Member Since: 19 Apr 2017
Location: Cairn o’ Mount
Posts: 51
Ahh, I’m following you now, thanks for the clarification.
So the MK3, it no longer follows the contour of the roofline?
What’s everyone’s thoughts on the safety devices roof rack? It appears to follow the roofline and potentially have more fixing points than the terrafirma? Just a touch pricey compared to others depending on where you purchase it, link below.
Member Since: 13 Aug 2010
Location: Wiltshire
Posts: 13909
I had a Hannibal rack on my D3 and 4 for 12 years. Great rack. I'm probably going to fit another on my daughter's D3 with a Prospeed ladder. My Defender currently has the LR ladder fitted but the aero wings of the bracing struts are making me think about changing it, otherwise I need to buy these to attache anything: -
New Defender L663 110 SE (known as Noddy!)
Sold Volvo XC90 R-Design (known as Basil)
Sold - D4 HSE (Known as Gerty)
No longer the Old Buses original owner
231,000 miles and counting
05 S manual owned from March 2005
D4 Face lifted
Still original injectors and turbo
V8 Front brakes
BAS Remap, Allisport Intercooler and deCat
EGRs blanked
T-Max split charge
Hanibal Expeedition rack
Prospeed ladder
Duratrac tyres
IID BT
BAS FBH control
Ahh, I’m following you now, thanks for the clarification.
So the MK3, it no longer follows the contour of the roofline?
What’s everyone’s thoughts on the safety devices roof rack? It appears to follow the roofline and potentially have more fixing points than the terrafirma? Just a touch pricey compared to others depending on where you purchase it, link below.
Think both Terrafirma & SD are really poor 1/2 arsed copies of Prospeed. Occasionally see Prospeed pop up on the FB pages, have to be quick to get in there though.
If me i’d be hanging on until one came up.Paul.
06 Java Black HSE - gone
12 Baltic Blue HSE - gone
15 Fuji HSE Lux
Club Biscuits, mmmm nice!
Traxide/Luna hybrid & Yellow top
Some Prospeed bits
+ some other stuff
Club N.E.R.D.s.
22nd Mar 2023 8:00 pm
DJEwen
Member Since: 19 Apr 2017
Location: Cairn o’ Mount
Posts: 51
There is actually one on eBay currently, it’s a MK1 however and a million miles from me.
Anyone know which rack this is? It looks versatile.
2005 Discovery 3 HSE Zambezi Silver 56,000mls
22nd Mar 2023 8:33 pm
riverblanche
Member Since: 31 Aug 2010
Location: retford'ish
Posts: 2210
Hi,
there is a Trek overland patriot with side awning on FB I've just posted in "Bargain spots"
There is actually one on eBay currently, it’s a MK1 however and a million miles from me.
Anyone know which rack this is? It looks versatile.
Probably the same lad from St Helens advertising for £850 on FB, missing the composite floor. It’s well over-priced.
MkII’s from £675 upwards depending on condition & accessories, last MKI i saw go was with kit, needed some TLC & was £550.
You can’t buy any if the MkI kit ie XRS bars anymore.
06 Java Black HSE - gone
12 Baltic Blue HSE - gone
15 Fuji HSE Lux
Club Biscuits, mmmm nice!
Traxide/Luna hybrid & Yellow top
Some Prospeed bits
+ some other stuff
Club N.E.R.D.s.
Last edited by 1967jester on 22nd Mar 2023 10:00 pm. Edited 1 time in total
22nd Mar 2023 9:56 pm
Moo D3 Decade
Member Since: 13 Aug 2010
Location: Wiltshire
Posts: 13909
You're closer to it than me, but I'm tempted with the patriot rack in Troon. It would be perfect an overland conversion. New Defender L663 110 SE (known as Noddy!)
