another DIY roof rack... (1 Viewer)

[Wile E Coyote]

another DIY roof rack, update Feb 09

Here's my progress so far on a rack for my 62 I recently started. As you can see, it's half done, as it's just a flat platform. A top hoop, light cage/brackets, hi-lift mounts and other crap are yet to come. The gutter mounts are all DIY as well, formed with a bfh and a bench vice, cut out with an angle grinder. They look rough, but seem to hold quite strongly. As you can tell, they are a copy of a popular design, .

Gutter mounts are 1/8" plate, contact edges coated with Plasti-Dip, and use 1/4" and 5/16" fasteners. Cross braces are 0.065" 1" square tube, outer hoop is just 1/2" EMT (conduit) primed quickly for the weekend.

My bro-in-law backed out yesterday from a camping trip this weekend, so I scrambled mid-project to get at least something up top to make room for the junk he will now not be carrying for me.

Yep, I did just de chrome the rain gutter to mount the rack, it'll get attention after the weekend.

 

[Trapper50cal]

LG

Lookin' good!!

You gonna do the double atv ramp trick to it?

 

[Wile E Coyote]

Lookin' good!!

You gonna do the double atv ramp trick to it?

That was a quick 1st reply.
Nope, it'll be basket style, the top hoop and short connecting uprights in between hoops will come later. There will be more 1" square tube between each of the cross braces, and/or a sheet of expanded metal. As it sits now, with gutter mounts included, it weighs 10 lbs or less.

 

[Randy88FJ62]

Looks clean so far. I look forward to it's progress. I just bought a used con-ferr rack and I'm looking for ideas for a hi-lift mount and other fun stuff.

 

[Trapper50cal]

total

totally a coincidence.

 

[Wile E Coyote]

Well, I just got back on this project this afternoon after abandoning it due to some pressing honey-do stuff.
I quickly saw that it was a mistake not to use the remaining 2 ft of roof space, so the rack hoops got extended and another x-bar welded in. Of course, I needed 2 more brackets as well. Here are the pics I shot of the process if anyone is enough of a glutton for punishment to try and make 8 of these suckas like I am.
Here's the start, just 1/8" (11ga) plate.

 

[woytovich]

Dude... I know fabrication is fun and all that but:
https://forum.ih8mud.com/sale-parts/247406-con-ferr-hd-roof-rack-clamps.html

 

[Wile E Coyote]

Here's the part to the far right in pic #3 above getting the first of two 45 deg bends.

 

[Wile E Coyote]

Fawk. My IP is giving me fits. I'll finish this update later.
Wyotovich, save it for the for sale section.

 

[Wile E Coyote]

Here's the middle part in pic #3 going through the bending process.

 

[Wile E Coyote]

Middle part bending continued.

 

[Wile E Coyote]

Now it's the far left part's turn. 1st pic is a finished piece overlying a raw one for reference. The last pic shows the scrap inserted to allow for proper spacing.

 

[Wile E Coyote]

This is the last pic of the far left part, along with the notch ground in the allthread that welds to the middle part.

 

[Wile E Coyote]

That's the last of the pics for now, dinner is waiting and I still have to carve a few pumpkins for the younguns tonight. The remainder of this part of the project is pretty apparent, anyway. Clean up the metal, drill the holes, and spray the sparkly pink paint. Add a bit of Plasti-dip along the rain gutter contact area, for good measure.

 

[Wile E Coyote]

Very late update:
Got crackin on this again. 2ft was added, which meant 2 more mounting brackets needed made.
Before paint, it will get a 10" high hoop at the very front, to keep branches off the lights that'll also find homes there.
The floor is 13 ga expanded metal.

Question for any who have treaded before me: Does your's rattle offroad when unloaded? I tacked the field section of the floor at about 10", but while still unpainted, it rattles on the stands. Obviously, from the floor hitting the supports. Either I can tack weld the hell outta it, or does anyone feel a healthy dose of paint would quiet it down?

 

[2badfjs]

great hand fabbing on the mounts!!!!!!!

as for the rattling goes, i think you will need to tack the expanded almost every spot.
i hate working with expanded

killer rack!!!!

 

[FARMAN33]

Question for any who have treaded before me: Does your's rattle offroad when unloaded? I tacked the field section of the floor at about 10", but while still unpainted, it rattles on the stands. Obviously, from the floor hitting the supports. Either I can tack weld the hell outta it, or does anyone feel a healthy dose of paint would quiet it down?




I would GUESS a few more tacks and alot of paint would do it. I nearly tarred mine with Rustoleum Gloss Black and added about 3 pounds of welding wire to the whole thing. Looks great so far. I will probably have to floor mine as you did when it is off for my 60's paint job.

 

[sirenmoses]

I don't know; seems like the expanded on a (somewhat smaller) rack over the pump on our brush truck doesn't rattle much, and it's painted.

Or it's way at the back of the rig, just not sitting over my head rattling...


Nice work. Looking forward to the final (hooptie) project.

 

[Wile E Coyote]

Thanks for the input. I hope that it doesn't rattle much when it's all done.

Only three lights will be installed, one each for the three flats seen up front. I still haven't decided on which lights. The $100 Chinese HID's from Checker Auto look promising.

I wanted to keep it as light as possible. It was only 33 lbs before the floor. It's now almost 60 lbs.:whoops:

 

[ntsqd]

I'd tack weld the snot out of it. I know it's a lot of monotonous work, but rattles make me crazy(er).