OEM rood rack 8020 rail upgrade. (1 Viewer)

[tincan45]

EDIT: ***ROOF*** not rood rack...No idea how to change the thread title???

Hi cruisers,

Finally got around to working on my 8020 rack rail upgrade. I think it turned out well and seems to be very functional so far. I only wish I had enough material on hand to assemble 3-4 rails.

Here is the finished product:

MATERIALS (Per Rail):

1 - 42.625 length of 8020 1030-S-BLACK
6 - 1/4/x20x1" Stainless Machine Screws
1 - 1/8"x6"x1" Lengh of 316 Stainless (I picked some up on ebay)
4 - 1/8/x1.5x1" pieces of 316 stainless with M6 threads center tapped
4 - 1/2x.257.1/2 Nylon spacers
Locktite 242 (Blue) for 1/4 machine screws

TOOLS:

1/4x20 tap
M6x1mm tap
Drill press
Chop saw (You can cut 8020 with standard woodworking blades)

Total Cost (Per Rail) = ~$50.00
Time to assemble = ~45 minutes per rail once you know what you are doing.

 

[tincan45]

ASSEMBLY:

Make sure you holes are EXACLY 1" apart and center to the 1/4" center holes, you won't have much tolerance when you mount to the 8020 rail.

When you drill and tap your retaining plates, I found the best way to start a straight thread is to use the drill press to square up your tap. You can't run the drill press but you can use a cut off screw driver to turn the chuck manually. Once you have the tap in a few turns, you can lift the chuck and tap normally.

Add a bit of loctite when assembling your main bracket

Make sure your center holes are exactly 1/4" and straight. This will establish a perfect "wedge" for the factory rail when you go to install. It took me a while to work this out, but the goal is to have a rail that can't come loose because of vibration and can handle the load of the rail. This seems to fit the bill, but it's a bit of a hack.

 

[tincan45]

LOAD RATINGS:

You may notice there is only about 3/4 inches of clearance between the roof and the rail since they are flat and not curved like the OEM rails. Before I started, I looked up the deflection ratings for the 1030 rail on the Y axis and I figured it would be okay with only 1.6mm with a load of 200lbs.

In reality the the deflection was a little more. I stood on the rails and deflection was more like 3mm. I'm about 215lbs and my weight was distributed on two rails. Nevertheless...all good!

 

[boca1]

nicely done

 

[bloc]

I think you’ll need to get a mod to edit the thread title.

Either way thanks for posting.. this is good tech.

 

[Valentino85]

EDIT: ***ROOF*** not rood rack...No idea how to change the thread title???

Hi cruisers,

Finally got around to finishing up my 8020 rack rail upgrade. I think it turned out well and seems to be very functional so far. I only wish I had enough material on hand to assemble 3-4 rails.

Here is the finished product:

View attachment 2106759View attachment 2106760View attachment 2106761View attachment 2106760View attachment 2106761

MATERIALS (Per Rail):

1 - 42.625 length of 8020 1030-S-BLACK
6 - 1/4/x20x1" Stainless Machine Screws
1 - 1/8"x6"x1" Lengh of 316 Stainless (I picked some up on ebay)
4 - 1/8/x1.5x1" pieces of 316 stainless with M6 threads center tapped
4 - 1/2x.257.1/2 Nylon spacers
Locktite 242 (Blue) for 1/4 machine screws

TOOLS:

1/4x20 tap
M6x1mm tap
Drill press
Chop saw (You can cut 8020 with standard woodworking blades)

Total Cost (Per Rail) = ~$50.00
Time to assemble = ~45 minutes per rail once you know what you are doing.



View attachment 2106779

Wow, fantastic job!
Unfortunately, I'm not that handy and don't own the right equipment.
Would you consider fabricating for a charge for members?
Otherwise, I may go the route tbisaacs went as it seems more plug and play.

 

[tincan45]

Unfortunately, no. I simply don't have the tools or the time to make this 'production' quality.

I've considered having a better version milled locally. It would resemble the OEM version as a simple bolt on to the 8020 rail. Perhaps, if there is enough interest, a small group of us could share the cost. Definitely not something I want to profit from.

Be careful just using angle brackets to support your rail. If those screws come loose, you could be looking at damage to your rig or those on the road around you. At the very least, use some loctite on the threads and check them regularly.

 

[CharlieS]

I'd be interested in four sets (to do four crossbars), if the price was reasonable.

 

[boca1]

Are the thumb screws off of the old bars?

 

[tincan45]

Are the thumb screws off of the old bars?

Yes. Good point.

 

[CharlieS]

I'm sure we can get something similar from McMaster Carr.

 

[tincan45]

These might might be a good alternatives. Stainless options are pricey though. I'd like to eliminate the nylon spacer in favor of a nylon washer between the rail and the knob as well. Moving to 1/4x20 would give more bite and standardize things a little too.

McMaster-Carr

McMaster-Carr is the complete source for your plant with over 595,000 products. 98% of products ordered ship from stock and deliver same or next day.

www.mcmaster.com

McMaster-Carr

McMaster-Carr is the complete source for your plant with over 595,000 products. 98% of products ordered ship from stock and deliver same or next day.

www.mcmaster.com

 

[tincan45]

I'd be interested in four sets (to do four crossbars), if the price was reasonable.

We would have to get the CAD work done first. I'm sure if we posted up a few renderings we could drum up enough interest to make it worth while for someone to turn a few out. I think this project would only be worth while if the total cost of the kit is about half the cost of a good dedicated rack. So $400-$500 for a 4-rail kit would be about as high as I would go before its not really feasible.

Rail and hardware are about $40 Each x 4 = $160
Milled plate and knobs would have to be around $40 (40x8= $320 ) for each end MAXIMUM.

...Seems doable.

 

[boca1]

personally I don't think if you were to use 4 bars you would ever adjusted them, I would just use SS bolts

 

[tincan45]

personally I don't think if you were to use 4 bars you would ever adjusted them, I would just use SS bolts

You are probably right. That would definitely keep the cost down.

 

[boca1]

If I had more time and thought there was a market, I think I could come up with a set of brackets for sale for much less, can't see why lazer cut aluminum wouldn't work

 

[tincan45]

I think aluminum would work. It would need to be milled though. At least the way I imagine it. I never do things cheap or the easy way though.

 

[tincan45]

Finally finished this project. Cost was around $300 and about 10 trips to Lowes. Ended up removing this factory knobs and using M6 flanged screws instead.

Final thoughts:

LX factory rail is probably too short for most @ 34" long and 42.5" wide. (May find a set of LC rails in the future)
Very solid. Makes OEM rails feel like one solid unit
Quiet. No noticeable wind noise.
Versatile. Almost unlimited mounting options. Frontrunner and Prinsu accessories should bolt right up.

Improvements:

Need to drill drain holes so water doesn't sit in center channels.
1x3 may be overkill for most loads. Smaller rail would reduce cost as well.
Milled bracket would simplify things a lot but not a project I want to take on.

 

[wiseinvestor]

Finally finished this project. Cost was around $300 and about 10 trips to Lowes. Ended up removing this factory knobs and using M6 flanged screws instead.

Final thoughts:

LX factory rail is probably too short for most @ 34" long and 42.5" wide. (May find a set of LC rails in the future)
Very solid. Makes OEM rails feel like one solid unit
Quiet. No noticeable wind noise.
Versatile. Almost unlimited mounting options. Frontrunner and Prinsu accessories should bolt right up.

Improvements:

Need to drill drain holes so water doesn't sit in center channels.
1x3 may be overkill for most loads. Smaller rail would reduce cost as well.
Milled bracket would simplify things a lot but not a project I want to take on.

View attachment 2141510View attachment 2141511

I just want to say thank you for posting your improvements on an already genius LC hack.

 

[70 FJ40]

I would be in for a set of brackets for sure if someone is up for making a run of these. I plan to use a system like this as well as having Yakima bars over the top of the rails for mounting up all my Yakima accessories.