BEHOLD! Poor Man's Roof Rack!!!

[spencertron]

OK, let me start off by saying that I know that this is not as good as an ARB, Gobi, Baja, Inti, etc. etc. etc. SO, before everyone starts saying things like "I would never put that on my rig" or "I'll spend my money on a REAL roof rack" keep in mind that this is going to get the job done for what I have in mind and it was within my very tight budget

I wanted a roof rack but needed something around $100 bucks. I started looking at cheap alternatives or making one myself but the problem with all of those was that i still needed to buy gutter mounts and cross bars. Instead, I made my own:

It's made out of 2x4 studs
I made the mounts from samson strong ties and turnbuckles (they work AWESOME! fit perfectly in the gutters and the turn buckles keep it nice and sturdy)

I can stand on top of any cross bar and bounce up and down and it is solid as a rock.

I can barely hear the rack around 70 mph. I don't have anything to compare it to but I honestly do not notice it at all.

The lights are the cheap harbor freight 100 watt halogens.

All in all i'm very happy with it. It's my first real carpentry project. It's not perfect or completely square, but it is sturdy, strong, and hopefully all the truck bed liner i put on there will keep it good for a few years (i was too cheap to buy pressure treated 2x4s haha)

If you have any questions let me know! Thanks for looking!

 

[spencertron]

a few more

A couple more

 

[jynx]

Very creative. I might suggest that you move the turnbuckles to line up with the vertical legs, otherwise in a fast stop with stuff up there the turnbuckle could tear thru the thin gutter and allow the rack and it's contents to take a separate trip.

Not the first wooden rack I have seen on here, seems like there was one on here last year maybe.

 

[merryweather]

I say do what is best for you, your budget, and your experience. No one has to drive and use your rig but you. As a fellow cheapskate, I'm always looking for ways to do things on a budget. There are some things I spring for (OEM replacement parts, for example), but mods have to fit within the confines of a very limited budget. Nice work!

 

[spencertron]

Thanks guys! The only problem with the turnbuckles is that they can't go where there is a door /: until I come up with an alternative that placement will have to do

 

[jynx]

Thanks guys! The only problem with the turnbuckles is that they can't go where there is a door /: until I come up with an alternative that placement will have to do

Makes sense. Then maybe some flat 1/8" bar tack welded to the hook end, or something similar, would only need to be an inch or two long. Really just need something to help distribute the load out so that it can't pierce the gutter if it is shock loaded.

I also like how you have your LED bar mounted to the ARB. I have one on the way and was debating doing the same so that the TOYOTA is visible thru the remaining hole.

 

[Springs505]

Nice work. I like the look of the rack, but I wonder how the wood will hold up. Anoyne ever try this with trex or some other kind of "enginnered wood" material?

 

[drzero]

As a former KLR owner, I say job well done! Looks good, Amigo.

 

[KS-Ryan]

Is it dark where you live?

 

[western flyer]

I used to sell and install roof racks in a previous life:

I can suggest some sort padding (e.g., thin bike tire section) between the Sampson ties and the roof gutter. The thin rack tower "digging" in that gutter location is a recipe for future rust issues. Ask me how I know.

Beware that with a load on the rack and some bumps in the road your turnbuckles could momentarily become quite loose and fully release from the gutter or rack. We do not want you to lose the rack in a quick stop. Even some commercially made rack towers will loosen up substantially with a heavy load and some miles on rough roads; for this reason I now use nyloc nuts on the towers on my Confer rack and periodically check the towers when doing a lot of washboard while loaded.

Old school Yakima roof rack towers (1A "rain gutter" style) are easily modified to work with a rack like yours (the cross-bar-holding tops of their towers fully unbolt, allowing one to easily bolt in a custom crossbar). Maybe craigslist in your area has an old Yakima rack for sale for cheap.

This is the type of tower I am talking about:
http://yakima.com/shop/baserack/1a-raingutter

 

[Brunt Force Trauma]

I'm all about keeping it cheap. I recommend electrical conduit and a hand bender. You can make a cheap, strong rack that looks pretty good.

 

[nigelsiam]

I'm all about keeping it cheap. I recommend electrical conduit and a hand bender. You can make a cheap, strong rack that looks pretty good.

Agree with you 100% here on this one. I made 2 of them just like that for my Syncro Vanagon and it turned out super nice. One thing is they will weld but be careful because there is residual fumes when welding.

 

[girraffe]

i like the style and its a good design, but you used two things I would not use on an exterior part: wood and turnbuckles. I like the conduit idea though.

 

[98 SNAKE EATER]

After having a rack go airborne during a previous collision, I highly suggest investing in proper clamps or hold downs (maybe even safety chains if on an extremely low budget)

 

[Stainlessdoctor]

WOW....

 

[1973Guppie]

agree with others, I would put some type of redundancy to those turnbuckles, it is not fair to others if that rack goes flying off on the freeway and causes an accident......

 

[spencertron]

I used to sell and install roof racks in a previous life:

I can suggest some sort padding (e.g., thin bike tire section) between the Sampson ties and the roof gutter. The thin rack tower "digging" in that gutter location is a recipe for future rust issues. Ask me how I know.

Beware that with a load on the rack and some bumps in the road your turnbuckles could momentarily become quite loose and fully release from the gutter or rack. We do not want you to lose the rack in a quick stop. Even some commercially made rack towers will loosen up substantially with a heavy load and some miles on rough roads; for this reason I now use nyloc nuts on the towers on my Confer rack and periodically check the towers when doing a lot of washboard while loaded.

Old school Yakima roof rack towers (1A "rain gutter" style) are easily modified to work with a rack like yours (the cross-bar-holding tops of their towers fully unbolt, allowing one to easily bolt in a custom crossbar). Maybe craigslist in your area has an old Yakima rack for sale for cheap.

This is the type of tower I am talking about:
http://yakima.com/shop/baserack/1a-raingutter

thanks for the suggestion. i'll look in to getting some padding. i believe you about the rust

 

[spencertron]

Is it dark where you live?

haha i started off with just the LED bar, but then I wanted some fog lights for the snow. $10 harbor freight fogs are great. The lights on the rack were a Christmas present.

 

[spencertron]

I'm all about keeping it cheap. I recommend electrical conduit and a hand bender. You can make a cheap, strong rack that looks pretty good.

i looked into conduit but I don't know how to weld. I looked into using a bunch of 90 elbows and buying a pipe threader, but this was the cheapest and best option for me. i do like the looks of the conduit racks though.

 

[spencertron]

After having a rack go airborne during a previous collision, I highly suggest investing in proper clamps or hold downs (maybe even safety chains if on an extremely low budget)

Good idea. Any suggestions on how I would attach some chains like that? The turnbuckles are pretty much temporary, or at least started that way. I looked all over the place for something to distribute the weight more but couldn't find anything. I do agree that I should look into something stronger, but man oh man, these things feel much sturdier than I expected they would. So far they haven't moved a centimeter and I have pushed as hard as I can on the rack. I weigh about 215 and I've stood on top and rocked back and forth and side to side as much as I can and they don't budge. But with that being said, you're probably right. I should look in to something as a backup.