Roof Rails For 2007 Rav4

[ToyotaPC]

I have a UK 2007 Rav4 without roof rails. I wish to fit roof rails so I can attach radio antenna's as my hobby is ham radio. I can't afford Toyota agents price, has anyone any contacts?

[anchorman]

Welcome to the club.

Wait until shcm comes along, he has all the solutions for that!

[local hero]

I have a UK 2007 Rav4 without roof rails. I wish to fit roof rails so I can attach radio antenna's as my hobby is ham radio. I can't afford Toyota agents price, has anyone any contacts?

Try HERE there are some genuine ones at £199, + some O/E style ones at £154 they dont come up second hand very often as once you have them you tend to keep them, unless you find a car thats being scrapped.. Stew

[ToyotaPC]

I have a UK 2007 Rav4 without roof rails. I wish to fit roof rails so I can attach radio antenna's as my hobby is ham radio. I can't afford Toyota agents price, has anyone any contacts?

Try HERE there are some genuine ones at £199, + some O/E style ones at £154 they dont come up second hand very often as once you have them you tend to keep them, unless you find a car thats being scrapped.. Stew

Do you know if the previous model 2000 to 2006 bars fit?

[rangermastiffs]

I have a UK 2007 Rav4 without roof rails. I wish to fit roof rails so I can attach radio antenna's as my hobby is ham radio. I can't afford Toyota agents price, has anyone any contacts?

Try HERE there are some genuine ones at £199, + some O/E style ones at £154 they dont come up second hand very often as once you have them you tend to keep them, unless you find a car thats being scrapped.. Stew

Do you know if the previous model 2000 to 2006 bars fit?

I take it you are talking about the roof rails which run from "front to rear" of car in which case no the older ones won't fit it needs to be 2006 Onwards.

[shcm]

Wait until shcm comes along, he has all the solutions for that!

Possibly, but it depends on what you are doing ToyotaPC? I expect wanting to use a standard rail mount, or if you are doing something with a humongous mobile HF antenna (or a HF screwdriver type), then I can understand you wanting the rails for a substantial mount to take the strain.

For what it is worth, it is what I did with my first RAV - because the rails were already there:

On my second RAV, I got a plastic threads to fit in one of the roof rail mount holes, hollowed it out slightly to take a conductor and mounted a SO239 on top of it. Almost coaxial through the body (although, I never bothered to work out the Zo!). It never failed, but I was never totally happy with it - wasn't sure of the strength of the thing. This was the result:

With the present RAV, I've just "bit the bullet" and taken a Q-max cutter to the roof:

I "um and ah" about messing with the body, but I've done similar things on previous vehicles and nobody has batted an eyelid when I came to sell them. My Dad also went through 25 years of drilling bodywork for PMR antennas on his cars and never had a problem when it came to selling/part-ex.

We've also questioned about how it affects the corrosion warranty, but have been told it is not a problem. Whether that would still be the case if we tried to make a claim though, is maybe another matter :).

Mine are 2m/70cm (probably centre loaded 1/2 wave on 2 and sort of 2x "colineared" 5/8ths on 70) and a 1/4 wave for 4m.

73s.

[pmb]

Any suggestions on mounting gear internally. Saw a Rav4 at Donnington a few years ago that looked to have a head unit on a bracket at the side of the radio. I've an yaesu 857 and with a separation kit I wondered if I could do something similar with the main body in the offside storage compartment in the boot. de 8TIS...

[shcm]

Yes, I used that solution. .

When I had my 4.2, I mounted the body of rig in the boot side storage compartment - as you suggest. For 4m, I've got a heavily modified ex-pmr rig (MX294). That was mounted under the passenger seat with the CD changer. I added serial link control to the rig and an old palm pilot makes a very good "remote head" for it (after you've written the software :)).

Later on, the other storage compartment got a power supply controller and small secondary Battery for a car-pc put in it.

For the 4.3, the rigs are in the lower storage boot. I'm cabled up for my 857 too, but at the moment, it spends most of its life out of the vehicle.

[abraxas]

I was half expecting to see a picture of that Joggler doing the job of remote head by now shcm :)

[ToyotaPC]

Thanks guys for the info, the vehicle is my wifes who is also licenced G6lqg so I can't cut holes. I will try and get some rails. I have found some SH but they are 2000 to 2006 model. The antenna will be a Tri band approx 1.5metres long. G4xee

[shcm]

I was half expecting to see a picture of that Joggler doing the job of remote head by now shcm :)

Yeah, dead right. Slap on the wrist for me for not getting it done yet!

To be honest, I'm not yet sure where it would mount nicely.....and then I'd want it to boot quickly or at least come out of standby fast.....and then you'd need a permanent PSU........ Still for the money it was at the time it's an interesting bit of kit. Worth it just for the components alone (esp the touch screen).

so I can't cut holes. I will try and get some rails. The antenna will be a Tri band approx 1.5metres long. G4xee

I didn't realise there was so many licenced amateurs lurking on here! It's a pity I couldn't make a better solution of using the existing rail mounting holes than using a plastic thread. With a decent bit of metal working kit (which I dont' have), I reckon it could be made very substantial. We need dave.m back!

Don't forget to watch out for height restriction barriers with that ant (I do!).

Cheers

G7***

[anchorman]

I've read all of this thread twice and I have concluded that I know ba about radio hamming. You are all speaking English?

[Davrav]

You are all speaking English?

Yeah, but 'not as we know it Jim' [Anchorman]

[Parts-King]

Come on AM, didnt you know the g6qlg model interfaced with the ham and lettuce whip user card, mainly on the 06> roger ten four rubber duck models?

I dunno, call yourself an expert

Kingo

[anchorman]

If you'd have said that in the first place.........

......ham and lettuce I know about.

Beam me up Scottie

[shcm]

Pah, y'am all just jealous. :P

Beam me up Scottie

Shouldn't that be "Scheme me up Bothy"?

[dave.m]

I was half expecting to see a picture of that Joggler doing the job of remote head by now shcm

Yeah, dead right. Slap on the wrist for me for not getting it done yet!

To be honest, I'm not yet sure where it would mount nicely.....and then I'd want it to boot quickly or at least come out of standby fast.....and then you'd need a permanent PSU........ Still for the money it was at the time it's an interesting bit of kit. Worth it just for the components alone (esp the touch screen).

so I can't cut holes. I will try and get some rails. The antenna will be a Tri band approx 1.5metres long. G4xee

I didn't realise there was so many licenced amateurs lurking on here! It's a pity I couldn't make a better solution of using the existing rail mounting holes than using a plastic thread. With a decent bit of metal working kit (which I dont' have), I reckon it could be made very substantial. We need dave.m back!

Don't forget to watch out for height restriction barriers with that ant (I do!).

Cheers

G7***

You rang

With a machine shop at my disposal anythings possible for my TOC chums.You sketch it I'll get it made

[abraxas]

To be honest, I'm not yet sure where it would mount nicely.....and then I'd want it to boot quickly or at least come out of standby fast.....and then you'd need a permanent PSU........ Still for the money it was at the time it's an interesting bit of kit. Worth it just for the components alone (esp the touch screen).

Aye, the missuz found a place for it in the kitchen and I can't have it back. :) With that squeezebox player installed it makes an awesome internet radio / music streamer... and it does have a very nice screen. Wish I got 2 or 3 when they were on offer. :)

Anyway... I was looking forward to seeing some exotic use for it in the RAV. :)

[shcm]

Well, I got my laptop working as emulating a cd changer with the headunit last night, so who knows, you might see something one day...................