DIY TJ roof rack for RTT
- Thread starter Fred25246
- Start date
I'm looking at doing the exact same thing in the near future. how did you attach it around of to the light bar mount on the windshield?
I have a light bar mounted on mine and was looking at how I would mount to it.this may be an option for me what are you using for the rack 1/8 thick 1.5" square?
I used 1.5” 3/16 wall. I may go buy a stick of 1/8” and replace the 4 cross bars with the thinner metal to save weight. 3/16 was overkill.
Unfortunately I only have a small MIG and can only weld 1/16" but I was thinking of doing a 1"x2" outer frame and then 1"x1" or maybe 1.5" x 1.5" for the cross bars. I don't really plan on putting hug amounts of weight on the roof of mine partially because its really high up and I don't want to lug too much up there lol. I can always tack thicker stuff then have a buddy with a bigger welder finish it up for me.
I can put all my weight (250#) on one cross bar so 1/8” would be adequate for almost anything. I’m doing this for a Roof Top Tent that weighs 116# plus my 250# plus my girlfriend at 115# I think even with all that at 481# 1.5”x1/8” wall would work fine.
True about the dynamic weight. That's how most companies rate their racks with an extra safety factor but i feel that anything home built is going to be overbuilt much like this. if you look at companies like cargo master and actually cut the parts oven they are surprisingly thin too keep weight and cost down but they have a lot more engineering that goes into each part. I don't think that this rack is going to move much as long as its mounted firmly at the base on the body. The body itself is nowhere near that thick and will hold the weight fine.
