I tackled this because on a few occasions last year I have stood on the glass roof, and with reading Simon's (SGH) thread on breaking the Panoramic Roof, I decided to floor the Expo Rack.
None would have been possible without the input and guide from MrH's post, so am not aiming to take anything from his idea ( great info throughout this forum ).
Aluminium Sheet, 3mm, 163cm long x 110cm wide ( check measurements - Expo's vary in size )
What's needed
Aluminium Sheet
6 inch Black Anti Slip Tape
4 inch Grey Anti Slip Tape
12 LR Expo Lashing Eyes
1 roll of UPVC adhesive one sided 6mm Rubber Insulation
1 RLD CB ariel Bracket (optional)
Chevron Adhesive Addition
I decided to go 2 colours on the Chevron and 2 sizes. 6 inch on the Black and 4 inch on the Grey, this allow a gap between the two colours showing the aluminium and allowing water to disperse outward in a way.
Will fit tomorrow
Last edited by MacLeod 313 on 15th Jan 2011 4:05 pm. Edited 1 time in total
14th Jan 2011 8:15 pm
buellbeast
Member Since: 30 Jul 2008
Location: Exile
Posts: 1885
Brilliant Club Forum Criminal !!!
14th Jan 2011 8:50 pm
Chicken Duck
Member Since: 11 Nov 2009
Location: Italy
Posts: 1387
Lookin good . can you let me have the link now to were you got the tape from
14th Jan 2011 8:53 pm
grzesiul
Member Since: 11 May 2008
Location: UK
Posts: 6403
does it help to scratch the better? that tape
14th Jan 2011 9:04 pm
chris d3
Member Since: 21 Jun 2009
Location: sunderland
Posts: 423
Looks good did you get the spot lights for it aswell
Member Since: 14 Dec 2008
Location: up that tree
Posts: 4866
does your mrs know you've grip taped the dining room table? one wife.......livid
15th Jan 2011 12:18 pm
MacLeod 313
Member Since: 18 Apr 2008
Location: away
Posts: 10723
The Fitting
I was a little concerned that the Floor would work loose, so I applied some UPVC one sided adhesive strips across the crossbars, thus forming a Gasket to stop metal on metal rattling and a compresson to stop the lashing eyes coming loose. I used 12 lashing eyes in total to fix the Aluminium plate in place, and used a bar to turn them enough for a tight fit.
Not too fiddly, but I did measure too accurate, and you'll need a little less width. Mine was too wide to slide in from the rear, so I took off the forward top crossbar and slid the floor in from the top, I also had to notch out a little so that the floor can fit around the pillars. All done.
I also sourced a RLD CB ariel bracket that needed a little adjustment to the flooring and disguarding the Bottom RLD fixing. I wanted the flooring to be totally removable, and fully servicable, so I decided to use 2 of the lashing eye bottom plates to fix the CB ariel into place with the eyes.
All finished
Sunroof Clears, and still get the full effect of the sunroof because I did'nt extend the flooring any further foward that the crossbar behind it
Cost
Lashing Eyes FOC (many thanks to Pointyed & CFB)
Black 6" Anti Slip = £25
Grey 4" Anti Slip 50mtr = £19.50
UPVC Adhesive tape = £4
Aluminium sheet = £80 ( thanks Nasher for the tip)
Total = £128.50
In all, happy with the results. No too difficult, but get the measurements right.
Adios chaps - Enjoy the forum
Last edited by MacLeod 313 on 23rd Jan 2011 12:40 pm. Edited 2 times in total
15th Jan 2011 3:50 pm
Gareth Site Moderator
Member Since: 07 Dec 2004
Location: Bramhall
Posts: 26775
Very neat job that Mac
You are correct about the sheet working loose. My expo rack was originally bought from Ken a few years ago. He had an aluminium floor fitted by AndrewS (I remember he fitted the floor at the campsite during the Peaks trip in 06) Ken then took it to Morocco, subsequently I also took it on many trips, including another Morocco trip last summer.
Recently it had started making lots of noise, and on closer inspection, some of the pop rivets that were used to fasten the aluminium down to the cross bars had sheared off, and the aluminium had worked loose along the front edge, this setup a vibration in the wind which caused some cracks to appear in the sheet at the rivet holes. I had to drill some small 'stop' holes to prevent the cracks spreading.
Using the gasket to dampen any movement between the sheet and the rack is a good thing.
top job Home of RLD Hidden winch mounts Spare wheel Locks Trailer Body Fabrication ray@rld-tech.co.uk D3/4 sump plates MY 14 sump plates and the Discovery Sport wheel protectors Discovery 5 wheel locks
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15th Jan 2011 4:10 pm
TwelveSticks
Member Since: 16 Jan 2010
Location: Dublin
Posts: 798
Lovely job - the chevrons are inspired 2001 D2 GS (I must be mad!)
2005 D3 S 10-12 (gone and missed)
15th Jan 2011 4:18 pm
devonchilliman
Member Since: 03 Nov 2008
Location: Devon
Posts: 5224
That looks fantastic
15th Jan 2011 5:00 pm
dsd1036
Member Since: 27 Feb 2010
Location: Surrey
Posts: 2692
very good, neat job jas!! now do i need an expo rack lol
Darrell
15th Jan 2011 5:31 pm
2DISCO3ORNOT
Member Since: 27 Apr 2009
Location: at sea
Posts: 1209
Looks great Mac but I have to say I would miss my sunlight from above................perhaps not so much in the desert!
15th Jan 2011 5:31 pm
POINTYED
Member Since: 22 Mar 2008
Location: BURY,LANCS
Posts: 2758
sweet!!!life is tooooo short.enjoy the moment.dont worry be happy
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