Homemade Roof Rack / Basket Complete !

All done and it can really hold way more weight than I could ever plan to put in it. Just about no wind noise at high speeds. Very happy with the project, and how it turned out for my use. Still quite easy to keep the roof clean through the openings.

 

Very cool! I'm thinking about DIY'ing a single cross bar to sit in front of my overhanging camper. Would you mind sharing what you used for materials particularly to attach to the roof holes and get a bit of height? Thanks!

 

Hi I started the base with scraps of Azek 3/4" decking board and mitered the angles as needed to give me a flat base. I spaced the base with flat 1/4" bar stock from leaf spring shackles that I had - but 1/8" would be fine also. Bought extended bolts on EBay to secure to the factory threaded holes with 3M Marine adhesive as a thread sealant. I then built the structure with 1" thin wall square stock and had a good friend powder coat for me. After I test secured the mounts - I laid blankets on the vehicle and tack welded the bars in place, so that it was one complete unit. I plugged the ends with plastic caps that I also found on EBay or Amazon. Fun Project !!

 

i hope that was cheap.... because it looks it

 

Not bad brother and props for having the welding and engineering skills to do something like this!. You probably won't win any roof rack beauty contests, but you were focused on function over form and that's OK in my book!

 

I'm for sure not into the "Raptor" look that everything is geared to for pick-ups. Also - I really didn't want my rack singing to me down the highway. This is super quiet and does the exact job it was built for. And I never have a problem repurposing the items in my shop. Basket came off a junk Explorer and the hardware was cheap like Auskip picked up on !!! I'm liking a bit of jealousy sir !!! Regards Scott

 

Thanks for the run-down. Very creative! I wish I had the skills to build something like this. