Lumber rack as base roof rack?

[SDDiver5]

Hey guys! Love this site, first thread for me on here!

A little about me: Born and reaised in San Diego. Grew up off roading at ocotillo and big bear and of course surfing and the beach scene. I am very into diving and spearfishing (hence the user name). My rig is a 1998 F150 4x4 4.6L that I have owned since December of 2006. I am about to hit the 200k mark! The engine was replaced at 50k from some freak MAF sensor failure. I replaced the front and rear end about a year ago so they have about 10k on them. The tranny and T case are still original with 200k on them. I also have a glasstite camper shell that came on the truck when I bought it and I having it and being able to store my dive/surf gear in there along with tools and recovery equipment. I also have a ride rite airbag kit in the rear and trailer brakes.

I am a semi experienced in offroading and camping. Went to school at NAU in Flagstaff, AZ and took lots of camping/backpacking trips along with 1 credit survival classes for fun throughout my college career.

So here is my dilemma, first thing I want to do for my expo rig is get some type of roof rack. I already have the shell so want to either put a rack on top of it or get a lumber rack as a base for a roof rack. Keep in mind that I will have a small aluminum boat or 2 kayaks on top of it for when I travel down to baja or travel somewhere to dive so thats why I thought about the lumber rack. I feel that it will be stronger with all the weight. Future plans would be hi lift and shovel mounts, etc and most likely a RTT when I can find a good used one. I feel that a lumber rack can be easily modified for add ons when I get to that point in my build for things like lights and tie downs, etc.

I have no problem with mechanics. My dad is a life long garage mechanic so he has passed many skills and techniques on to me. Next on my list is to buy a welder and practice that.

I've done a little bit of searching and havent come up with much so does anyone have any advice on my problem here or any experiecne using a lumber rack as a roof rack? Goods or Bads?

Any info is welcome. Thanks in advance!

D

 

[chaos616]

Hey SDDiver5, congrats on the first thread and a good one. There are a few thread throughout here on roof racks in general, i believe in general modifications. I think roof racks are great as a utilitarian way to mount stuff above your truck, especially as they are usually rated pretty high for weight. I just built my first roof rack for my vehicle, but me requirement were to have full open use of the bed, so a general contractors roof rack wouldn't work (motorcycles in the bed etc...). I think a contractors rack would be much stronger than just a rack mounted on your topper or roof and allows full use of the top of your vehicle. Add some bracing for things and your good to go! I had a 98 f150 as well, but mine was single cab long bed 4x4 with the 4.2L v-6, not much power but got me around just fine.

Cheers,

 

[SDDiver5]

thanks for the reply!

Saw most of the threads about custom roof racks and they were all helpful. I still think I want to do the lumber rack for its strength. If I had kayaks, RTT, spare tire etc on a roof rack I think it wouldnt be strong enough. Lumber racks seem to be about $350, strong, and an easy platform to further customize a rack.

D

 

[LukesPa]

cheapy lumber rack to build from

Welcome SDDiver, I'm pretty new around here too, though I've lurked awhile.

I think the idea of starting with a lumber rack is good. I had a lumber rack on my old Tundra primarily for carrying SUPs and a fishing kayak. It worked out great.

I had one of these cheapy's; about $85 off ebay, and it was more than ample for my needs. I planned to build off of it, possibly connecting the two halves and putting in some sort of storage basket or platform, but never did. I did purchase pads that protected the paddle boards a bit.



On my tundra this stuck up a bit too high for my liking so I cut it down some so the bars were just above cab height. If I had left it alone, I would have had space to mount some smaller lights under the bar.
That was with a 2002 Tundra, with a different track the rack may not be so high.

 

[storey618]

im using ladder racks for my roof top storage (well gonna) gonna start making a basket one of these days

 

[SDDiver5]

In my head it sounds like a great idea so Im going to go with it. Just need to find a lumber rack that will fit my truck with a shell on it.

Thanks for the pics and responses.

D

 

[redthies]

The only issue I can see is that some of the lumber racks sold over the counter or online are bolt together units. If you do lots of washboard or bouncy off road driving, they may shear or break bolts. A quick trip to a welder should fix it up for abuse.

 

[SDDiver5]

That is a good point thanks for brigning that up. I did think about that, If I were to buy one it would be fully welded for strength.

Thanks for the input!

D

 

[bdp1978]

HAHA, I feel like an idiot after reading the follow up posts on this. Not being familiar with "Lumber Racks" ------I read it yesterday thinking "He wants to make the base for his roof rack out of lumber??? How does he think that is possibly stronger than steel??"

Ha - idiot of the day.

 

[SDDiver5]

haha, makes a little more sense now doesnt it?

 

[SDDiver5]

I went to to a couple stores that had lumber racks and they all looked crappy and not well built for the price range I had in mind. So instead I think I might do a custom lumber rack style roof rack. On the way to the grocery store today I saw this sweet *** baja rig that gave me tons of ideas and motivation to design this.

Here is what I saw:


So this is what i came up with: (with the help of a solidwerks nerd)

 

[SDDiver5]

Thoughts? Opinions? Comments? Good or Bad? Anything is welcome.

 

[98dango]

Looks good my only concern is that is a fair amount of weight on a bed side. I realize that lumber racks mouth in less locations but I have welded way to many beds back together. Some supports that go don't to spiders mabie.

 

[SDDiver5]

Ok I see what your saying. Good point.

Hmmm so theoretically the best way to make it stronger would be to attach it to the frame throught the bed right? That will be difficult with a shell...
What If I had a x-member that attached the two bedrails together in the front of the bed close to the cab? Then that would leave the back of the bed by the tailgate unaccounted for...

Thanks for your input

D

 

[redthies]

There are a lot of guys with custom racks and shells around here, and I have fabbed a couple. The thing to do is use something like 2"x4" angle for the sides, so you can mount your uprights outside the shell, then use 2"x2" angle across the front. This ensures that the rack can't put outward forces on the bed sides. It also gives the shell a flat surface all around to seal to. You could do a bolt-in rear cross member by the gate for use when you are going to be out abusing things. Having less cross bars up top and maybe going with a light gauge expanded steel would help with weight as well.

I would draw you what I am thinking, but I am not proficient with any cad/design programs. If we had a cocktail napkin and a cold cerveza I could show you.