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Home Built Roof Rack

AZ DESERT RAT

NAXJA Forum User
Location
MESA, ARIZONA
Has Anybody Built A Roof Rack At Home And Have Some Diagrams Or Plans For Building It? I Want To Do My Own But Dont Have A Tube Bender. Welding And Fabricating Arent A Problem. Any Help On How And What Materials Would Be Best To Use Would Be Greatly Appreciated!!
 
AZ DESERT RAT said:
Has Anybody Built A Roof Rack At Home And Have Some Diagrams Or Plans For Building It? I Want To Do My Own But Dont Have A Tube Bender. Welding And Fabricating Arent A Problem. Any Help On How And What Materials Would Be Best To Use Would Be Greatly Appreciated!!

Material: .75" .065 wall square tubing. 4'x8' sheet of expanded metal, flat stock
Tools: Welder, grinder and chop saw

Mounts are Yakima 1a tower mounts, 4 per side. They are bolted to a triangular tab that is welded, inside and out, to the bottom of the rack. You can see in the last pic how I did the cross pieces and such. The rear corners are beveled, and so is the front. The rack is a little over 50" wide and runs the entire length of the XJs roof.

It was designed for my wife and I to sleep on during camping trips when we dont want to pitch a tent.

P1010001.jpg

b3505a3a.jpg

P1010003.jpg

P1010005.jpg


Hope that helps.

Fergie
 
Last edited:
AZ DESERT RAT said:
Has Anybody Built A Roof Rack At Home And Have Some Diagrams Or Plans For Building It? I Want To Do My Own But Dont Have A Tube Bender. Welding And Fabricating Arent A Problem. Any Help On How And What Materials Would Be Best To Use Would Be Greatly Appreciated!!


I used the same basic materials 3/4 square except I made my own brackets out of 16 gauge (if you have a factory rack) total cost was about 40 bucks
 
Thanks For All The Help Guys...the Pictures Really Helped.....hows The Weather Up There Fergie? I Moved Down To Phoenix From Flagstaff About 2 Years Ago......what A Mistake..lol!!! Thanks Again For The Help!!
 
The weather is too hot. Its nice in the winter here, but a bit warm for me in the summer. Always better than Phx though.

Fergie
 
I built a similar rack for a truck several years ago but I used solid 1/2" round section steel (easy to bend with a little heat (torch) and vice. I bent both sides the same and them welded it together to make the top and bottom rails. I used 3" x 1/4 flat bar for the uprights.

Both racks are reasonably easy and cheap to make, mine was about $50 for everything (mounted to 4 yakima bars like pic above that I already had). The round section is less cutting and welding, but more bending.

Michael
 
AZ DESERT RAT said:
Thanks for all the help guys...the pictures really helped.....hows the weather up there Fergie? I moved down to Phoenix from Flagstaff about 2 years ago......what a mistake..lol!!! Thanks again for the help!!


There I fixed it for you.
 
I was trying to figure out how the hell that kept happening...thanks for the tip!! Where would I find that kind of tubing? Home Depot or do I need to go to a metal shop of some kind? Thanks for all the help......the rack should be underway next week...I'll keep you posted...
 
HD will have limited amounts, and will be more expensive. Call around to welding shops, or fab shops and get some prices. That is your best bet.

Fergie
 
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