Back to black roof rack (1 Viewer)

[Bryanseye]

I made this rack for my Grand Cherokee in 2005. It is all aluminum and the brackets were designed to fit the roof nutserts (10 anchor points) instead of bolting to the factory plastic feet. It worked great for years and removing it was the first thing done to prepare the WJ for sale. Now I am scrapping the old bed liner in preparation for slicing off the WJ brackets, recoating, and rewiring lights. I also have a set of Gamiviti gutter mounts.

Since I was never set up to weld (especially aluminum), I had someone else do that part. It is finally time for the bugger welds to meet an angle grinder. I originally left them ugly on purpose.

I am leaning towards Dulplicolor bed liner. Internet consensus seems to be that it works well, is inexpensive, and easy to get. I originally had a truck accessory shop do it for $50 at the same time as someone's bed so I was basically getting the leftover product. Open to suggestions.

 

[Trollhole]

Powder coat it. Apex does a good job.

 

[Bryanseye]

Progress. All the old bed liner is off. I cut off the WJ brackets and got to work cleaning up the welds.

Setback. Grinding away the 4th weld, the grinder started to slow down. I turned it off, and it never came back to life. Thanks Harbor Freight for giving me exactly what I paid for.

 

[Bryanseye]

I come inside with a sense of accomplishment, covered in aluminum dust, but done grinding all the welds smooth. My wife looks at me and says I look like the silver glitter troll from the movie.

Next step, measure where to attach the gutter brackets to the rack. The factory rack came off and a little nutsert rust was dealt with. Also removed the roof rails to repaint and ensure there was no rust growing around those holes too.

Decided against powder coating as there are still some imperfections that the bedlinder will hide. Going with Raptor.

Pics:

Booger weld now smooth.

One of these will be opened tonight.

 

[Bryanseye]

Prime time! I kind of like the OD color of the etching primer.

 

[6894kevin]

What is your setup to spray?

Tank size, psi, hose length etc...

 

[Bryanseye]

What is your setup to spray?

Tank size, psi, hose length etc...

Primer was bomb can, and Raptor liner is roll on.

Got it done! Advice for anyone using this kit: get more rollers. A truck bed is probably less stress on the foam than so much square tubing and corners. The 2 supplied rollers didn't last the first coat (pictured below) and I spent some time picking foam pieces out of the coating. I had to get a roller from O'reillys for the final coat and it worked great after the fibers softened up a bit. Also, it was much more pleasant to apply when the sun was behind some trees.

 

[Bryanseye]

Last night capped off the 72 hours with no water contact. Maybe overkill, but I sheltered it from the dew just in case. Added some bling and should get its feet bolted this week.

Then the wiring begins.

 

[Bryanseye]

Bonus: If I am going to have a departure angle killing hitch, I might as well use it as a step. No slipping with textured/sanded Raptor.

 

[Bryanseye]

She's got legggs.

Got back after midnight after a work trip and bad airport issues (everyone off the plane, it won't be flying today) and pulled this out from under the tree where it has been awaiting my return. Dang it! Look at those big spots I missed on the coating! Oh, never mind, that's bird crap.

 

[Bryanseye]

I want to apologize now to the folks at GSMTR for the hideous air diverter on my rack. My prep time has been spent between Nashville and Jacksonville FL so I have not been able to address the massive wind induced vibration. A 4" piece of PVC did the trick to get to the ride. I will be able to fix it better when I put the lights on later.

 

[Trollhole]

lol I was wondering what that was.

 

[Bryanseye]

lol I was wondering what that was.

It was embarrassing, that's what it was.

Started the wiring today. Mounted an 80 amp breaker to the back of the battery box and ran 6ga marine wire. Then the rain opened back up before I could add the fuse block.

 

[Bryanseye]

Relevant but not on the roof. Got the foundation for the light wiring done and some collateral. 6ga marine wire from battery to 80a breaker to 6 circuit fuse block. Right now it is wired to the fog lights and the new center console power. Also ran a wire through the floor for another power outlet in the rear. So that's what color the carpet is supposed to be.

 

[Bryanseye]

So I have put this off since 2005 but the temporary pvc pipe wind deflector is just not cutting it. The WJ had a tire that buffered the wind but I don't want to run the tire up there with the 80.

So a sheet of ABS, some wood for bracing, and a torch and I set to work. I have no idea what I am doing. And of course the first screw snapped because I used too small of a drill bit.

 

[JToobe]

So I have put this off since 2005 but the temporary pvc pipe wind deflector is just not cutting it. The WJ had a tire that buffered the wind but I don't want to run the tire up there with the 80.

So a sheet of ABS, some wood for bracing, and a torch and I set to work. I have no idea what I am doing. And of course the first screw snapped because I used too small of a drill bit.

View attachment 1470456

View attachment 1470457

View attachment 1470458

That's what the Old Forrester is for......to assuage the anger!

 

[Bryanseye]

Happy Father's Day folks. Today's color is red.
Red for positive wires running all over the place. Love the red wire so much (and am so cheap) I painted some of the 10ga black so I wouldn't have to buy separate and have a bunch left over.

Red for sunburn. Dang it was hot up on that roof.

Red for blood. Don't use a utility knife to cut zip ties kiddos.

Everything is rough wired in and held on with zip ties for now. Tested by connecting the 3 circuits to the fuse block and everything works good. Wiring up the switches next. Is it good omen that just as I snugged the ground, I hear "It's all downhill from here" from the radio?

Queens of the Stoneage: Like Clockwork
Queens of the Stone Age - Like Clockwork

 

[JToobe]

Ouch! More Old Forrester!

 

[Bryanseye]

Done(ish)! The relays are mounted and wiring complete. The push switch I had for the side lights was defective so I stuck an unlit toggle in the space for now. So a few more detail pieces to do.

The 4 relays (fogs, spots, rear, side) are mounted to a piece of 1" flat aluminum left over from the cut off WJ roof brackets. It spans the fender opening by the fuel relay and is bolted to two existing, unused threaded holes.

One spot left on the fuse block will be for power run into the cargo/3rd row area. The 10ga is run and coiled for a later date.

 

[Bryanseye]

Took a break from the wire monotony and swapped rear coil springs (in the rain). Used OME 2862 for stock height. Factory (8 pounds) versus OME (16.5 lbs) shown. What a difference!