luggage rack???

[jdurant]

Just tossing some ideas around. Thinking a luggage rack might be kind of cool on my 2wd(hopefully soon to be lowered)k5. Can't seem to find any pics. Has anyone done this or seen any pics? 2wd or 4wd.
Thanks in advance.

[kevinr1970]

That is what I am doing to mine.
It took me a while to actually find one though. I kept searching Craigslist and every time I saw someone parting a Blazer or selling a top I would ask about the rack.

Finally found a guy that had one and was willing to sell it without the top. Actually turned out he had two (one on an extra top he had) so I bought both. Each one was a little imperfect but I will have the parts to make one good one.

A guy in high school had an old VW Squareback that had a roof rack on it and I always thought it looked cool. Besides, its just an extra little bit of chrome!

I actually have three racks, but obviously this one isn't any good...

[BLE 'BURBAN]

I'd like to find an O.E.M. rack for my Suburban.

[jdurant]

It seems like that would be pretty easy to find actually.
On the other hand, I can't even find any good pics of them on Blazers. But I did see a distant 4x4 lifted Blazer with one on a closed car lot around dusk somewhere along the many many miles I drove this weekend. So basically I could barely see it at all.
Can anyone answer this: Are they basically the same as the suburban's just shorter. And are all years of the suburban's the same? I'm gonna try to get by a junkyard this week sometime and I'm sure I'll be able to put my eyes on a subarban with a luggage rack.

[JESSEGALLEGOS]

I was thinking of the same. Here is what I had in mind.

[jdurant]

I'm not sure of how thats gonna look on a 2wd.

[BLE 'BURBAN]

TOO KEWL!!!!! I JUST WON ME AN O.E.M. LUGGAGE RACK ON EBAY FOR $20.50 + THE RIDE UP HERE!!!! Gonna git'r powdercoated black before I put'er on though. (I can't stand chrome)

[BLE 'BURBAN]

Update..... rack arrived this past Saturday(05/24/08) package was ripped open and 2 of the end mounts were missing out of the packaging. So he quest continues...........

[jdurant]

well-just put it up there and take me a picture.

please.

[kevinr1970]

Originally Posted by jdurant

well-just put it up there and take me a picture.

please.

Are you just looking for a picture of one?
I could toss mine on top of my Blazer when I get home. The Blazers pretty dirty but it would give you an idea.

[jdurant]

Yeah, pretty much. I haven't even priced them yet. Just please take the picture from somplace a little higher than the truck. All the pictures I have found of them are on tall 4x4s were I can barely see it. So, therefore kinda hard to imagine on a lowered k5.
Thanks

[kevinr1970]

Here you go.

Need any other pictures let me know. I have much larger versions of these pictures if you need better detail of something.

I am not sure of the positioning but will figure it out before I mount it.


The "slats" that are flat on the roof (below) are like an option to the optional roof rack. I don't think I have seen another Blazer with them; they are usually just the outer raised frame.

[kevinr1970]

Originally Posted by jdurant

I haven't even priced them yet.

FYI, I paid $40 for both the racks I bought. I would have been willing to go $100+/- for a good one but never found that good one?

The one I used for the pictures was what I thought was the better of the two. But you can see in the pictures that the front bar is pretty bent. Also, there is a lot of black over-spray on the towers; like someone re-painted their top but didn't mask off the towers.

The other top has some good parts and bad parts. Out of the three I have I should end up with one good one.

[jdurant]

Thank you very much for taking the time to do that. I've been looking at it and haven't decided yet. My first impressions are: I wish it were about a foot longer, so that it would go all the way from the front to the back of the removable top. I do have access to a free Suburban roof rack. Maybe I can shorten that one. Just rechroming it would be expensive. I'll have to look at it.
Do all of the corners come off? If so then I might be able to cut the long rods and put the corners back on without having to rechrome. Kevinr1970-I think you would know what I am talking about and wheter that is possible or not. Let me know Thanks again

[kevinr1970]

Originally Posted by jdurant

I wish it were about a foot longer, so that it would go all the way from the front to the back of the removable top. I do have access to a free Suburban roof rack. Maybe I can shorten that one.
Do all of the corners come off?

In this picture you can see what I believe is a screw head that attaches the width bars to the towers.

I can't say for sure how the length bars attach but ass/u/me they are similar. I will look at it again when I get home.
On the rack I pulled off the rolled Blazer in a post farther up I think I threw the length bars away and kept the width bars and towers. But I was just noticing that the racks are different; on the wrecked one the towers lean into each other (fronts lean backwards, rears lean forwards?) and on the one I took the pictures of yesterday the towers both lean forward.

I have to think the Suburban rack would be assembled the same but with longer length bars. If so then you should be able to just cut down the bars. If they have the slats like the one I pictured that might require a little more work.

Originally Posted by jdurant

If so then I might be able to cut the long rods and put the corners back on without having to rechrome.

The racks are actually stainless so no re-chroming. I might just have to take mine apart and have the polishers here at work have a go at them...