80/20 roof rack build (1 Viewer)

[ylexot]

The rope baffle is an interesting idea. Not the aesthetic I prefer, but reducing wind noise with dollar's worth of rope is at least something to try. I'll be curious to see (hear) if one baffle will work for the whole rack.

I did measure the height off the roof. With the Gamiviti mounts the bottom of the rack is 3" from the centerline of the roof.

 

[Woofythewolf]

Did you try the rope baffle? I cant help but wonder how that works and effectiveness on square or round extrusions. Makes me want to build a scale model and ask if I can run it through the school's wind tunnel.

 

[roemer7]

I have the Thule square bars that I always use. I’ve added black paracord to them which cut the wind noise significantly. Here’s the only picture I have of the square bars with paracord on my Odyssey. You might give it a try.

 

[Citius]

How is the rack holding up after all this time? I'm about to pull the trigger and order some of the 10 series to build a cabinet system and fridge slide unit for my truck as well.

If your rack held up well, I might build a rack for my RTT for my M100 trailer to get the tent off my truck. I have the CVT Denali Summit series and it weighs over 250 lbs and really makes the truck top heavy.

 

[ylexot]

I still havent tried the rope baffle. (Too few spare moments.) It is on my list. I'm concerned about the channels in the extrusions being the primary source of wind, so it may not be a complete solution. The snap in channel covers really stick in there. The samples I got havent moved a bit nor blown out. In fact they may be hard to get out. I've gotten used to the wind noise, but I'll be glad to have a quieter cab, whatever the solution.

The rack is holding up really well and has been really handy, mostly on runs to Lowes. It is sturdy and hasn't shaken loose. (I used stainless split lock washers on all the bolts and that has been enough to keep it sound for 15k miles or so. I did accidentally get some non stainless washers in the mix somehow and those are of course rusting. Otherwise it looks like it did when I first bolted it on.

I havent taken advantage of the channels for mounting accessories or other rooftop gear. A 2x kayak rack is living up there now. But it is using the standard wrap around the cross bar clamps.

I will say, for my needs the 40mm profile is overkill. Way more strength than has been needed. If I were to do it again I would go with the 25mm/1in profile. A big heavy RRT would probably be fine with 1in too, since the weight is distributed and the tent supports the campers. I can walk around on the 40mm with minimal deflection but I don't need to do that. Heavy stuff up there is either bigger than me and goes across multiple members or weighs a lot less, usually both.

 

[Citius]

Thanks for the update. Ill go with the 1" 10 series stuff then. I wish I saw this post prior to getting my roof rack. There is so much more flexibility with the 80/20 and you're not stuck buying all the overpriced hardware and accessories.


Have you considered getting or making a wind fairing to help with the noise? You can find one cheap off Craigslist and yakima has universal hardware for the install.

Thanks again for replying to this thread.

 

[ylexot]

A fairing has definitely been on the todo list. My rack is a bit wider than most off the shelf fairings will fit. I've thought about fashioning something from a broken snowboard or set of skins. I havemt put my hands on one yet.

I did pick up some heavy plastic and some braces that will mount up, but got slowed down with shaping the plastic to match the contour of the roof. My workshop is nearly complete (just needs a floor and to move in). I hope to have time in the near future to play with it more.

 

[Dmi]

Hi, how high is the rack above the roof?
I'm building the rack out of 30mm series 80/20, trying to make it low profile.
Can't pick between gamiviti towers and trail tailor towers.
Was there any hardware with gamiviti included?

 

[ylexot]

Height: 3in from bottom of rack/top of gamviti towers to the centerline peak.

I'm pretty sure I have the gamviti towers at their lowest trim level for a full level rack.

Gamiviti towers came with hardware to assemble and mount the towers to the roof. They are solid.

 

[Dmi]

Thank you for the reply. Looks like I'm going with gamiviti. Have to figure out how to mount 52" led bar to 80/20 now.

 

[ylexot]

@Dmi, how goes your rack?

It should be very straightforward to mound all kinds of stuff to the 80/20 rack.

I finally got around to putting channel covers into the channels. That made a significant difference in wind noise. I via now here the noise from my tires again, it is nearly still drowned out by rack wind noise, but much better.

I want to try the rope baffle trick still, but I'm gathering materials for a custom fairing.

