Finally got the roof rack fitted after a long wait and deliberation.
Why did i need a roof rack?
1. To permanently mount the awning. From previous pics, the awning was mounted using a DIY bar system which looked extremely shabby and thus, the need for a permanent solution. Yes, i could buy a better set of roof bars and mount it permanently but the other reasons for the need of a roof rack made it necessary to purchase one.
2. To mount recovery equipment. Things like the Maxtrax takes up space inside the car. Yes, it could be laid out flat in the boot but to access it and put it back, one needs to remove everything from above it. Additionally, you do not want to put in dirty recovery equipment back.
3. For longer expedition drives, things like a fuel filled jerry can is better placed in the roof rack than inside the cab and being chocked on fuel vapour.
4. Easy to mount shovels, hi lift jacks, roof lights, rear facing lights, etc
5. Once i get time to fit the rear modular storage system, i might need space for luggage on the roof rack.
Thus, the search for a roof rack.
Options:
1. Regular roof rack sold in the market.
Brands like Ajanta have luggage carriers available for the taxi market. These are extensively used but honestly they look shabby and i don't think they would take the weight of so much stuff. A friend had a scary experience when the roof rack of a vehicle in from of him detached on the expressway and he had to perform an emergency elk manoeuvre to safe himself. These racks are made of thin aluminium and nowadays i keep safer distance from a vehicle in front of me with such a roof rack.
In fact my vehicle came with one when i bought it and the rails had rusted badly:
The rust:
2. Next option was locally fabricated roof racks.
This was an idea that i explored for a long time since this way i could make a roof rack that would be custom made to my taste. Unfortunately i could not find someone near my city who could fabricate something for me and whom i could trust. There were some highly recommended vendors in Bangalore and Chandigarh but with my OCD i need to keep going and checking the progress. The only person who i would trust blindly was Allan but he had his hands full with the Cartier Show.
3. Next option was to buy ready made imported racks from local dealers.
Here my options were Ironman and ARB.
Ironman didn't have one in stock for the Pajero but could be ordered and shipped on request. ARB was way out of budget for me.
So i deliberated placing an order and also considered option 4.
4. Option 4 is to directly import a roof rack. There are some awesome companies out there in the world that make exemplary roof rack systems. The most notable ones are from Australia and South Africa. These two places have the most number of expedition vehicles and some of the harshest terrain. Roof racks that perform here would really be something to recon with.
So parallel to considering the Ironman order, i started researching the roof racks from abroad.
The company that really stood out was an Australian company called Rhino Rack.
www.rhinorack.com.au
Disclaimer: I have no financial or otherwise deal with them.
Every forum, every review only spoke good things about them.
Their new range of roof racks is called the Pioneer system which is like a modular system and you can keep attaching various mounts to it via their patented slot system. Additionally its an all aluminium alloy that is extremely strong and light weight.
Thus, decided that Rhino Rack would suit my needs the best.
Now the biggest problem here was shipping. Due to the volumetric weight costs, the shipping was getting prohibitively expensive.
A few other friends showed interest in their roof rack and the foxwing awning and a group buy was cutting the cost of shipping down.
Finally we managed to secure the order and ship it by sea.