WK2 Custom Roof Rack

[PicNick]

Roof racks are expensive, and I am quite cheap. What am I to do? Make my own dang roof rack! Only one thing: I've never had one and I don't know what all I would like to incorporate in it.

What do yall wish that your roof rack had built into it? So far I've got a render of a pretty basic low-profile rack (minus mounts), but I feel like it is missing something. Any critiques/suggestions are welcome at this phase since materials haven't been purchased yet.

I've also thrown on a rough model of a 33" tire for a sense of scale

 

[Gmanpaint]

Couldn't agree with you more on the costs of these fancy racks being sold today. Why buy, when you can make your own? I know, not everybody can, but for those of us that can, heck yeah!

I just made my roof rack sketch to figure/order materials myself. I can add what I want, where I want, and finally get rid of the cheap cargo basket currently used.

Items I am incorporating into the build are... MOUNTS! lol

Mount tabs for front/rear lights & rear view camera
Side Mounts for the 270* awning
Post mount for the CB antenna
Mounts for the high lift jack, Chainsaw, shovel, & Axe.
Mounts for the Max Tracks

Ok, so more than mounts...

Ring Tabs for tie down points for cargo netting, and straps on all sides
3/4" electrical conduit underneath for wiring, from front to back on both sides

Last but not least, a floor surface.

For this, I am going to try the 1/2" poultry/dog cage poly flooring. Lightweight, waterproof, antimicrobial, strong enough to stand/walk on, and perforated for drainage. A 2' x 4' sheet of this is $25 at farm supply stores. 3 sheets will be enough to cover mine.

Please share pictures of yours as you go, or at the least, when it's finished!

 

[PicNick]

Couldn't agree with you more on the costs of these fancy racks being sold today. Why buy, when you can make your own? I know, not everybody can, but for those of us that can, heck yeah!

I just made my roof rack sketch to figure/order materials myself. I can add what I want, where I want, and finally get rid of the cheap cargo basket currently used.

Items I am incorporating into the build are... MOUNTS! lol

Mount tabs for front/rear lights & rear view camera
Side Mounts for the 270* awning
Post mount for the CB antenna
Mounts for the high lift jack, Chainsaw, shovel, & Axe.
Mounts for the Max Tracks

Ok, so more than mounts...

Ring Tabs for tie down points for cargo netting, and straps on all sides
3/4" electrical conduit underneath for wiring, from front to back on both sides

Last but not least, a floor surface.

For this, I am going to try the 1/2" poultry/dog cage poly flooring. Lightweight, waterproof, antimicrobial, strong enough to stand/walk on, and perforated for drainage. A 2' x 4' sheet of this is $25 at farm supply stores. 3 sheets will be enough to cover mine.

Please share pictures of yours as you go, or at the least, when it's finished!

I was looking at mount options this morning for gear and I think the only this I will buy off the shelf is the high lift jack mount from X-Bull. I probably need to order my light bars and spot lights before I start fabrication so I can properly design the spacing of everything.

I actually did some low-tech materials testing yesterday and may end up going with 1" EMT. I built a little rig to test the bending strength at 44.5" between simply supported ends. I was able to walk around on it in the middle with minimum deflection and had to actually jump a bit to get it to deform. I'll be doing weld tests later in the week.

I was a little worried about how rigid it was going to be (or lack thereof) but I'm pleasantly surprised. If I build it fully out and it doesn't end up stacking up to my personal standards, I'm only going to be out around 70 bucks. I'd say that's a small price to pay for a full scale prototype!

Is there a reason you didn't go with expanded metal with small backing strips between supports?

 

[Gmanpaint]

Weight, and paint maintenance mainly. Will take abuse sliding items around, and maintenance free, sounds good to me!!

I have expanded on the trailer tongue and I know its going to need paint maintenance. Lol

It will have 6 sq tubes bracing under it for support underneath. I have 3 round steel cross bars to mount the basket too. (U bolts will work perfect for sq to round clamps)

 

[Charles M]

If you want to do it yourself but, do not have a welder or a fancy shop to work with you may want to consider using T-slots they have a lot of different extrusion sizes and shapes it would be easy to build a roof rack or even an inside rack for storage out of this stuff.

T-slot materials are light weight aluminum extrusions and are very rigid and strong. You can get it in clear anodized or black anodized for minimal maintenance.

I am thinking about redoing inside my rig with this and maybe a new roof rack too. I am going to figure out just how much weight I will save and what new features I will be able to put into the build.

 

[Billiebob]

Looks good, to make it more rigid, truss the sides by laying the vertical studs over.
Same with the floor cross members. As they run they could hook things being slid in or out. Run them like a chevron to the middle long member will add rigidity and make it less likely for stuff to get hung up on a cross member.

