Video Transcript for 2022 Chevrolet Express Van Flint Hill Goods Van Ladder Rack: Complete Installation

Hi, Matt at etrailer. And today, we're talking about the Flint Hill Goods Van Ladder Rack on top of our 2022 Chevrolet Express Van. This is gonna be a great option if you are using this as a work van and you need to put some longer things up there. Anything from a ladder rack to lumber. So, let's check it out. Our system is gonna be made of a couple components today.

We're gonna have our outer and inner crossbar. We're gonna have the bracket, and then the hook on the very back of it. So, let's check a look at that crossbar. This is gonna be made of steel and it's gonna have this white powder coat finish to it, so it's gonna be very durable and weather resistant too. Now, you'll notice that this outer one is thicker than the thinner one and that might give you a different fit, depending on what you're putting on here.

And the reason that is is because that inner one fits inside of this outer one, so it can adjust to larger sizes. And then, we're gonna have the bracket and this bracket's also gonna act as a load stopper 'cause we're gonna have this larger section up top. So if you have anything that's sliding around, this is gonna stop your loads from shifting off. Then at the bottom, we're gonna have our hook. And this hook is gonna grab onto the back of the bracket and grab onto your rails to give you that secure fit.

And something else about this bracket too is we're gonna have multiple holes in this section right here that you can naturally adjust how high this sits. So if you want to sitting up a little bit higher, you have that option. And a little bit more about that powder coat finish. It's gonna be more of this off white, which is okay. It doesn't match a van completely, but it's pretty close.

And something I'm not a big fan of is this powder coat is really prone to coming off. When we got it today, it even had a couple chips already. So, those areas where it's chipped at are gonna be more prone to rusting, so definitely keep an eye on it. Okay, notice we do have a pretty wide crossbar spread and that's gonna be for if you are hauling those longer items. Now, if you want this even longer, then what I would suggest is getting another set of these since they are very affordable. So, you can put in the center so you don't get too much sag. This is also gonna have a weight capacity up to 500 pounds and I do think this deal is gonna hold up to that. Now, a powder coat would hold up to that. I can't really say for sure. That would just be something that time tell, just definitely like I said earlier, keep an eye on it. And the going off of the weight capacity, always check what your roof is rated for. I would recommend finding out what that is in your owner's manual. And then, going from the lowest rated component. And now, we can get some measurements. So, the way your crossbars are gonna sit are going to bend on what holes you're using on the side of the bracket. That's gonna range from six and a quarter inches to all the way up to eight and a half inches. But the height of the brackets where they sit won't ever change, because they're not adjustable. And that's gonna sit at 13 and a half inches up top. Now for the space that we have underneath right now, I'm gonna go from the thicker side or the outer bars. That's gonna be at about three inches. So, do know that you will lose some if you do have that on the lowest hole. Overall, I think this is gonna be a great value option for you. If you're looking for something that's gonna be great, if you're it in a work environment, you're just trying to haul those extra long ladders or that lumber on top of your, just taking 'em from point A to point B. Now, we have had neighbors in the past actually double up on these. So that you have four bars on top almost making sort of a platform and that's giving them a lot more security. They actually used it for a canoe, so it sits up there very flush. And honestly, going that route is probably gonna be more affordable than stepping up into one of our more premium ladder racks or roof racks. As far as the installation goes, since it is such an affordable rack, there is a little bit of a process to it. But if you do need a hand, just stay tuned and we'll help you out with it. To start off with installation, we're gonna lay everything out. So up front, we're gonna have our two bars, and that's gonna be our inner and outer bar. And next to that, we're gonna have our two brackets right here. Then, you're gonna have the included hardware, which are gonna be your M12 bolts, your flat washers, and your lock washers. You are gonna need some tools, but one one of them is gonna be our 3/16 Allen key. And you're gonna need a socket and wrench, a size 18 and 13. I also recommend grabbing a size 13 wrench too, because some of those spots are pretty tight to get to. And in the background, you notice we do have a ladder that's gonna make this process a lot easier. You can do this with one person, but I really recommend grabbing two people, so you can reach around and get you the other side too. But if you don't have a ladder, just make sure you have something so you can get elevated to access the top of your roof. Lemme point out the bracket first. So in the instructions, it tells you how to put this together. In our case, this was already put together. So if yours isn't, let me show you how to do it. So basically, you're gonna have this M8 bolt and it's gonna be a longer one too. You're just gonna push that through the bracket and your hook attachment. You'll have a lock washer and a flat washer that go underneath that too. You notice we have two more bolts and I flip that over. Those are gonna grab on to these locking nuts. And underneath those locking nuts, we're gonna have flat washers. And finally, we'll have this rubber that I'll just grab onto the end of your bracket. With that outta the way, we can start talking about how to put a bar together. It's pretty straightforward. All we have to do is grab that inner piece and just slide it in to our outer piece. Now if this happens and it grabs on, we'll have to loosen this bolt that's in here. The way we do that is I'll just put this inner bar to the side. Grab that 3/16 Allen key, loosen this up. Put this loosened up be out of the way. So, that can slide that bar through. (metal scraping) And we're just gonna roughly place it here because we don't know how far it needs to be extended. Next up, I'm gonna grab that bracket. I'm gonna make sure that this bracket and hook is facing out and I'm gonna line up or M12 volt through one of these holes. Any one of your choosing, that's just gonna depend on how high you want your bars to sit. I'm gonna go with for this one second from the top. So we prep that, I'm just gonna grab that M12 bolt, put the lock washer on there, and then the flat washer. Push it through our bracket and bring it over to the end of our bars and just hand thread it in. Once this process is completed, you can do that on the other side. This is where the ladder's gonna come in handy and a friend too. Today, we got Aiden helping us out. And before you get it up here, I recommend making sure everything's loose, even the clamps, so they're a lot easier to get over there. And we're using a towel today, so we don't scratch up our roof. So, what I'm gonna do is extend this other tower, keeping the base near me and pushing it out until he can reach. And we're just gonna roughly place it on our rails, and then adjust afterwards. You'll probably notice we already have our front crossbar on here. Putting them both on is gonna be the same process. And now, we need to get our measurements to make sure each side is even. If you're to get your front ones on, you can use them as a guidepost. So, what I like to do is measure from one spot, so I know that's gonna be the same on each side, to the other. And then after when I get that measurement, I wanna check the other side to make sure it's even. And if it's not even, I'm just gonna adjust it just by either pulling this way towards the front or towards the back. We can start securing things down. So where I'm gonna start is on the bar itself. Tightening down the set screw we have the top just with that 3/16 Allen key. I have to grab onto the bar too so it doesn't spin around. And once you have this tight, we can move on. We're gonna come over to this M12 bolt that's secure in your bracket to your bar. And we're gonna grab the 18 socket. And when you tighten this down, I recommend grabbing the bar so it doesn't spin on you. Once you have this all the way tightened on the side, you just repeat that process for the other. You tighten everything up on the other side. Now, we're gonna come back here and tighten up this amate bolt up top. (wrench squeaking) Once this is all the way secured, what this is doing is applying pressure from the clamp to the bottom of your side rails. And once, we have it all the way secured, we can move over to the front. (wrench squeaking) To right here where we can tighten down these lock nuts. (wrench squeaking) Our last step is just gonna be giving this a good shake test. Making sure this field is secured. And if it does, then you can load it up with whatever you have, and then go take it on the road. But that's just a look at the installation and some of the features of the Flint Hill Goods Van Ladder Rack on top of our 2022 Chevrolet Express Van.