Stronger bar than Yakima round crossbars

[pintosf]

Hello all. I have a rack that mounts similar to a lumber rack but uses a round Yakima crossbar. Looking to carry lumber and other heavier materials and toys where Yakima crossbars would fail. I was going to purchase 6061 aluminum tube that’s 1.125” diameter with .25” wall. Wondering if I should get a solid bar instead for strength or if the hollow tube is sufficient. Any other suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

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[tatanka48]

for MANY years i have successfully used 2x3 mahagony and oak crossbars for my hauling needs



since you have obviously created the bases for your quest i would think it quite easy to adapt them for timber crossbars

while you're at it i might suggest drilling holes and softening the inner hole edges w/ a router



i have holes on each end of the crossbars as well as in the center for ease separating loads(¿ 2 kayaks± ?)

when i started this practice i always used oak thinking it was needed for strength

i later realised that mahogany though a "hardwood" is softer than virtually any of the loads i haul and therefore the crossbars take the hit rather than my toys/loads

i've hauled loads of precious marine plywood hundreds of miles (closest lumberyard that sources what i use is 350± miles from the barn/shop where i work/play/build

regularly haul 20' lengths of steel for trailer building/repair the 50 miles from the yard to the barn

and TOYS on 1000+ mile adventures on a regular basis



simply another way of doin' it

T

 

[Ducky's Dad]

Yak, does not publicize it, but their 86" bars come in an HD version with about double the wall thickness of the regular bars. OD is the same, but they take a different end cap. Just cut them to whatever length works for you and stuff in the caps. I generally have three crossbars on my truck
and it took a load of 18' timbers that weighed about 1100 pounds to bend the original bars into submission. Two of the three were permanently bent but nothing actually failed. I switched over to the HD bars and have carried similar loads without a problem. You could probably reinforce the HD bars by sleeveing them internally with heavy tubing or rebar.

 

[Sea&Xc]

Be aware that the top bolts on the Outdoorsman are the weak link in that system. I've seen those SS hex head bolts shear from sideloads on multiple occasions (heavy crosswinds on a canoe). You should be able to replace them with a higher grade bolt. The HD bars are expensive but are much stronger. You should be able to find them discounted somewhere since Yakima has gone away from the roundbars.