put some wooden blocks between the roof and the roof rack

Spread some Sika Flex or similar seal/adhesive along the entire surface where the roof rack will be attached. (Follow the supplier’s adhesive instructions for prepping the roof)

Lower the roof rack onto the sealant/adhesive, allowing any excess product to ooze out.

Using the tech screws provided screw the roof rack down to the roof through the holes provided at the bottoms of the side rails, you don’t need to use every hole in the bottom of the rails, just screw the 4 corners, eye up the side rails to see if they are nice and straight, and if required you can screw those locations that need to be held in a straight line

When screwing the rails, make sure there is ample sealant around the screws. We want ample sealant around any fastenings through the roof

Now bond the sloping endcaps at the front and rear undercut end caps to the side rails

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 Warranty

The roof rack has a one-year return-to-base warranty from the purchase date. Please check the product carefully before installation and contact us immediately if you find anything wrong. All products are thoroughly inspected before being packaged and dispatched.

 If you need any assistance, email tech@vantagerv.nz

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