Sold Volvo XC90 R-Design (known as Basil)
Sold - D4 HSE (Known as Gerty)
No longer the Old Buses original owner
231,000 miles and counting
05 S manual owned from March 2005
D4 Face lifted
Still original injectors and turbo
V8 Front brakes
BAS Remap, Allisport Intercooler and deCat
EGRs blanked
T-Max split charge
Hanibal Expeedition rack
Prospeed ladder
Duratrac tyres
IID BT
BAS FBH control
there is a Trek overland patriot with side awning on FB I've just posted in "Bargain spots"
as your all talking about roofracks
Had already sent Moo details 😊😎Paul.
06 Java Black HSE - gone
12 Baltic Blue HSE - gone
15 Fuji HSE Lux
Club Biscuits, mmmm nice!
Traxide/Luna hybrid & Yellow top
Some Prospeed bits
+ some other stuff
Club N.E.R.D.s.
22nd Mar 2023 10:01 pm
DJEwen
Member Since: 19 Apr 2017
Location: Cairn o’ Mount
Posts: 51
Unsure if any of you follow Prospeed on instagram but they recently posted regarding their new roof rack for the D3/4 which lead to a discussion on how it's a shame it no longer looks like the old version.
Prospeed then advised an "aero front" is coming. Excellent news, the clear versatility of the new roof rack combined with the aero front will no doubt make for the best rack on the market I’d expect, of course we will need to see what the aero front looks like but if the rack of old is anything to go buy then I'd expect it's aesthetically pleasing.
2005 Discovery 3 HSE Zambezi Silver 56,000mls
7th Apr 2023 9:50 am
DJEwen
Member Since: 19 Apr 2017
Location: Cairn o’ Mount
Posts: 51
2005 Discovery 3 HSE Zambezi Silver 56,000mls
7th Apr 2023 10:36 pm
CIO
Member Since: 06 Mar 2018
Location: Bahrain
Posts: 109
I received the new roof rack last week.
I ordered it to fit the car with the short roof rails. The roof rack arrived in two boxes, the larger box with all the components of the roof rack itself and the smaller box with the fitments to attach the roof rack to the car, plus the wind deflector (note that this is not the aero front).
Assembly was easy. The provided instructions are good, and the fit and finish are excellent. Attaching the fittings to the car was also easy. Getting the rack mounted was a two-person job. We wrapped the wind deflector in an old towel and used that to slide the roof rack down the length of the car.
The good:
The quality of manufacturing is excellent.
The powder coating is with a textured finish that looks modern.
The rack is certainly low profile. I'm not sure how it compares to the MKII version in this respect, but I wouldn't be concerned about entering multistorey car parks with this attached.
The roof rack appears to be extremely stiff and strong. The pieces fit together so precisely that there is no room for misalignment or play between joints.
Attaching accessories to this version should be easier / more flexible than the MKII version.
The less good:
The roof rack doesn't look as good as the MKI or MKII. It doesn't look bad, but it doesn't have the unique look of the original versions. That being said, my neighbour saw it and said it looks great.
It's noisier than the earlier versions. In theory, the release of the aero-front will resolve this. However, there's no information as to when that will be available.
It's shorter and narrower than I would like it to be. The distance from the front crossbar to the rear crossbar could be longer. In practical terms, I'm out of spec for the awning I was planning to attach.
The front crossbar appears to block the sunroof from being opened (tilted). I haven't confirmed that this is the case, but I emailed Prospeed about this after fitting the roof rack, and they advised me not to try it and that they hadn't tested it.
There are currently no accessories available, nor is there information about the options for fixing accessories to the rack. The marketing mentions various options for fitting accessories, but there's no detail available on the website on which fittings work / or options to purchase.
The build quality is excellent, but compared to the MKII version, this feels much more like a generic flat-top roof rack. The fact that there are no accessories currently available and no timelines as to when the accessories shown in the marketing renders will be available makes me wish I'd played it safe and bought the frontrunner. My feelings will likely change once the aero-front and other accessories are released.
