Homemade cargo basket/roof rack from EMT?

[zuren]

I did a search within ExPo and didn't find anything. I'm not sure if the search is working correctly as I find it surprising no one has posted on this. Has anyone here ever made there own roof rack out of EMT (electrical conduit)?

Google search for "EMT roof rack" - link

There seems to be many people who have done it on other offroad sites. There are naysayers that claim EMT can't stand up to any real load but they are typically armchair commentators without any proof or experience to back their claims. I'm starting a welding class this Monday and while I don't know the format of the class yet, I'm getting a list of projects together in case I need a couple.

I have a regular body, full size van and I would really like a decent size basket up top (~2/3 length) but most are quite a bit more than I want to spend. I just want to carry bulky, light stuff up top (tents, camp chairs, etc.) as well as be able to mount some lights and maybe an awning. The basket would mount to some Thule or Yakima cross bars. Just curious if anyone has any experience with this type of project.

Thanks!

 

[shredwagon]

IMHO, design would be key (i.e. Reinforcements/gusset plates). With enough welds, just about anything should work......Good luck.

 

[sasaholic]

wow u didnt search very well there was this exact post made 2 days ago. ud be suprized how strong emt is once its in the form of a basket.

 

[sasaholic]

here u go second thing down when i searched conduit...right below this thread actually....

http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=57222&highlight=conduit

 

[LandCruiserPhil]

Over the years I have done 2 racks out of electrical conduit with excellent results. The first pictured in 1978:Wow1:

The other HEREwith more details

EDIT - link corrected

 

[huntoon]

Search

I did a search within ExPo and didn't find anything. I'm not sure if the search is working correctly as I find it surprising no one has posted on this. Has anyone here ever made there own roof rack out of EMT (electrical conduit)?

Google search for "EMT roof rack" - link

Also, for searching, try using google instead of the built in one. To search within a web site just add "site:expeditionportal.com" and it will only show results from ExPo. For example: "emt roof rack site:expeditionportal.com" yeilds: http://www.google.com/search?q=emt+roof+rack+site:expeditionportal.com&hl=en&client=firefox-a&hs=LjR&rls=org.mozilla:en-USfficial&num=10&lr=&ft=i&cr=&safe=images&tbs=


It works way better than the built in search in my opinion.


EDIT: I just realized you're going to return a lot of results of David B King aka "4rescue" because he's an actual EMT. In that case, try subtracting results with his name..... try searching "emt roof rack site:expeditionportal.com -"David B King""

 

[cigarluvr]

I built mine out of EMT...works like a champ...I will post up some pics in the morning...

Be advised that you are going to be welding on galvanized pipe...not a huge deal, just have plenty of ventilation and grind away where you are gonna weld. My rack is the entire length and width of my Jeep Grand Cherokee. I have routinely got up on it and walked around, plenty strong.

Like I said I will throw some pics up tomorrow.

 

[Johnnie]

Here you go.

http://www.ttora.com/forum/showthread.php?t=147753&highlight=conduit

 

[youwillforget]

I built one for a 03 H2 SUT to mount lights on. I started to make one for my 16ft cargo trailer ended up with a 6x8 big enough for the bikes but couldn't get the legs to come out right so I moved on to another project. I may go back to it some day.