Installing a ladder rack
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Freshman User
Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 31
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From: Missoula MT
Installing a ladder rack
I have a nice ladder rack that came off of my old (dead) Aerostar that I want to put on my new one. The rack was bolted to the roof with long bolts and large fender washers. There were alot of "modifications" made to the headliner and some of the reinforcing sheet metal when it was installed on the old van, and I'd like to figure out a way to mount it on my new Aerostar without doing any damage to the nice aftermarket headliner.
I used to have a 60's stationwagon, and I found a factory roof rack at the junk yard. It was mounted in the roof with anchors in the sheet metal, so the rack just bolted on from the ouside. I've been searching around on the internet for something like that, but without any luck.
Any ideas?
I used to have a 60's stationwagon, and I found a factory roof rack at the junk yard. It was mounted in the roof with anchors in the sheet metal, so the rack just bolted on from the ouside. I've been searching around on the internet for something like that, but without any luck.
Any ideas?
Lead Driver
Joined: Sep 2003
Posts: 7,013
Likes: 205
From: SoCal
To get proper reinforcement, you should remove the headliner and insulation so you can get at the back of the roof sheet metal. If you really don't want to do that, you can look for a type of fastener called "riv-nuts". They're like large bore rivets with threaded holes inside that you can thread bolts into. Ford used these on a lot of older cars, and they work OK for a while. But they will not give you the strength that a back-mounted fender washer will.
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