home made roof racks? (1 Viewer)

[jdeitch]

Need to finish weld and powder coat but other than that it's good to go and just what I had pictured in my head. Oh and need to add the lights, they're on the way.

I drew up a very similar design. (square not round) I bought all the steel today. Your gutter mounts should be here soon

I will be mounting a TJM awning and Boulia RTT. I plan on a Rigid (or similar) LED light bar mounted below the rack up front. Maybe some LED floods to the sides/rear for camping too. I do want to still use the sunroof so there will be limited cross bars up front or maybe something removable. Possibly a gun mount/turret ring

 

[The Jade Bean]

FarmTek has PolyMax Board. Main issue is shipping... Find a plastic reseller in your area and ask for HDPE (High Density PolyEthylene) or tell them your use and ask what they have. HDPE is often used in the plastic cutting boards. Look for UV stabilization. Note, the thinner sheets of PolyMax can be rolled up, but still are UPS oversized.

I wanted to say thanks again Bogo, I went with the Polymax board and 1/4" 4x8' shipped to my door was only $107! Cutting it was easy, but install was a "CENSOR" due to me over installing it (I'm a perfectionist), but good news is no one will ever steal my rack without multiple hours of work. Here's some pics...




We wanted to help decrease the cabin temps a bit more and so we were told that the old Land Rovers had a double roof design that created a shaded area between the rack and the roof and thus creating lower cabin temps. So that in mind and with the help of some friends and such we bought UV stable marine poly board (much like cutting board). Here it is after it just arrived.




So we are ready to cut it to fit the rack. I have all the measurements and my lil' helper.




After marking and drilling all the holes we are rough fitting it here.




So here is Jimmy (the taller helper) with yet another brilliant suggestion. We put down some foam to help reduce the chance of vibrations in the front from wind.




The universal signal for approval.




So it was a PAIN to bolt it down with the minimal amount of space between the roof and the rack, but with Jimmy's help and some southern ingenuity we got it done!


The wind noise is only very slightly louder and the cab seems even a bit cooler!

-Daniel

 

[itsstellerbluepearl]

You should post a picture of "the tool" we used to tighten it down!

 

[The Jade Bean]

You should post a picture of "the tool" we used to tighten it down!

You mean the aluminum rod with an open end wrench duck taped to the end of it! Southern ingenuity at it's best... LOL!

-Daniel

 

[itsstellerbluepearl]

Yep, that's the one.

 

[subspd]

Where are you guys getting the gutter mounts I can't seem to find anyone who still makes them?

 

[justbecause]

Where are you guys getting the gutter mounts I can't seem to find anyone who still makes them?

http://www.gamiviti.com/html/products_roofrackparts.html

Sent usin the "new" app.

 

[jdeitch]

Where are you guys getting the gutter mounts I can't seem to find anyone who still makes them?

I just bought six gutter mounts from user "workingclass". His mounts are the best I've seen thus far and are very reasonably priced. I just PM'd him and the rest is history as they say. I will repost some of his pics.

 

[jdeitch]

Getting closer: I test fit my gutter mounting brackets and bent the steel for the outer hoop. Waiting on measurements from TJM for their roof top tent before I weld anything together. Also need to buy or build mount for 30" Rigid Industries LED light bar up front.

 

[KAILUAZ]

While not totally home made, I cut down my Kargo Master "Safari" rack to fit better. It was too wide and just didn't look right even after I flipped the top cage around. They are made for a Jeep and are 52" W x 60" L, which doesn't fit the 3rd Gen at all.

I also remounted it using the mounts that came with it, by reusing the factory rail "nuts". Much better than mounting it to the factory cross bars which didn't look good at all.

I cut the base down 6" on each side and cut 10" out of the center. I bolted the top cage back together and now it fits just right.

Stock size:

Dreary day at the beach by CENTCOM_Survivor, on Flickr


Rear view of rack by CENTCOM_Survivor, on Flickr

Old mounting:

Old rack mounting by CENTCOM_Survivor, on Flickr


Old rack mounting by CENTCOM_Survivor, on Flickr

Cut down:

Cutting the rack by CENTCOM_Survivor, on Flickr


10" out of the centers by CENTCOM_Survivor, on Flickr


Rack cuts by CENTCOM_Survivor, on Flickr


Beach by CENTCOM_Survivor, on Flickr


Beach by CENTCOM_Survivor, on Flickr


Rack close up by CENTCOM_Survivor, on Flickr


Rack close up by CENTCOM_Survivor, on Flickr

New mounts:

Rack mounting by CENTCOM_Survivor, on Flickr


Rack mounting by CENTCOM_Survivor, on Flickr

 

[Aaron17]

I made this one out of 1 1/4 steel tubing. Need to finish a few things to get it a bit more organized when loaded. But it works pretty good so far.

 

[sauce1013]

I made this one out of heavy gauge square tubing. I made it wide enough so I can fit full sheets of plywood and sheetrock between the rails. And the light rail is high enough for 8 inch lights, if I every need bigger lights.

 

[angerhater]

nice work sauce......please let me know about the wind noise....you have incorporated most of my wants in your build...

 

[sauce1013]

The noise is kinda like a roar. I need to design some sort of wind deflection for the front. Either Plexiglas glass or thin metal from the roof to the bottom of the lights.

 

[jdeitch]

I had a similar sound from my custom rack. Until I added the MaxTrax. Custom mount holds MaxTrax and eliminates all noise.

 

[sauce1013]

Those are pretty cool. I never thought about getting a pair but just might have to add to the wish list. My problem would be the bar around my lights getting in the way others might have great success.

 

[tat2matt]

I had a few hours yesterday and busted out a all aluminum rack for the 60. It was my first time welding aluminum but overall I'm happy with the results and now have a stable platform for the RTT and some farkles as need be.

 

[gregnash]

Mat, did you buy those gutter mounts or make them? I have access to a welder now so I am thinking of trying my hand at welding a rack for BeBe.

 

[tat2matt]

I bought them a while ago from http://www.gamiviti.com/html/products_roofrackparts.html#anchor_rackclamps and have been using them with just the 1x2.5 aluminum supports. It was a good system for the RTT and the kayak rack but I wanted to play with a little more rack!

 

[8960series]

I had a similar sound from my custom rack. Until I added the MaxTrax. Custom mount holds MaxTrax and eliminates all noise.

How much did that huge light bar set you back? And how well does it work?