Mounting Pelican case or similar to roof rack

Hey guys,

Im hoping to find a solution to mount some storage cases to my BajaRacks roof rack semi-permanently. I've seen some people with Pelican cases mounted in such a way. I'm hoping to keep recovery gear up there, and ideally the case would be water resistant at least.

Anyone done something similar to this or seen a solution that worked well? Appreciate the input!

 

I drilled holes through mine and bolted it down. Just use big washers so the bolt doesn't tear through.

 

Awesome, thanks for the report. Have you run into water resistance problems after drilling the holes?

What I'm most interested in is how people are attaching the case to the rack past the bolts themselves, i.e., what's holding it in place and on what sort of rack?

 

This is what I plan to do with my Front Runner rack if it ever ships.

FR racks have T-slots. Drop a nut in there and get a bolt short enough not to go through and crank it down.

Dunno about Baja Racks.

 

No water issues thus far, and I live in Seattle. For extra security you could definitely put a little silicone on there after you mount it.

In the case of my rack, the cross bars are made with Unistrut, so I just used standard Unistrut clamp nuts.

 

This, I have a Prinsu rack and it's fine. The holes are on the bottom so no water has got in.

 

I drilled 4 holes into mine and made the stud go through the bottom of the case. (Basically flipped the bolt upside down.)

My Prinsu has slots in it that I can slide a bolt head into so that works for my setup.

As for water sealant, it hasn't been a concern of mine but I could find some kind of rubber washer to seal the hole off I suppose.

 

I did this with U-bolts, no sealant but no water inside.

 

Thanks all! Yeah, I assume someone must make some sort of mounting solution for round bar racks, but haven't found it yet. Thanks all for the info about water resistance too.

 

As a side note, I don't know what kind of UV stability a Pelican case has but I would think that they'd get a little cooked out in the sun after a while. Is anyone seeing that?
You might consider a coating of rattle can paint on them.

 

Honestly, I'm not too concerned about it. I'm using the case for recovery gear storage and it's made for military usage. Cosmetics isn't really the purpose. They have lifetime warranty if the sun ever effects the integrity.

 

I didn't know that part. I have had 3 that have circled the globe a few times in some harsh places. I have yet to have an issue with any of mine and I'm pretty rough on gear.

 

I may be reviving this thread but does anyone have any more pics or how to's?

 

Heavy bendable metal strap from Home Depot works well with holes drilled to add a lock,and you dont have to drill holes in the case.

 

Pics?

 

What are you trying to attach it to? Yakima, Thule, etc. sell the parts for their rack systems including the clamps. Simplest way is to measure, drill your holes and mount some clamps. I'd use a neoprene washer on the inside just to be on the safe side. If you've got round bars, some conduit clamps would be an easy option but it wouldn't be hard to bend your own. If you want them more easily removable you could use something like the Caribou Cases mounting system.

 

Mine is going on a Gobi rack. I would like it to be easy to take on and off.

Cross bars are off. So I am mounting to the mesh deck.

 

Gotta say, that's one of the funniest ways I've seen to take a picture of a roof. LOL

That expanded metal is going to be kinda tricky. I can think of a couple of ways loosely based off other designs I've seen but I don't know if I can describe them. I'd probably just make a couple of plates that had two bolts welded through them (or you could tap the holes and thread them in). Put this under the expanded metal with the threaded part sticking up. Have another plate with matching holes that you dropped on top of those bolts then put nuts on to hold them in place. Now mount a piece of angle iron, again with matching holes, on the ends of your cases. Use nuts, nyloc nuts, wing nuts or you could even use bolts the same size as Yakima (for example) uses and then use an accessory lock.

Just throwing ideas out there.

 

Thanks

 

I have two Plano weather sealed boxes up top of my cap that have yet to show any signs of moisture inside.

You can kinda see them here on top of the bed cap, but there is one on each side:

Here is the Amazon listing:
Plano All Weather Tactical Gun Case, 42-Inch https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00E2217I6/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_1IeKCb769FQVB