Homemade Roofracks.

KE7JFF

Adventurer
I'm reminded of an old Dodge Caravan where a wooden pallet painted black was used as a roof rack....
 

calstar

Observer
For those unfamiliar with tubing types here's a decent summary of common mechanical tubing that might be used building a rack or other projects, taken from Pirate 4x4 and off road forum.

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link to thread info is taken from: http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/general-4x4-discussion/57088-dom-vs-hrew-vs-erw-vs-******.html

4130(more commonly used than the other alloys mentioned, at least for projects most of us would tackle) is stronger than 1020 given the same OD and wall thickness; you'd use have to use thicker walled(and therefore heavier) 1020 to get equal strength. Downside of 4130 is the $$ compared to 1020.


Brian
 
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KryptoRoxx

New member
I wouldn't waste the cash on 4130 to do a roof rack unless it was part of an exoskeleton. By the time the 4130 bent....your roof would have caved. I used .090 wall on mine with a mixing of .060 for bracing. I think my entire rack weighs 65lbs with the expanded metal on top.

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Sabre

Overlanding Nurse
Sabre, that thing looks great! What do you think it weighs?

I think it weighs about 70 lbs. The factory rails that I removed were 25-30 lbs easy, so it's not too much added up top.

Krypto, that's a very purposeful looking rack. Nice work!
 

Caleb Long

Go for the adventure!
Hey, I have a few questions if you don't mind. What kind of hardware did you use to attach it to your roof? What type of concerns do you have about water/moisture intrusion and did you do anything to prevent rust? I am planning a roof rack to mount a tent and was planning on drilling through the roof.
 

KryptoRoxx

New member
Hey, I have a few questions if you don't mind. What kind of hardware did you use to attach it to your roof? What type of concerns do you have about water/moisture intrusion and did you do anything to prevent rust? I am planning a roof rack to mount a tent and was planning on drilling through the roof.
I used stainless steel for the hardware. Use a silicone in the threads and I went ahead and added silicone on top of the bolt.

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Sabre

Overlanding Nurse
I also use stainless fasteners. Rather than silicone, I use a high-adhesion polyurethane, the same stuff I used to use on my boat. It will NEVER leak.
 

Caleb Long

Go for the adventure!
F-250 campershell rack

I started building a custom rack for my baja rig. It is made out of 1x1" 1/8" wall square tube aluminum, radius edges. Fully MIG welded and strengthened with extra plating at the joints. I have more work to do like brackets to mount my awning, adding some pad eyes for tie down point for the surfboard and add additional stringers to the top of the rack before I put on some sort of decking material. (undecided). Happy with how it has come out so far, I was intimidated to undertake such a project out of aluminum but my welds started improving as I progressed. Also can someone please tell me why my photos post upside down. Very frustrating and I cannot figure it outIMG_5459.jpgIMG_5461.jpgIMG_5460.jpg
 

Holger

Observer
I started building a custom rack for my baja rig. It is made out of 1x1" 1/8" wall square tube aluminum, radius edges. Fully MIG welded and strengthened with extra plating at the joints. I have more work to do like brackets to mount my awning, adding some pad eyes for tie down point for the surfboard and add additional stringers to the top of the rack before I put on some sort of decking material. (undecided). Happy with how it has come out so far, I was intimidated to undertake such a project out of aluminum but my welds started improving as I progressed. Also can someone please tell me why my photos post upside down. Very frustrating and I cannot figure it outView attachment 323383View attachment 323385View attachment 323384

Australia? (;-)
 

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