ERMB's D-I-Y Rack System Build

Maybe. Too bad you sold it, I would have bought the rack off of you. Any chance you could make me a cabrack? Haha maybe I've seen your Land Cruiser around too

 

Greetings ! Just joined to express my Gratitude for the communal Sharing that has occurred over these 38pgs (!). I spent an ENTIRE (gloomy) day, scouring the net for ideas on DIY Racks. This was probably the most ‘productive’.

Anyway, I will make it short for now. Realizing that this is a pretty old Thread, I noticed that only Post 256 & 707 (designs) feature the UniStrut configured on its “side” (C). I’m curious why More didn’t do it that way, since that orientation would resist (Any) flexing/sagging, moreso than the “flat” (U) orientation ?

Regardless, thank you ALL for Sharing.

PS ~ Plexiglas will ALWAYS be a bad choice for Fairings. SIGNIFICANTLY weaker than Lexan (polycarbonate). Or use sheet metal of some material. Even Baltic Birch plywood would be MUUUCH better than Plexiglas.

PPS ~ For those with a Limited tools, a $10 Harbor Freight Angle Grinder and Several 10packs of $5 Metal Cut-off discs is darned near the ONLY Tool needed to build this entire project .... and a Good Face SHIELD. I’ve built a Ton of (things) and would never Dream of relying on a hacksaw for this ... FWIW

 

Hey everyone! This is my first ever post after many years of stalking this sight to help me with my truck. I guess I figured it was time to finally start chiming in once in awhile to share some outcomes!

I found this roof rack build about 3 weeks ago and instantly started reading deeper. I needed something allowing me to travel with bouldering pads and stick clips (climbing gear) while allowing room for a camp build in the bed.

Caught a decent pic while at a friends on the river yesterday evening. Loving the rack so far! I found that by adding 90° aluminum to the sides added a lot of structure and I really dig the look! Hauls the pads very nicely!

 

late joiner here...Can Anyone speak to the curvature/convex shape of the Shell/Toppers at the outer edge and how to get the rack to sit flush and level on top?

 

Hey Steven, can you snap a photo of the area your referring to? I sent you a PM yesterday but not sure if it helped to explain what your referring to.
This was how I attached mine. The piece in contact with the cap was the GoRhino tracks I was referring to. The piece above that is just another section of Unistrut. I happened to find rectangular nuts that fit into the tracks at a local Fastenal.
Ive seen some people just drill right into the cap without using tracks at all. That too could be an option. Something to think about is that it doesn't have to attach all the way to the outer most edged where it curves. It will be much easier to keep it all on the flattest surfaces

 

Thanks to all for the posts and advice! Ya its a Tundra
So i may have gone a little overkill , but better safe than sorry; I bulit an internal structural support to distribute the weight down into bed rails(also unistrut).

 

Internal support is perfect especially since your using your tent up there. Right before I sold my tacoma I had started on one but never finished. Nice work!

 

Love the way mine turned out! Still need to come up with side panels and forward wind screen, but it’s working great so far.

 

Nice Job!! Love your solution to the risers on the cab!

 

Well here is my rendition. I'm not sure if I will add the side rails or not. I kind of like the way it looks with just the angles. To make the risers I used the strut clamps and drilled the holes a bit bigger to accommodate the screws for the slot clamp. Changed the top bolt out and painted it. They are slightlyccurved which matches the curve of the cap top. I need to take it all apart and finish painting, but that may be a few days.

 

First I'd like to say Thank You all for the great information and discussions on this thread. I'm inspired by it and started building my own roof rack. I bought my first Tacoma in September, so I'm new to the game. This is my first real project for the truck.

After debating with myself for a while I chose to use 8020 extruded aluminum. I've found it's very necessary to add a wind fairing for reducing air drag and wind noise. That work is still ongoing. But here are some pictures of the rack.


Assembling the rack. It's not hard to work with extruded aluminum.


Test fit the rack on the roof.


1" spacer for the bracket mount.


Made brackets using aluminum angles. Aligning them and drilling perfect holes were pretty difficult.


It's mounted!




Wind fairing work in progress.


I'm also documenting the build here in a little more detail. https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/long-term-build-2019-tacoma-or.632093/#post-22116922

 

My attempt for the 97 Snugtop. Still working on building up the sides and paint....
Got 61” rails off of a Ford Aerostar at Pick N Pull. Contemplating on how to attach to the shell. Most likely a brace on the underside like others have done.

 

@Taco3042 - how is the unistrut working out as the track system now that’s it’s been a couple years?

@ERMB this whole thread is a thing of beauty. Going to get started on this soon.

 

Haven’t had a chance to click through the whole thread yet, has anyone made a rack for an access cab yet? Looking for a place to mount some solar panels

 

Just drill some holes in your roof and squeeze in some nut-serts

 

This thread has been a great tool, but I still have a few questions about where to start my build/version.

I have a 2004 double cab with a Leer camper shell. The shell didn't come with the truck, and it's basically bare. No tracks, no weatherstripping, exposed fiberglass on the inside, not wired, held on by C-clamps, etc.

I raptor lined the truck myself and I plan on lining the camper shell to match. I'd also like to insulate/carpet the interior of the shell.

My question is, where do I start on what?

Do I line the exterior then drill tracks, do I do tracks first then the rest, do I do the interior first then drill tracks then line the exterior?

Any suggestions would help, thanks!

 

Paint and carpet first

 

Somewhere in this thread someone mentioned drilling before carpet. They said the carpet pulled and twisted around the drill bit.

 

I agree. Since you're basically redoing all the surfaces, you should do the following:
1) remove the windows
2) clean and sand well to prep for lining
3) line the exterior
4) carpet interior
5) install tracks (do this before putting the windows back in, it will give you easier access for attaching the bolts)
6) reinstall windows

I would consider adding some sort of reinforcement on the inside for mounting the tracks. Maybe just some unistrut that matches the track? Even just a piece of flat bar would help.

 

Thanks! That's what I'll do. Also should I do anything with small chipped edges like these before I line it?