Do it yourself rack

[Eric K]

Has anyone tried making a roof rack using these bars? I just want something I can stand on for photos and possibly put a roof top tent on for a couple trips a year. Just curious how well they work, thoughts on attaching to an LR3 and any gotchas I should look out for?

EX-1020-BLACK – 1″ x 2″ BLACK Smooth T-Slotted Aluminum Extrusion | TNUTZ | TNUTZ

These extrusions are 100% compatible with the following manufacturers: 80/20 #1020-S-BLACK T-SLOTS #650102 McMaster #47065T495

www.tnutz.com

 

[Betarocker]

My brother made a roof rack with those extrusion bars for his 4runner. Pretty bomber stuff, but it's dependent on the mounting brackets.

 

[billiebob]

Honestly the fastest, strongest, cheapest, most durable racks are built from welded tubular steel. Rectangular and square shapes are the easiest to work with and the easiest to secure things to.

Unless you find a manufactured rack that works, it is pretty hard to beat a mass produced product.

 

[CampStewart]

Never built a rack but have worked with similar material that was 1.5 inches square. I think by the time you get all the necessary fittings and hardware it will be very expensive. The extrusions themselves are very strong, the fittings not so much. I would recommend having the perimeter tig welded together

 

[Eric K]

Well that's a bummer, everyone is pretty much in agreement that the fittings are going to let me down. Any suggestions on a roof rack? I really don't plan on using it much, like I said, standing on it occasionally for photos and maybe a roof top tent for a couple tips a year. I'm sure the front runners, K9's, etc are great racks, but do I really need to spend a thousand bucks for occasional usage?

 

[southpier13]

didn't want to start a new thread, but has anyone had experience with the specific product linked in #1 post?

seems black would be a nice alternative to 80-20 clear.

 

[billiebob]

Look at Thule and Yakima. I use the Landing Pads, Towers and Cross Bars. I bought it all over 20 years ago and it is on my third Wrangler. A fabulous system. And it come off or on in less than a minute.

 

[outback97]

Homemade Roofracks.

I searched and didn't see anything dedicated to home built roofracks. I thought it might be a good thread to have one with images etc all centralized. I'm asking about since I'm contemplating building one. There are some outstanding roofracks on the market that can be purchased and there's...

expeditionportal.com

Huge thread on this subject, maybe there’s something in there that’d work for you.

I’m a fan of strut channel crossbars myself, you can bolt most anything to that stuff.