I decided to go this route with my rack, and just received the pieces yesterday. I don't have anything cut or assembled yet, but I thought I'd give my initial impression of the system, ordering process, etc.
I went with this system for a number of reasons:
1) I needed an unusual size. I need a long, narrow rack that will sit next to a Yakima Skybox 12 that I already have, so something 24" or narrower.
2) I have a very specific use for the rack. I have a bunch of 21"x21"x11" Hardigg cases that I picked up a while back and I want a rack that's tailored to fit four of those, ideally something with an internal dimension of 21" x 84". I actually ended up with an inch more in length, since I added a (unnecessary) center brace midway.
3) While not dirt cheap, the 80/20 system did end up a good bit less than any reasonable alternative I could find. My order, ended up just a bit over $360, plus shipping. Now, I could have gone with a Rhino mesh basket, which would have worked; but with shipping it only would have been $20 cheaper, and it wasn't ideal and wouldn't have been anything I'd have wanted to keep for long. Even if I'd gotten free shipping ($120 through Rhino!) I'd not have gone that route since it just wasn't what I wanted. So the next reasonable choice was something like a Rhino pioneer platform and suddenly I'm almost twice the cost of the 80/20. There are some other less expensive baskets than the Rhino, of course, but they were all too small to be useful - I'd have ended up putting the Skybox over the basket, which would use up half of it, leaving only enough space for two, maybe three of the Hardigg cases, if any. And even if they had worked they still would have been probably 20% more than the 80/20.
4) Because you're working with individual pieces and connectors, the 80/20 system is fairly modular and adaptable should I swap vehicles or change my storage arrangement. That is, I don't have to sell this rack and buy an entirely new one if I want to go another route someday. I can add to this unit, swap some pieces out, rearrange it, etc. This is important to me, since my current vehicle is essentially a placeholder for the moment. The rack may end up on another vehicle or even a trailer as early as later this year.
O.K., a couple more notes on the cost - as mentioned by others, the connectors and other bits end up being a significant portion of the total. In my case, they ended up being about half of what the extrusions themselves cost, so about ⅓ the price overall. I went through several iterations of the design before I came up with one that minimized all the bits and pieces. It's easy to get carried away and suddenly find that you've doubled the cost of the rack in bolts and connecting plates. Shipping, on the other hand, was surprisingly cheap. I was worried at first, because when you put a single large extrusion in your cart, you'll get a shipping cost that's half the cost of the extrusion. But once you start adding other items in, the shipping actually goes down. My final shipping cost ended up being under $40.
My impression of the ordering process is that while the system itself is fairly simple to comprehend, it's easy to confuse yourself especially if you're weighing different options and different series. I ended up with the 10 series, but gave some thought to the 15, and even to a combination of the two. It's important once you've decided on a series to limit your choices to just the pieces within that series. Otherwise, you could end up ordering brackets for one and extrusions for the other - it's easier to do than you'd think and a number of times I'd catch myself with the wrong items in my basket. It didn't help that I was weighing options and putting things in and out of my basket, but I think it would be an easy mistake to make even if I wasn't. I found it best to download their pdf catalog from their website and use that as a guide. In fact, I think you almost have to - for example, on the eBay store itself I don't think there's any way of knowing which bolt kit to buy for which series.
I elected not to have the pieces cut to size, even though they will do that for you. The reason I didn't is that I wasn't sure exactly how snug I wanted the Hardigg cases to fit, and I didn't want to end up regretting not giving myself another ⅛" or something. Plus it gives me an excuse to buy a cutoff saw. I probably should have asked for a price though, just so I'd know.
Shipping time was excellent - I ordered on a Thursday night and the shipment arrived the following Wednesday, so four business days. Everything was well packed - each extrusion was individually wrapped in paper and then everything was plastic wrapped together very tightly. All the bits and pieces were neatly organized and individually wrapped and bagged.
My first impression of the system? Heavy. Like, wow, this is a lot heavier duty than I expected. I knew the moment the UPS guy grunted as he carried the box up my front steps. In fact, were there not some non-structural design reasons for some of the sizes I chose, I could have sized down on almost everything. These are not flimsy extrusions, and the whole thing I have to admit is going to be more weight on the roof than I'd thought. The connectors are really solid, too. Now, how the weight compares to a steel rack, I can't say, but this is definitely heavier than expected. On the plus side, I wouldn't give a second thought to placing a rooftop tent on top or hanging a Hannibal awning off the side of any rack you'd build from this. Stout stuff.
Second impression is that it looks really cool. The finish is fantastic and everything has a nice purposeful, technical, space-agey look to it.
Third, I'm somewhat concerned about how much water and dirt will collect in all the channels, and how the bolts will hold up over time. I knew it would be a concern, but when you see in person just how many places there are for junk to collect, you begin to wonder if this was really the way to go. I don't know if it would be worth drilling some weep holes to allow for drainage. I'll probably live with it a while and see. They do sell plastic strips to fill the channels, which would certainly help. I haven't priced that, but I imagine it could get up there given the number of channels involved. Were I to do this again, I'd probably not only try to use fewer, smaller extrusions, but also try to use their extrusions that have channels only where I absolutely need them. I was going for maximum flexibility, and that may end up being a mistake.
Fourth, my head is spinning with about a million other ideas for this stuff.
That's it for now. Once I get everything cut and put together I'll give an update and maybe some photos.
