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Expedition Rack for 2006 Range Rover HSE L322

24K views 21 replies 12 participants last post by  Photohog 
#1 ·
While this doesn't apply to my daily driver, I have heard it rumored that some people want to off-road their Range Rover HSE and may be interested in the spectacular expedition rack made by Voyager Offroad, formally Rover Racks, in Port Charlotte, Florida. I needed a rack to move materials that wouldn't fit in the generous cargo area that is my L322.



Since I live in the Great White North, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada to be more specific, shipping costs on a roof rack, especially a full sized one, can be more than the cost of the rack itself. I was looking at the Rhino Racks, built in Australia, distributed by a company in Colorado and I was hoping that they could easily be shipped from a retailer in Missoula, MT at a realistic cost. Since they were unaware that any company other than UPS ships to Canada, my first fear was realized.

I continued my quest and heard rumors about an expedition rack, based on the original one designed by Land Rover for the L322, was available from a company based in Florida but the spectre of excessive shipping charges loomed large again. I was pleasantly surprised when a phone call to Voyager Offroad informed me that the $1049 steel rack would cost less to ship all the way from Florida, than an aluminum rack would cost delivered merely from Montana.

I pulled the trigger and received my prize within 3 weeks, as they make them once you order them. They can customize any number of options for you including a floor and a wind deflector. The rack has feet that line up almost perfectly with the OEM mounting points on the FFRR. Just flip open the plastic covers, unscrew the stainless factory plugs, insert the included mounting feet and tighten up the stainless bolts. Should you want to remove the rack at a later date, you merely loosen the bolts, remove the rack and close up the little doors. Back to stock.





 
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#4 ·
All is not perfect in the L322 Roofrack land, however. Upon cruising out onto the highway and up to speeds in excess of about 80km/h (50 mph), I started to expect an airline captain to come on through the radio speakers and tell me to keep my seat back in the upright position. I looked online at Voyager Offroad and they have a wind deflector which looks rather nice for about $180.00, IIRC, but being an offroader, I figured I could get one made up for substantially cheaper and forego the dreaded shipping costs. I went to a plastics shop here in Edmonton that quoted me about $35 to have one made up as long as I provided them with a template. In the mean time, I came upon a post that suggested that a majority of the wind noise could be eliminated with the application of simple heating pipe insulation and I went down to the local Totem Building Supply, handed over a mere $2.00 and installed it with a few zip ties. Where it was hard to hold a conversation at 110 km/h before, a quiet conversation is now not a problem. I will make a template and have a plastic one made up in the future but at least now, the wind noise is almost not there.

Thanks again to the guys at Voyager OffRoad in Florida and BearTrax here in Edmonton.





 
#7 ·
I use an app called Gas Cubby for my fuel mileage and repair cost tracking and in the city and in the last two tanks, I might have lost about .5 of a mpg.

The rack install is a two man job, not because of the weight, but because of the bulkiest of the rack. I think start to finish was about 45 minutes.

Greg
 
#8 ·
That looks awesome. Is it as tough as it looks in the pictures? Been drooling over those for my P38.

If there is anyone out there thinking about building a similar rack and ladder combo PLEASE hurry up!!!!Hint-Hint to people in southern California.
 
#9 ·
Nice rack. Looks very similar to the factory SD (Safety Devices) rack with the nice contours with the roofline. Yes, windnoise can be rough. I am curious as to the windfairing you are going to have made and how you will attach it to the rack. Please share when you have it completed.

I use the rack on my P38 for every offroading trip.

YooperP38: Voyager also makes a rack and ladder for the P38. In addition, you can buy a P38 ladder from socalusedroverparts.com http://www.socalusedroverparts.com/product_p/ladder.htm which is the ladder I have on my P38. It is an exact replica of the SD factory ladder and very high quality. I highly recommend it.
 
#14 ·
How do you like your Voyager rack after having it a couple years? I'm about to make the call and get one for my sport, but then I just saw a dozen negative feed back reviews regarding the weld, rust, and being cheaply built. I'm not sure if these are real, or maybe a competitor trying to pitch the Baja rack. What are your thoughts? Do you have a recent picture after time in the weather?

Thanks
 
#15 ·
I like the rack. It's done everything I expected it to do and has held up well through being outside all winter. One of the welds had a little rust on it when i got it and it hasn't gotten any worse. Otherwise nothing I wouldn't have expected from a harsh Canadian Winter.

Here are some pics:







 
#18 ·
Nothing like resurrecting an old post.
I recently bought a brand new genuine Expedition Roof Rack for a ridiculously cheap price. And yes my car suffered from the dreaded roof howl upwards of 70kmh. I recalled seeing a post on a site that had a grainy pic of the Land Rover device to stop this which looked like a wee strip stuck to the roof of the car.
I decided to use an extrusion of rubber 30mm x 40mm stuck to underside of the front lip on the roof rack. And it has worked, the noise level is now close to the no roof rack level and has been a cheap fix.
I might look into alternatives in the future but at present am very happy with the results. One option I have thought of is to whip the whole front of the rack with a tough looking rope.

Adrian
 
#20 ·
I recently bought a brand new genuine Expedition Roof Rack for a ridiculously cheap price.
Hi Adrian,
Congrats on the purchase, but... How much? Mine is an original as well and I paid all of €56.00 :dance:
5 years ago and I still have to gloat about it (which is the main reason for this post :lol:). One of my best ebay deals ever.

Linux, your flooring is what killed the noise. I experimented with cardboard and duct tape. It does not take much to significantly alter the noise characteristics. I decided to add flooring too, but have now been driving around for several years with heater pipe insulation... Saw the pipe insulation trick here, btw. CodyNT had this on his - an OEM rack too.
 
#19 ·
Interesting. I have an actual safety devices branded "official" one which I've used for years. Never had it howl before at any speed. Certainly there is some extra wind noise when it is up there, but nothing too crazy. I wonder if the dimensions of this other rack are just slightly different leading to howling. It looks pretty similar, but it is clearly a different design.

I added chicken coop flooring to mine... I suppose that could make a difference too. I did have one incident on a road trip about 3 years ago, was returning from a trip to the everglades (epic off roading down there) and was in the middle of nowhere in Georgia when suddenly I got an insanely loud howl/vibration which was so powerful that I didn't even know where it was coming from, feared transmission because I could feel the whole vehicle shaking... pulled over immediately and it stopped but would come back every time I got above 35 MPH or so. Eventually realized it was my ratcheting tie down straps on the roof, they were hitting some sort of resonance frequency despite the fact that they were all tight and none of the cases/cargo appeared to have shifted. I had to take a roll of duct tape and wrap the straps together etc.. eventually after a few tries I altered the behavior enough that it didn't happen anymore. It has never done that before or since.
 
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