I like the open end, definitely makes it easier to load, unload a tire ot heavy tote but I'd want a bar across the end for load security....
it could drop a tailgate?

 

[PicNick]

Weight was a big concern for me in this design, so I tried to shed as much as I could. Loading in material properties and not accounting for weld beads and accessories, Solidworks projects it would weigh roughly 35lbs

I'll be using tslot extrusions for my future drawer system and almost used it for the roof rack, but it was a little cost prohibitive for how I wanted to load it out. It would hurt just a little bit more to do destructive testing on it too, which was the final straw for me. All around, tslot is a great material though. I've used it in 3D printer enclosers/stands and it was awesome being able to slide all the accessories around.

I like the idea of chevrons for truss work, I'll modify the model to reflect that. I'm thinking roughly 30* should look right since that's what I've got for the forward and aft angles. I'll also see about incorporating some sort of end stop for the back.

 

[PicNick]

I haven't forgotten about this project, I promise! I realized that before I could settle on a design, I had to settle on the roof top tent I was going to buy. I ended up ordering a Tuff Stuff Delta, which supposedly has dimensions of 48"x52"x14", so I threw together a rough model and it was clash city with the old design. I went through a couple of iterations and this is what I settled on. Its a modular system (sort of) that allows the back section of side rails to be removed to make room for the RTT. The tent can be cheated to one side and allow one rail to stay attached, but I'm sure that won't be practical in use. Below are a couple of model shots showing what I'm thinking. The silver parts are the removable sections of railing.

 

[PicNick]

So I stuck pretty close to the last design, but during mock up we noticed that the front rung would hit the sunroof when it was in vent mode. I also changed up the way that the removable sections worked. Just need to fabricate the mounts and paint it!

 

[Gmanpaint]

Looks nice and light weight! Is that electrical conduit tube?

I finished mine and installed it a while back. After seeing yours, You would hate it.

It's big, heavy, and holds tools, besides gear & a 270* awning. Not to mention the Electrical system on it that supplies 2 Aux ports and 296 watts of lights on it. LOL!!

Congrats on the progress!

 

[Trail_pilot]

I'm liking this project! I am looking at doing the same thing for both my compass and building a full rack for my LJ so I can haul the whole family.

 

[PicNick]

Looks nice and light weight! Is that electrical conduit tube?

I finished mine and installed it a while back. After seeing yours, You would hate it.

It's big, heavy, and holds tools, besides gear & a 270* awning. Not to mention the Electrical system on it that supplies 2 Aux ports and 296 watts of lights on it. LOL!!

Congrats on the progress!

Thanks! Yeah, it's 1" EMT and is light enough that I can move it around by myself without breaking a sweat. It's probably around 35-40 pounds with the removable side rails attached.

Heavy means strong, though! I gave up the ability to get a nice 270* awning, and we will see if it was worth the trade off. Sounds like yours is pretty stout

 

[PicNick]

I'm liking this project! I am looking at doing the same thing for both my compass and building a full rack for my LJ so I can haul the whole family.

Thanks, I highly recommend getting a pipe notcher and full 1" EMT if you don't use thin wall round tube. I did some destructive testing with 1/2 and 3/4 and it's definitely worth the slight upcharge for the 1".

I also probably spent about a third of the construction time getting the zinc galvanizing off of the conduit so that the fumes don't get me while welding on it

 

[Trail_pilot]

Thanks, I highly recommend getting a pipe notcher and full 1" EMT if you don't use thin wall round tube. I did some destructive testing with 1/2 and 3/4 and it's definitely worth the slight upcharge for the 1".

I also probably spent about a third of the construction time getting the zinc galvanizing off of the conduit so that the fumes don't get me while welding on it

I have been trying to find ways to calculate what size I need. Been debating 3/4 or 1" and decided 1" always probly best. Now I have to design is and figure out how to mount it. I was going to do the side mounts of the cage in 1"x2" rectangular tube. But I don't really want to mix round and square tube .. if I need tobi will.

 

[PicNick]

I have been trying to find ways to calculate what size I need. Been debating 3/4 or 1" and decided 1" always probly best. Now I have to design is and figure out how to mount it. I was going to do the side mounts of the cage in 1"x2" rectangular tube. But I don't really want to mix round and square tube .. if I need tobi will.

I'm with you on wanting to stay with one or the other for tubing. I'd have to see a sketch on what you're thinking for that tubing, but that'd be pretty beefy depending on the thickness you get. If you design the round tubing portion well, you can get some decent strength out of it. I'm going with 1/8" steel flats for my mounts, but I don't quite have a design yet. That's definitely gonna be a field fit weld for me haha