need a roof rack for JK unlimited

[gpwpat]

Ok here is the deal. I need a roof rack to mount my newly orderd eezi awn tent on. But I don't want a gutter mount as the rain gutters on a fiberglass top I doubt would hold. I have not seen any racks that are not exterior mounted cage style. I just want to mount the rack on the hard top. If I am going topless I don't need a rack. expeditions will mostly be done with the hard top.

So here is what I am planning. Building a rack that will distribute the load to the rollbar in the front. and in the rear I will have to build a tube or a bracket that will distribute the load back to the body of the vehicle.

The rack will be built out of 1" dia tube. It needs to hold 200 lbs while moving and 600 to 800 with the tent deployed and filled with family.

any ideas? I have a mig, just don't have tubing bender. Would it be better to buy a bender, or pay to have the bends done, or buy prebent sections and cut and weld them in where I need my bends.

I am looking at a rack similar to an xterra rack or a fj cruiser rack. but scaled down.

[LUISJG]

if yo use the hard top there is a very easy way,,

fist yo need to weld 4 1.5 inch sqaure tubing to the roll bar pointing up and a plate about 2 inches by 3 inches on top of this. "all this on the big section of the 3 piece hard top"

the plates will have to be exact against the hard top ceiling inside.
then you put same size plates outside the hard top "on top" and bolt this ones
thru the top and to the inner plates.

now after this you can mount anything you want to those plates it will be extreamly strong "every thing suported by the roll bar" ,easy to make, and eficient.

now if you think its going to be bad to drill thru the hard top to do this ..dont.
there is nothing wroung with it and if you decide later down the road you dont want it anymore you can just patch the drill holes with epoxy.

im doing this but with something extra ,read the "jk hard top project" here on the jeep forum .

[gpwpat]

Yes I was thinking along these lines but not welding the tube to the roll bar. rather making bolt on adapters. this will allow me to remove it to put on the soft top. so tell me how hard is it to bend 1" tube to tight dia. what is the min dia I can bend? or have bent?

cutting and welding I have down. bending I do not have a tool that does this yet.

I am not afraid to bolt through the hard top. as the rack if it looks nice will stay on the hard top for good.

[LUISJG]

well go and buy welding elbows, they sell them at the metal shop,, i dont bend either