Garvin Wilderness Expedition roof rack installed...

[yzergod]

OK, here's the deal... I've had this old Garvin rack for a while and wanted to see how it would look and fit on top of the 3. Knowing that the pos aftermarket companies want 3 times as much for a new H3 rack, I figured I'd try and fit my old rack on. I contacted Ron Garvin after seeing another post with a white 3 that had a proto-type Garvin rack for the H3 to see if I could purchase just the rail mounts from him. Nice enough guy, but he said that my Expedition rack was too big and wouldn't fit within the rails of the H3. I sent him my measurements, and he told me that his rail mounts would be about 2 5/8" too long on each side. I researched some other mounts and found some at Summit Racing made by Surco.



Well, after getting them from Summit, I knew that with some minor mods I could make it work. I bought new m6 allen bolts that were 1/2" longer than the Surco screws and some new lock nuts and drilled out the top holes on the rail mounts. The Surco Rail mounts use the same style channel lock as the little H3 tie down hoops. Once I centered the rack, I bolted it through the rail mount using the original lag bolt and bracket on top and a new lock nut underneath. I mounted it last weekend and drove around all week to see if it made any wind noise, rattles, etc. and nothing. It is super sturdy and does not move at all. I had my son stand on it and it didn't flex or move at all. I chose not to add the Surco cross bars as they were just additional weight and cost and I did not feel that they added any strength to the set-up. Here are a few shots of the mounted rack. I kind of think it is a bit larger than some I've seen, but with the shovel mount, HiLift mount, 4 forward and 2 rear light mounts, it should look pretty good once that is all on. I will also coat it with Hurculiner to make it match the finish of the plastic trim pieces on the H3. Let me know your thoughts!