New Low Profile Gutter Mount roof rack

[LazyEye]

I started building my new low profile roof rack today. Got the steel from a local scrap yard but it's not too rusty. Decided to use 1"x 2" rectangular tubing welded together to create a 1"x 4" crossbars. I laid the newly created crossbar between two blocks and stood on it. Even with 180 lbs there was only about 1/8" deflection, and I was standing directly in the middle of it. So, while it is very low to the roof, I'm not concerned about it touching the roof or rubbing. everything is just tacked in place right now, will eventually weld all joints for added stability. After I fab the mounts for the gutter clamps, I plan on having only two crossbars between 50-55" apart then welding side rails with the same 1"x 2" tubing extended past the crossbars on the sides to form a roof rack that is approximately 65-70" inches in total length.

anyway I'm excited and hoping this much lower profile will help a little with fuel mileage (one can always dream, right?) and it should add at LEAST 35hp

I'm not very proficient at making beautiful welds but they are strong and don't crack apart so that's what matters most to me.

I will post updates as I complete various parts of the build. It takes me longer since my isn't much of a fan of my 80, but .

 

[rolliges]

skilz....

 

[cjmoon]

Looks like you need some low profile mounts that are contoured to the rain gutter. I had the same idea 1x2 outer and 1x1 cross bars every 12" I think I ended up with 14 gauge could have used 16 prabably

 

[LazyEye]

Looks like you need some low profile mounts that are contoured to the rain gutter. I had the same idea 1x2 outer and 1x1 cross bars every 12" I think I ended up with 14 gauge could have used 16 prabably

View attachment 1567256

i plan on fabbing my own mounts out of 2x2 x 1/4" wall. something like this, however because of the steep angle of the gutter uprights, i will back cut the inside of the lower catch and bend it and re-weld it into a sharper anger that grabs the gutter better. clear as mudd?

 

[LazyEye]

Looks like you need some low profile mounts that are contoured to the rain gutter. I had the same idea 1x2 outer and 1x1 cross bars every 12" I think I ended up with 14 gauge could have used 16 prabably

btw, those are some sweet gutter mounts you've got there! did you make those yourself?

 

[cjmoon]

 

[LazyEye]

View attachment 1567273

i really love the look of the angle you put on the outer ring of the roof rack, i think i may borrow that idea for mine. that really looks good and fits the curves of the cruiser roof line well!

 

[cjmoon]

I welded little 1/2 moon 1/4" spacers so the hold down bolted down firm. And bent the tab like your talking about to the needed angle to clamp securely. Worked great for me

 

[nukegoat]

That looks horrible. You didnt want to clean up the metal or remove the slag?

 

[LazyEye]

That looks horrible. You didnt want to clean up the metal or remove the slag?

hahaaahahahahah, thanks nukegoat! i knew i could count on you for a pessimistic reply. everything i've done so far is simply the very beginning. almost a proof of concept, if you will. all the welds are just tacked in place. i will clean the metal and flapdisk all the welds further on down the road

 

[-Spike-]

What I came up with-

The 'catch' started life as a piece of angle iron, add some bending, cut the lower 'leg', pound it around a piece of solid round bar tucked into the angle and clamped in a vise. Next time I would have the socket cap adjusting bolt pointing down instead of up, I had to cut an Allen wrench to fit it under the rack- or just can the fancy stuff and use a regular hex head bolt. The upper hex piece that the adjusting bolt goes through had the threads drilled out. Could have used some pipe or something, but I wanted it all to line up nicely. Also hard to see is the 20 mil electrical tape where the clamp surfaces touch the drip rail.

 

[LazyEye]

What I came up with-

View attachment 1567300 View attachment 1567301 View attachment 1567302

The 'catch' started life as a piece of angle iron, add some bending, cut the lower 'leg', pound it around a piece of solid round bar tucked into the angle and clamped in a vise. Next time I would have the socket cap adjusting bolt pointing down instead of up, I had to cut an Allen wrench to fit it under the rack- or just can the fancy stuff and use a regular hex head bolt. The upper hex piece that the adjusting bolt goes through had the threads drilled out. Could have used some pipe or something, but I wanted it all to line up nicely. Also hard to see is the 20 mil electrical tape where the clamp surfaces touch the drip rail.

very nice work man! I have given the clamps much thought and with the limited time i generally have, i think i will just go with bolted on clamps much like yours but without the tightening bolts. I also plan to use a short section of thin walled fuel line split down the middle and fitted onto the foot of each gutter upright.

it looks like you've removed all the plastic trim from your gutters? is that something you'd recommend? I've wondered how it will fare once i tighten down the clamps on the gutter mounts

 

[-Spike-]

Be careful what you use for isolation- the rubber is going to compress and the mounts will be loose. Tighten, repeat, until there is no longer any rubber.

The plastic stuff seems to remove itself from my rig. No regrets, trying to accommodate it would have meant less low-profile, more snagging on tree limbs or whatever.

 

[nukegoat]

hahaaahahahahah, thanks nukegoat! i knew i could count on you for a pessimistic reply. everything i've done so far is simply the very beginning. almost a proof of concept, if you will. all the welds are just tacked in place. i will clean the metal and flapdisk all the welds further on down the road

This is how you reply to a hater, everyone. Take note. This guy is gonna be alright