Surco 501R Universal Motorhome Rack

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Price: $65.47 $53.66   

Product Feature

• Manufactured from heavy gauge 1 inch aluminum
• It has a bright dipped polished finish
• Adjustable width from 90 to 94 inches
• 6 inch high stanchions provided for additional support and stability
• Made in USA

Product Description

Universal rack is adaptable to any manufactured RV. Manufactured from heavy gauge 1 inch aluminum with a bright dipped polished finish. Adjustable width from 90 inch to 94 inch with 5 inch stanchion.

Surco 501R Universal Motorhome Rack Review

CAUTION: This item is advertised as being made with 1" diameter heavy wall aluminum tubing when in fact it is actually 7/8" aluminum tubing. The wall thickness is not what I would call "heavy", ie .125". Using a digital caliper, I measured it at exactly .065" which is 1/16". This is of adequate strength but I would have been happier with .125" wall thickness. Also the stanchions (support brackets) are NOT 6" tall as advertised - they are 5" tall. This is clearly another advertising inaccuracy. Probably not a big deal for most people but for me, had I not measured them first and ordered extra 6" stanchions - which Surco DOES sell, then I would not have been able to use the 2 different sizes together. An extra inch in height would have been better to insure the rails would have enough vertical clearance to go over roof vents, or anything that may be underneath the rails after installing.
Surco states that the 501R roof rack is "adjustable from 90-94". This makes absolutely no sense to me. Furthermore, they don't indicate if this is for the width or length. To change the width (left to right on the roof) you can cut the 2 rear straight rails to any length you want. (The side rails have the curve, so you don't want to cut these unless you want to shorten the front to back length) They should have indicated the MAXIMUM overall width. Duh. C'mon Surco who's the doofuss there that couldn't figure this out? Out of the box it measures 78" wide fully assembled. This was ok for my 1988 Toyota Dolphin motorhome with an 82" wide roof. On a larger motorhome this may not be as wide as you would like.
Note that the front to back length is only 4 feet. My goal was to purchase this kit and add more 1" tubing to lengthen it to 8 or 9 feet, front to back. After I ordered the roof rack and before receiving it, I almost bought a length of 1" tubing on a trip to my local metal supply house. I'm glad I waited once I received the roof rack and discovered the rails are only 7/8" diameter. The BIG PROBLEM I have now is that I haven't been able to find 7/8" aluminum tubing since my local metal supply does not carry it. 7/8" is probably an oddball size since everyone seems to have 1" round aluminum tubing. I definitely would have preferred 1" tubing now so keep this in mind should you want to lengthen the side rails. If you do, you will also need to buy additional plastic inserts that slide inside the tubing to connect 2 pieces together. I called Surco and found out they sell extra inserts for $3 each. Also, extra stanchions are $5 each. I asked them if they would sell me 2 pieces of 7/8' tubing and their price was a whopping $7 a foot! I about fell off my chair. I gently reminded them I wanted aluminum tubing - not gold plated. Anyways, after adding up the cost of extra tubing, stanchions, inserts and shipping from Surco, it would be much cheaper to just buy another complete kit from Amazon to make the rack longer and still have extra parts left over.... Caveat emptor!
ONE FINAL AND IMPORTANT NOTE - The roof on your motorhome may not have sufficient reinforcement to screw down the stanchions!! As for me, I have been in the process of rebuilding the aluminum covered roof on my Toyota Dolphin and have added extra wood to the areas where there was only foam insulation where the stanchions need to be attached. Otherwise, the screws would NOT have been able to hold the rack down. You definitely need to consider this before buying any roof rack.

D.Reynolds, Duarte, CA

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