1990 suburban Factory roof rack location

[tater dog]

Purchased a factory roof rack and need the close to exact location to mount it please . I can go by other pics but would be preferable to have the proper location if someone could take measurements. Was my own dumb fault not to measure off the junk burb but completely forgot.
Thanks guys

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[Jawzjeep]

I'll see if I can help. I didn't mount mine and don't know if it's in the correct location or not. It works but there's some things I would change. If it was me I would just put it all together lay it down on the roof make sure it's close to square and drill some holes. More on that after some pics that may help...

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Forward most mount. Front of burb is to the left. This is at the 2nd roof support rib. As you can see one of the holes is right into the support. If the whole rack was forward 2 more inches it would clear.

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Same location, the one not into the support. Front of burb is down in this pic. Its 1 3/4" inside the body crease on the edge of the roof. My headliner trim isnt installed for reference.

More coming..

 

[Jawzjeep]

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This is the front mount on the outside. Here you can see the bodyline I was referencing on the inside, but on the outside. The long pine needle is set right along it just in case it didn't come out well in the picture.

 

[Jawzjeep]

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Middle mount. It measures the same from that roof bodyline, 1 3/4". Again, front of burb to the left.

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Sorry this one got turned. Middle mount again. The measure in this pic obviously reflects the location of the mount to that body line not the bolt hole center. Front of burb would be up in this pic

 

[Jawzjeep]

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Back mount. Front of burb to the left. Im looking straight up, with the beginning of the tape in line with the body where the wire disappears in the pic.

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Looking out the back of the burb..
The distance from that rooftop body line decreases as it starts to round to the back. Its more like 1 1/4" from the body line there. The angle of the bolt there matches the angle of the roof.

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Stupid phone rotated again dang it. Anyway.. Back mount, front of burb to right this time. You should be able to see that it's getting closer to that body line.

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This is approximately how far my back Mount is from the very back rolled edge of the roof.

Couple things..
The holes in the front and back mounts are offset from each other a little. You can see it in the pics. The center mount has both inline.

If I was to install one from the beginning I would probably mount my whole rack forward another few inches to clear the roof support. And I would have put a contoured plate inside and out of the body for a little added support.

I pulled the original nut and bolt set up that was holding the mounts on and used well nuts instead. I don't plan on putting more that 100lbs up there ever. If I do I'll go back and plate it on both sides. Its just 1 layer of sheet metal.

Well nuts are like riv nuts with rubber seal. Im sure the rubber seal squirms a little compared to standard riv nuts.

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I coated my bolts/screws with sillycone and covered the heads in the depression of the mount. Im in Washington state. Wanted to be sure it would be sealed tight. Good luck. If you need a certain picture or measure let me know.

 

[Mr Stay Puft]

Were these factory installed or dealer installed racks? It doesn't look like they are mentioned as options in the brochures or option code lists. If they were dealer installed, I would guess there is some more variability in their installation locations than if they were put on at the factory.

I also agree with Jawzjeep on the weight limit. I was unimpressed with the installation and overall stoutness of the rack on my Burb. It also appears like the idea was to put your luggage directly on the roof as it has long running metal protection strips. Then you just used the cross supports to kind of trap your luggage in place and then use some straps to keep it down. Modern racks are much heavier duty. The one on my '13 Tahoe is way beefier and I'd feel much safer using the cross supports to run something like a Thule box or metal cage rack up there and keep the contents off the actual roof.

 

[Jawzjeep]

Were these factory installed or dealer installed racks?

It also appears like the idea was to put your luggage directly on the roof as it has long running metal protection strips. Then you just used the cross supports to kind of trap your luggage in place and then use some straps to keep it down.

Yeah I don't know if these are Factory or dealer installed or what. Strangely enough I parted out a 91 Grand Wagoneer and it had the exact same rack on the top. The only difference was on the side of the mounts there was small stickers with wood grain to match the wood grain Style on the Grand Wagoneer. It didn't look like it was cobbled together on the Wagoneer.

Hmmm. Makes me think. Both my suburban and the Grand Wagoneer were 91s. Interesting.

You're exactly right the luggage was to sit on the raised strips with the bars squeezed against them and straps over the top.

 

[bucket]

Yeah I don't know if these are Factory or dealer installed or what. Strangely enough I parted out a 91 Grand Wagoneer and it had the exact same rack on the top. The only difference was on the side of the mounts there was small stickers with wood grain to match the wood grain Style on the Grand Wagoneer. It didn't look like it was cobbled together on the Wagoneer.

Hmmm. Makes me think. Both my suburban and the Grand Wagoneer were 91s. Interesting.

You're exactly right the luggage was to sit on the raised strips with the bars squeezed against them and straps over the top.

Woodgrain was the stock insert type through '88. The Wagoneer was a product of AMC, who sourced parts from all manufacturers. Iirc, the Wagoner racks were a little narrower and shorter than the Burb racks, but essentially the same.

 

[gmbellew]

my 1990 burb has the woodgrain sticker. I just assumed it was factory?

 

[Jawzjeep]

The Wagoneer was a product of AMC, who sourced parts from all manufacturers. Iirc, the Wagoner racks were a little narrower and shorter than the Burb racks, but essentially the same.

Oh yeah. I know all about the product sharing. Since its a square site I try to stay talking about squares but...

My Yj: AMC body, AMC 4.2, Mitsubishi starter solenoid, S-10 steering column, gm keys, Peugeot transmission, gm S-10 headlights, ford ignition system... Quite the mut.

My 69 jeepster though is a real jeep! With a heart of... a.... Buick oddfire and....
a GM BOP TH400 trans... wait a minute wut? Dang it. Lol

 

[bucket]

Oh yeah. I know all about the product sharing. Since its a square site I try to stay talking about squares but...

My Yj: AMC body, AMC 4.2, Mitsubishi starter solenoid, S-10 steering column, gm keys, Peugeot transmission, gm S-10 headlights, ford ignition system... Quite the mut.

My 69 jeepster though is a real jeep! With a heart of... a.... Buick oddfire and....
a GM BOP TH400 trans... wait a minute wut? Dang it. Lol

You ain't gonna bother anyone around here by talking about old FSJ's and Jeepsters. They are kissin' cousins to the GM trucks, lol. Many folks here like them too (including myself).

 

[Mr Stay Puft]

My '89 Burb has the wood grain on the side of the rack too. I was very close to buying a FSJ Cherokee Chief in the stock light blue color before deciding I wanted the extra size of the Burb. I still envision getting one though in a few years and fixing it up for my daughter to drive. The boy has already claimed dibs on the Burb.

 

[Jawzjeep]

I was very close to buying a FSJ Cherokee Chief in the stock light blue color before deciding I wanted the extra size of the Burb.

Close to the same here. Went and got a 91 FSJ grand waggy with full width highpinion 44 and 14 bolt in back. Had a wild horses doubler. Found damage around engine to frame and steering box. Parted it out and got the burb instead.