JuliusPepperwood
Observer
I want to make a roof rack/deck on my samurai. Would drilling holes in my Thule square cross bars for the wood weaken their structural integrity?
Drilling holes in Thule cross bars?
- Thread starter JuliusPepperwood
- Start date
calicamper
Expedition Leader
The bars arent very thick. Ive fooled with mine a bunch. Its mild steel tubing rusts easily. Id leave the bar intact. Maybe rig a hard wood cap that straps down over the bar that you can screw into. Ive thought about that idea. I sail alot so my first idea was a lashing of finished planks across them. It would look good and be strong as heck.
rayra
Expedition Leader
Depends where and how large the hole is compared to the tubing size. It can be readily done, and a thru-hole too as the tubing wall thickness isn't likely thick enough to tap threads in or use self-tapping bolts on.
If you drill it, either spot paint it or saturate a q-tip with paint and slather it on the exposed metal of the drilled holes.
The mentioned u-bolts would work. But they'll be unsightly and you'll have to deal with the projecting threaded ends sticking up above your wood deck.
If you drill thru the tubing, I'd suggest using cap-head screws and fender washers as a way to have a secure bolt-down on the wood surface while simultaneously having smooth rounded hardware for any cargo to rub on. On the bottom side, use a washer that's as wide as the tubing - is the tubing flat / square? or rounded?
Use a springloaded punch and a smaller drill bit to make your initial holes, you'll have better control and accuracy and will be far less likely to have the bit wander all over tearing up the powdercoat? finish.
If you drill it, either spot paint it or saturate a q-tip with paint and slather it on the exposed metal of the drilled holes.
The mentioned u-bolts would work. But they'll be unsightly and you'll have to deal with the projecting threaded ends sticking up above your wood deck.
If you drill thru the tubing, I'd suggest using cap-head screws and fender washers as a way to have a secure bolt-down on the wood surface while simultaneously having smooth rounded hardware for any cargo to rub on. On the bottom side, use a washer that's as wide as the tubing - is the tubing flat / square? or rounded?
Use a springloaded punch and a smaller drill bit to make your initial holes, you'll have better control and accuracy and will be far less likely to have the bit wander all over tearing up the powdercoat? finish.
MLu
Adventurer
I drilled through mine and found that they were surprisingly thick and tough to get through... but they are old, square, bought used, and came as a set with high-top feet for a van or similar so they are possibly specced for a heavier duty than regular Thules? Anyway, in my case the whole thing ended up pretty sturdy since I bolted them together with an aluminium frame and integrated a set of bridging ladders as a quickly-removable roof rack floor and a sheet of marine ply in the middle.
From playing around with them a fair bit, I'd say I could drill the bars until they looked like Swiss cheese and it wouldn't make any difference to how much they will hold up to. You're not going to be putting a whole bunch of weight on a Samurai anyway.
From playing around with them a fair bit, I'd say I could drill the bars until they looked like Swiss cheese and it wouldn't make any difference to how much they will hold up to. You're not going to be putting a whole bunch of weight on a Samurai anyway.
Ducky's Dad
Explorer
You can get square u-bolts at a good hardware store or from places like McMaster-Carr.