Story and photos by Russell Pullar
Living in Timaru, I love getting out at weekends and on longer trips around Otago and Canterbury in my 1997 diesel Toyota Prado.
Being a regular reader of NZ4WD magazine, I’ve read a lot of the “Cunning Hacks” and have been inspired to see what I could do myself.
What I really wanted to do was to clear some space inside my truck while out Overlanding.
The obvious solution was to buy a roof platform to enable me to carry recovery gear and luggage on the roof. Recovery gear tends to be covered in mud or sand once used, so storing it inside the truck is not ideal.
There are lots of great roof products on the market but they’re quite expensive and always being on the lookout for a project, I decided that I would have a go at making one myself.
I already had a two-bar Rhino-Rack system, which was great and very solid, but I also wanted to carry a shovel, a large luggage bag and recovery tracks.
Most platforms provide a solid base, required for the luggage bag and plenty of attachment points, allowing for flexible storage options. Having established what I wanted I needed, I started thinking about how I could achieve it. I decided that a good thick sheet of treated Plywood would provide a good base to start with. I found some 18mm H3 Plywood and cut it to the size required. My platform is 1000x1200mm.
To provide the attachment points, I used slotted steel angle iron. This is cheap, strong and provides all the attachment points that I could need. By attaching two sections of angle iron together, I created a channel to fit the shovel into. I rounded off the ends of the angle iron so that there were no sharp edges to damage hands or gear.
I cut slots in the plywood and used 100kg cargo straps to connect the platform to the roof-rack. These have worked really well and keeps the whole set up secure, even on rough terrain.
The edges were finished with aluminium to provide an edge that wouldn’t chip.
To provide all weather protection I used a primer and high gloss exterior paint.
Having mounted the platform, I found that it was a little bit difficult to access. Rhino-Rack have an excellent product which attaches to a wheel and creates a step allowing easy access to the roof platform.
As you can see from the photos, I’m happy with the result. Not a bought one but it only took me a weekend and cost under $400.
To read the full story in the March 2019 issue of NZ4WD go to Zinio.com (February 18) or purchase your own hard copy at the Adrenalin store.
