Homemade Roofracks.

[dyogim]

That Unistrut and rack look they would fit perfect over the bed which would cut down on any drag and leave the contents placed inside the rack easy to get to

I had thought about that but, I now have a camper shell. I didn't notice a whole lot drag from the rack. Only when I had my spare tire mounted on top. Don't plan on having the spare on top again. I'd like to integrate a tire swingout for the rear bumper. Hopefully I get some time soon to actually work on the truck during the day time and I'll have updated roof rack pics....

 

[workingclass]

Its a start..

So, after reading through this entire thread I've decided to pull the trigger on building my own roof rack. All of the ideas and enginuity were really inspiring. So far I've come up with a set of gutter mount towers that are a combination of many of the designs seen on this thread. Preliminary test fits prove promising and should be more than enough for what my intentions are. I would eventually like to get a RTT and use the front portion for lighter cargo, i.e. sleeping bags, camp chairs, tents and such. This will be the first of many homemade goodies for my 94 Land Cruiser with front and rear bumpers to follow as well as Sliders and any needed skid plates underneath. I will eventually start a build thread and can only hope to inspire others as much as I've been inspired myself. Here's what I have so far..progress to follow.

 

[Every Miles A Memory]

That's pretty professional for a home built set-up!!

 

[workingclass]

Yea, I have access to some pretty cool tools through my work. Its a little like cheating. Believe me, the original prototype was pretty rough.

 

[fatrat]

View attachment 83667

Very impressive fab skills workingclass! :drooling:

 

[RememberTheFallen]

Great builds gentlemen! Trying to decide between the atv ramp rack and EMT conduit rack right now.

I have seen a lot of folks using homemade gutter mounts but I am not seeing many set ups for factory racks. I just bought a used A.R.E. shell for my Tacoma that has rails/tracks for Yakima towers. I just priced landing pads, towers, and bars from Yakima and I am still in shock. :Wow1: They must be plated in gold or something. Has anyone made a rack or there own towers that mount in the tracks that are on A.R.E. shell? I just can't justify $200 on Yakima parts to mount my rack to. Thanks for any help!

 

[Mark Harley]

On my old F150 shell I found that Thule sold towers that were made for factory roof rack channels.
I bought them and mounted them with a gasket flat on the roof with "two each" 1/4" stainless steel bolts.
through the shell roof. They worked fine for many years. and were inexpensive. " they may have been discontinued"
Check ebay!

 

[Steve UK]

Hi,

As I had a roll cage I decided to do something different, the cage manufacturers also made cage clamps so I made some adapters to fit my roof tent to. I also got it really close to the roof to keep my overall height as low as possible.

Been on for a couple of years now and works great.

 

[pbsled]

Roof racks for Wranglers are very limited unless you go with an external cage or lightweight fiberglass roof mount. Neither would work for me so I ended up making something from a TracRac take off from a pickup. Lots of work, but its capacity and simplicity in the end make it a great option for a JKU. http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/threads/74436-600lb-Capacity-TracRac-Roof-Rack-Build-for-JKU

 

[clcoyle]

Nice design! Similar to mine :victory:

I like your philosophy.
i need to update the rack build, it's changed a bit.
I sold my Hella 500's and ditched the 550's in favor of HID's
Rewired the rack to switch between 2 and 4 lights via wireless remote control. Custom wiring harness between the bed cap and rack tray using 6 pin Amphanol threaded military electrical connectors.:coffeedrink:
So far the rack has been super durable, holds the Hi-lift without issues or noise, good place to strap down my dry bag for camp garbage, so it doesn't smell up the bed /cap, 101 uses, I love it.

I really like this design

 

[idRATHERbeOUTDOORS]

This is my current work in progress....maybe just a little overkill for my subie (if there's such a thing )

 

[Chongzilla]

I have had several variations on my roof racks, all homemade. I also have made my own gutter mounts, they are fairly simple to make.

Here it is in its original form on my taco. Bolted directly to the topper with no issues over 2.5 years before I got rid of the truck.

Here, I had to cut out ond side and the rear of the rack to fit my new RTT on top.

Fast forward to my XJ, I cut the original rack, lengthened it, and added a small front basket. I also made my own gutter mounts. I have had 600+ pounds on it with no issues.

View of the gutter mounts.

front basket will hold 7 jerry Cans etc.

It also holds Christmas lights pretty well...

~ Stump

Afraid of the dark?:hehe:

 

[doug720]

I made this for my 60 out of 1" steel tube and 1/8" aluminum diamond plate. It has mounts for my Hi-Lift and full sized shovel, there are welded nuts to bolt down my storage boxes for camping and fishing equipment also. We also carry a 12' inflatable kayak on top without issue.

The holes in the aluminum are to allow tie down points for misce. loads. The aluminum also works as a great shade for the roof and makes the interior feel much cooler than than the dark gray color did on hot days without the cover.

I painted it with Imron which is, IMHO, better than powder coating.

It quite light and is very quiet on the road.

I have a ladder that mounts on the inside of the 60 and hooks onto the rear center mount for easy access.

Doug

 

[stomperxj]

My home made gutter mounts:

 

[zukrider]

stomper, those are excellent!