Here are some photos of my new roof rack. I know, i know, most members can't wait to rip their factory roof racks off, and throw them in the trash. I've read all the threads about how they are junk, and the nut rivets that mount them can have rust issues. For me, i just can't afford to throw mine in the trash, my wife is disabled, and due to the cost of caring for her disability money is ALWAYS in short supply, so I've learned to make due with what we have. As luck would have it, my truck has spent it's whole life in the desert southwest, but Before i started my project, i still made sure there was no rust under the mounts. I've always wanted to to make a roof rack to carry all my larger self recovery gear. In total i spent about 40 bucks to make this rack, i machined, and Tig welded all the parts together for the rack so each item would have it's own "custom nest" to mount in. I made my rack out of 1X1, by .060 wall steel tubing to keep the weight down,(the factory rack has a 100 pound max weight limit) and designed it to nest inside the dimensions of the stock rack. When i was building this rack i wanted it to be low profile so it wouldn't get hung up in the brush when i go off road. Mounted to my rack is a 60 inch hi lift jack, full size shovel, full size pick axe, 60 inch pinch bar, and 2, self recovery bridging ladders. Anyway, take a look at my photos, and let me know what you think about my semi custom/factory roof rack.