Chris
--
2016 D4 Landmark in the UK. 2014 LR4 SE in Bahrain.
19th May 2023 2:07 am
CIO
Member Since: 06 Mar 2018
Location: Bahrain
Posts: 109
As an update to this, the new rack uses what appear to be non-standard size slot nuts. max height is 5mm, and width is 16mm. By non-standard, I mean my google-fu hasn't been able to locate any.
Attached are some pics of the nuts supplied with the awning brackets - the same as are used to attach the wind-break on the front of the rack.
I'm struggling to find anything that fits. An email to Prospeed is pending their response.
Any ideas?
Chris
--
2016 D4 Landmark in the UK. 2014 LR4 SE in Bahrain.
8th Jun 2023 12:13 pm
CIO
Member Since: 06 Mar 2018
Location: Bahrain
Posts: 109
Regarding my previous post about slot-nuts. They are now available on the Prospeed website.
I received the Aero front last week (several months later than promised). It looks pretty good. Very reminiscent of the "original" Prospeed racks. It made a positive difference to the wind noise generated at high speed, and even with an awning and a maxtrax carrier attached, the wind noise was much reduced to the point it was no longer noticeable.
Click image to enlarge
Click image to enlarge
Unfortunately, I had to remove it today as, after a week, it was no longer sitting flush with the front of the roofline and wind was getting under the foam seal, which made driving above 30KPH sound like being in a helicopter. Despite lots of fettling and readjusting, I couldn't make it sit flat, as every time I tightened up the brackets, the front was lifted off the roof. The bracketry that makes up the aero front is nowhere near as precisely manufactured as the rack itself, and there's lots of opportunity for the fastenings to move around and mess up the alignment.
I wanted to like it, but I've given up. I don't have the time to mess about with roof racks. I'll be getting the Frontrunner rack to replace the Prospeed rack and chalking this one up to experience. The wife said I should have done that months ago in preparation for the good weather.
Cons:
Aero front a disappointment. Too many parts. It seems to be an afterthought rather than integral to the roof rack design.
The rack is too short, front to back. There could be at least another 30 CM of usable length. The guys who supplied the awning asked me if I wanted them to put a roof bar behind the rack so that the awning could sit further towards the back of the car.
It could be wider, too.
Poor selection of accessories.
Fittings are proprietary, and there is no 3rd party support. (admittedly, it's easy to adapt many "universal" type accessories).
Chris
--
2016 D4 Landmark in the UK. 2014 LR4 SE in Bahrain.
5th Nov 2023 1:19 pm
Moo D3 Decade
Member Since: 13 Aug 2010
Location: Wiltshire
Posts: 13909
Interesting. I've been looking at the Prospeed for my Defender but something about how usable it is has been nagging me. The Frontrunner looks good and I'm also going to look at the one Leeds is developing.New Defender L663 110 SE (known as Noddy!)
Sold Volvo XC90 R-Design (known as Basil)
Sold - D4 HSE (Known as Gerty)
No longer the Old Buses original owner
231,000 miles and counting
05 S manual owned from March 2005
D4 Face lifted
Still original injectors and turbo
V8 Front brakes
BAS Remap, Allisport Intercooler and deCat
EGRs blanked
T-Max split charge
Hanibal Expeedition rack
Prospeed ladder
Duratrac tyres
IID BT
BAS FBH control
5th Nov 2023 3:46 pm
CIO
Member Since: 06 Mar 2018
Location: Bahrain
Posts: 109
I'm going with Frontrunner as it's a known quantity with loads of 3rd party support.
I can't knock the quality of manufacture of the Prospeed rack itself, but it's considerably smaller than it needs to be. If the aero front was better thought out, I could live with the smaller usable size of the rack as a compromise for it being almost silent. However, the aero front has a Meccano vibe to it. I don't have the patience (possibly skill) to make it work, and the rack is too much of a compromise when in standard noisy mode.Chris
--
2016 D4 Landmark in the UK. 2014 LR4 SE in Bahrain.
You cannot post new topics in this forum You cannot reply to topics in this forum You cannot edit your posts in this forum You cannot delete your posts in this forum You cannot vote in polls in this forum