 

[ylexot]

Blue stripes are the covers.

 

[Dmi]

@Dmi, how goes your rack?

It should be very straightforward to mound all kinds of stuff to the 80/20 rack.

I finally got around to putting channel covers into the channels. That made a significant difference in wind noise. I via now here the noise from my tires again, it is nearly still drowned out by rack wind noise, but much better.

I want to try the rope baffle trick still, but I'm gathering materials for a custom fairing.

In the middle of the build, I used 30mm series with black inserts. Turned out pretty good. Front section needs a bit more reinforcement for the light bar. Kayak mounts seat perfectly. I'm planning to add some accessories to it, like GPS/wifi antenna (mostly for head unit), camera for the trailer hitch and may be on the sides.
Worried about plastic channels, I want to use them to hide some wires, but local sun might eat through pretty fast.
I can post some details on parts/dimensions I used to build if anyone interested.

 

[Woofythewolf]

Put some 303 UV protectant on the plastic after installation and it will look pretty for at least 5 years.
If you remember to apply it yearly (I'm incapable of that) it will definitely last longer than the vehicle.

I've gotten around to soaking and working all of the screws free so the factory rack will come off easy, but I'm still too nervous about wind noise to put a real rack up there. Already have a pretty cheap unistrut based design ready to build though.

 

[Balto1223]

In the middle of the build, I used 30mm series with black inserts. Turned out pretty good. Front section needs a bit more reinforcement for the light bar. Kayak mounts seat perfectly. I'm planning to add some accessories to it, like GPS/wifi antenna (mostly for head unit), camera for the trailer hitch and may be on the sides.
Worried about plastic channels, I want to use them to hide some wires, but local sun might eat through pretty fast.
I can post some details on parts/dimensions I used to build if anyone interested.

What are you using for kayak tie downs that bolt into the 8020 tracks?

 

[ylexot]

Long overdue, but I did finally try the rope baffle. It worked like a charm. It cut the wind noise down to indistinguishable from what I recall from the factory roof rack.

Full disclosure, the PO had the windshield replaced by someone who didn't do it right and the rubber bits that wrap around the side of the widhahield to the roof are a little proud and I'm sure mailing nose. No chips or cracks in this windscreen, but I've had it near 10 years and that's the official lifespan for the glass. I'll get it replaced soon ish and hope for better install and even less noise. Maybe I'll hear the roof rack again then.

 

[Nightbrew]

Couple of questions. @ylexot Do the channel inserts you have need to have an open end to be installed or removed? Also would you care to share some pics of the 4 outside corners of your rack? I have been considering building a similar setup and I appreciate any help.

 

[ylexot]

@Nightbrew, not sure I completely understand the open channel question. The extrusions are open on the ends. I used Square nuts inside the channels to thread the bolts. The nuts bite into the inside edges of the channel and all you to torque down the hardware.

Here are a couple snaps of the corners. I used the triangular brackets at all the cross member joints. It is Hella stout. Somehow some non stainless washers got into my kit, which you can see if you look close. Someday I need to replace those.

 

[Nightbrew]

@Nightbrew, not sure I completely understand the open channel question. The extrusions are open on the ends. I used Square nuts inside the channels to thread the bolts. The nuts bite into the inside edges of the channel and all you to torque down the hardware.

Here are a couple snaps of the corners. I used the triangular brackets at all the cross member joints. It is Hella stout. Somehow some non stainless washers got into my kit, which you can see if you look close. Someday I need to replace those.

View attachment 2838312

View attachment 2838313

Thanks. Maybe a better way to ask, do the inserts slide in from one of the ends or can they just be pushed in to the channel on its face? Or do they slide in, or just push in?

 

[ylexot]

Thanks. Maybe a better way to ask, do the inserts slide in from one of the ends or can they just be pushed in to the channel on its face? Or do they slide in, or just push in?

Ah-ha. The blue inserts just snap in from the outside. They can also be pulled out when needed.

I'm a little curious if they get brittle after a while. I have had these in for several years and haven't lost one, but you can see a couple are losing grip perhaps at the tail end. Someday I'm going to pop them out for an awning mount, then if all goes well, cut and reinstall. The blue ones are a harder plastic. The top has a black softer rubber insert to provide better slip resistance.