Homemade Roofracks.

Bernard_Roofus

"Jackaroo of all trades"
There are some amazing racks on here, I guess I will not be buying one after seeing this thread. Time to get the welder out!
 

magentawave

Adventurer
Yes I saw both methods on some Youtube videos. That is a very interesting free-form technique that I had no idea existed until you mentioned it. Thanks! I was originally going to build one big giant 9' long X 6' wide box but at 6' wide I'd have to add a lot of something (wood or fiberglass) to get the stiffness I'll need so I think I'll build two identical boxes that are only 34" wide instead that will be mounted side by side. Two narrower boxes will be a lot easier to move around while building and mounting later too.

The simplest way to access my stuff in the boxes would be to have a lockable door on the back that opens up like a garage door rather than hinges along the side which is what Thule and Yakima do. My only concern with the "garage" door in the back would be getting to stuff (fishing rods, short surfboards, etc.) that has slid all the way forward though.

Does anyone have some ideas for accessing the stuff in a 9' long X 34" wide car top box...and what kind of hinges to use and where to put them?

You can add woven glass mat on top. I have seen people just soak the felt with resin and after it dries smooth it out with a layer of body filler on top.
 

Bernard_Roofus

"Jackaroo of all trades"
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Saw this Jeep this past weekend. Talked to the owner, pretty cool rack. He made it from threaded conduit and then coated it with truck bed liner. It is one stout rack.
 

BlackClassic

If Not Now When?
Here is a picture of my rack, its is approximately 60x40x6 and is made out of 1/2 or so square tubing. Works good, made it in high school and its still held up through two Maine winters. Sorry no pics looking at the top of it, and I believe I have a picture of it in raw steel on my build page.
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shanz3n5

Adventurer
did u build this rack or can i buy similar? im looking to do the same but out to the front bumper. i have a chevy with no gutter, how did u attach,
thanx john
 

jeeperben

New member
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fellow jeeper gave me an old Kongo rack off a TJ, I cut and stretched the frame, built a 3.5'x5' flat rack. wanted to keep it as low profile as possible, mounted the awning, rotopax and element ramps up there and out of the way.. also had an extra set of rigids so those went up as well.
 

anw7405

Observer
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Here is my cheapo home made roof rack. I'm not completely done with it but have used it on 3 trips so far. All 3 times I have loaded it down with firewood and a portable grill. In addition to this one time I loaded an army tent 2 totes and a bicycle. It seems very sturdy.
 

eurosonic

Expedition Leader
Did this a while back, mind as well post it here!

Picked up a homebrewed safari rack that was originally on a XJ jeep. Rack was not in the best shape, so I decided to freshen it up with new paint and hardware. Rack came with a new set of KC Daylighters and some cheapo' lights in the back. Maybe will use them later.

The rack was about 60 miles away from me, so I took the family wagon to pick it up. Figure I could just strap it on and go.

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Sprayed some paint remover. Never tried using that stuff before. Paint comes off almost instantly.

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Cleaned up the mounts. Old, polished, painted.

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After some metal brushing was ready to paint.

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Couple of cans of Rostolium later..

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Had to modify the mounts to make it fit the Mitsubishi.

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Action poser shot!




 

Wh1t3nukle

I gotz dis
bumping this thread!

Started Last Friday

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my jig for the 1-2* off on the 90* bends... :)

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tacked up

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and up to today mocked up for mounting locations now, with floor, painting by the kids, and lighting next

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Wh1t3nukle

I gotz dis
Thanks guys!!

Here is the progress from today.... > 20 linear feet of joining happy beads!!

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Almost ready for paint....
 

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