I'm upgrading my Bronco and one of the things I'n considering is one of the 4-6" Con-Ferr roof racks. Called the Con-Ferr folks and they said it mounts with a special mount that you drill through the firberglass top. Then a rubber insert goes into the hole, then the rack mount and a bolt which gets tightened down with a nut from the inside..

The price of a 5' * 6' rof rack, mounts and shipping was $550.

Has anyone done this with a Con-Ferr or any other roof rack?

I've searched and found a few threads here about it but not a whole lot of Bronco specific information.

Is there an alternative? $550 seems a bit expensive but maybe as my Dad said you get what you pay for.

Thanks

 

I purchased a perfect set of Yakima roof racks for a ford truck (A hundred bucks!!!) They fit my bronco perfectly on the gutter mounts. I like to kayak, so I needed them further apart (front to back). I didn't want to drill holes in my roof, so I pondered a bit. I went to the machine shop where I work at and they suggested using unistrut. I mounted 2 pieces x 5 foot facing from front to back, and clamped them to the yakima's using u-bolts purchased at home depot. Viola! I got some armaflex for pipes (squishy foam stuff) and wrapped the unistrut with that. Then I secured the armaflex (pipe insulation stuff) with uv tie wraps. I tried to get the end caps from unistrut but they want a 20.00 minimum (Comes in various colors and configurations). Well worth it though. No gouging of my kayaks. They work perfectly, and you could easily put 4 pieces on top and make a nice custom rack. Other kayakers have seen this and like the idea.
You can get unistrut at many plumbing supply or steel supply warehouses. The end caps are a bit harder to get, so here's unistrut's url:
http://www.unistrut.com

Hope it helps -

JerseyDevil

 

I mounted two universal strips from Thule. I had to drill the holes, but they came with silicone inserts and screws. There were no nuts to mount on the inside. I then had to buy four mounting feet and the two cross bars. I haven't had any problem with leaks, I can lock the bars down as close together or far apart as I want, and I usually remove the feet/bars to store in the garage so they aren't up there when I don't need them.
The cross bars come in several lengths so you can mount whatever rack to them you want. I plan on making one this fall. right now it just holds up my canoe.

 

Sorry to see you had to drill holes in your top. I just couldn't bring myself to making mine so permanent like that. I also like to canoe and kayak. The unistrut solved my dilemma. I got the removable bike rack for the tire rack (have to remember to duck when I'm walking around the back) and I'm making a removable mount in the front for a 115 qt cooler rack I had custom made that includes 6 fishing pole racks. Other than saddle bags, I think I've decked it out for excursions. My new suspension will include inflatable airbags in the coil springs for the extra 300+ lbs when I'm traveling with the cooler. This guy makes awesome cooler and fishing racks any way you like.

Jerseydevil

 

I mounted a con-ferr rack to my 89 Bronco...there's a pic in my gallery here, along with some other pic's.

Yes, you do have to drill 1/2" holes in the roof for the brackets - 6 holes on each side. You then insert the rubber anchors, called 'Well-Nuts' into the holes - they have a metal threaded insert. The well-nuts are shaped like old 'stove pipe hats'...the shaft part fits in the lole, leaving a the rim or washer part laying on the surface. You then lay the bracket on top, and tighten the 1/4" bolts into the Well-nuts. As you tighten, the rubber backs up on the inside, sealing the hole, and tightening the bracket. The rubber 'washer' portion of the well-nut cushions the bracket against the roof so there is no rubbing of the metal to the roof. Works great!

Con-ferr offers a folding rack, and a welded rack. I went for the welded rack, appears a bit more sturdy. You also need a 'floor kit' that is a bunch of 1/2 inch square tubes that are bolted with clamp brackets to the rack floor. I took the spare tire brackets off my tail gate, and mounted the spare on the roof rack. I bought my rack from Central 4WD, and it was about $450, as I recall, about a year and a half ago.