roof rack flooring (1 Viewer)

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metalonmetal

metalonmetal

Rebuilding
Joined
Aug 23, 2005
Threads
43
Messages
588
Location
East Vancouver, BC
previous owner had a homemade roof rack on top of the fj40 i bought. it's a gnarly steel frame, very heavy. he had bolted down a custom sized 3/8" plank of plywood. the thing was waterlogged to the max, probably weighed as much as the frame. so i chucked the wood and initially thought of throwing some expanded metal on there to take up the space between the cross-members. but i'm wondering if anybody's got creative with other materials? stiff rubber mats? perforated/punched plastic? anything usable other than expanded metal or more wood? i'd like something lightweight, as the frame is heavy as it is.
-drew:beer:
 
McNichols sells perforated plastic, steel, aluminum... all kinds of stuff.

They are hard to buy by the slice though, I used to use them at my old job.

If you have one near you they are your best bet.

Rezarf <><
 
ya that's one thing that's kinda holding me back right now. some places around here sell without minimums, but the prices are outrageous.
 
I'm going to use expanded metal on mine. Here in Sac we have an ornamental iron supply house, I picked up a 4x8 sheet of 16 ga. for $70.
 
Cube Dweller said:
I'm going to use expanded metal on mine. Here in Sac we have an ornamental iron supply house, I picked up a 4x8 sheet of 16 ga. for $70.
Click to expand...

That's what I would recommend. I have plywood on mine, I drilled a s**t load of 1" holes in it for tiedown locations as well as to reduce the weight. It's already starting to look ratty though.
 
Cube Dweller said:
I'm going to use expanded metal on mine. Here in Sac we have an ornamental iron supply house, I picked up a 4x8 sheet of 16 ga. for $70.
Click to expand...

do you have any pictures of the roof rack? i'd need two of those sheets, is the 16ga big enough for you? like can you walk on the stuff without it bending? if i went expanded i'd get aluminum, flattened, a heavier guage with the openings around 1.5" wide so i could easily get bungee cords or tie downs in the openings. maybe i'll take a few pictures of the roof rack, take some measurements and post some pictures.
 
metalonmetal said:
do you have any pictures of the roof rack? i'd need two of those sheets, is the 16ga big enough for you? like can you walk on the stuff without it bending? if i went expanded i'd get aluminum, flattened, a heavier guage with the openings around 1.5" wide so i could easily get bungee cords or tie downs in the openings. maybe i'll take a few pictures of the roof rack, take some measurements and post some pictures.
Click to expand...


I haven't built it yet, I just picked up the sheet since I was there. My plan is to bend it up out of 16 gauge 1" round tubing and add crossbars as needed. The idea of larger pattern diamonds for tie down pts is a good one. My neighbor converted his jet ski trailer to a quad hauler by adding the same expanded metal, he's 220lbs and can walk on it. I'll grab some pics the next time he is out.

I'm going to run steel since for a given geometry it's stiffer, easier to weld and a bunch cheaper. I had serious sticker shock pricing out some aluminum rectangular tubing. I have access to an AC tig machine now, but it would take forever....

Edit: Now that I think about it, I believe we used 13 Ga on the trailer and that's what I bought too. I'll probably use the 13 gauge for the cargo barrier and run 16 on the roof rack.
 
Last edited:
surfpig said:
That's what I would recommend. I have plywood on mine, I drilled a s**t load of 1" holes in it for tiedown locations as well as to reduce the weight. It's already starting to look ratty though.
Click to expand...


This fall I'll should have some free time if you want to redeck it. You'll have to drive east though...
 
here are some pictures, the rack has an inside dimension of 58" x 80.5"
sm-roof-rack 001.jpg

sm-roof-rack 004.jpg
 
i found some scrap which i think would suit quite well. the crossmembers allow for this size expanded metal to sit flush with the perimeter of the rack.
sm-roof-rack 008.jpg

sm-roof-rack-detail.jpg

i'm thinking maybe steel is the way to go, i could weld it all around instead of bolts and washers. it'll be heeeaaavvy though.
 
REZARF said:
1/2" marine grade and painted plywood on my rack lasted about 1.5 years...

Rezarf <><
Click to expand...

how expensive? i'm guessing it would be as heavy if not heavier than metal.
 
metalonmetal said:
i found some scrap which i think would suit quite well. the crossmembers allow for this size expanded metal to sit flush with the perimeter of the rack.
sm-roof-rack 008.jpg

sm-roof-rack-detail.jpg

i'm thinking maybe steel is the way to go, i could weld it all around instead of bolts and washers. it'll be heeeaaavvy though.
Click to expand...


Think that would work pretty well. Just run thinner gauge. All the wire will be in tension, it will be plenty strong.
 
This is the stuff I'm going to use for the flooring on my rack (pick up at CMCC). Got the idea from a Rover guy that I wheeled with a few months back. Strong, lighter than steel and never rusts.

Chicken coup flooring

Before you all poke fun you better read it. Hell, when I brought it up Bill from BA Outfitters he thought it was a much better option than expanded steel. One more thing, you never have to paint it, try that with wood or expanded steel.
 
IBCRUSN said:
This is the stuff I'm going to use for the flooring on my rack (pick up at CMCC). Got the idea from a Rover guy that I wheeled with a few months back. Strong, lighter than steel and never rusts.

Chicken coup flooring

Before you all poke fun you better read it. Hell, when I brought it up Bill from BA Outfitters he thought it was a much better option than expanded steel. One more thing, you never have to paint it, try that with wood or expanded steel.
Click to expand...

i'll find out how much this weighs, i imagine a lot lighter. how would i mount this to my roof rack frame? 7/8" openings are a little too narrow for tie down and bungees though. i'm gonna see if i can get them to send me a small sample or something.
 
I was/am planning on going with black tyraps. My buddy uses the same setup and has lasted for three years with no problems.

I was scepticle (sp), he told me to climb up on it. Even with my 260lb fat arse it flexed very little. Sold me immediately.
 
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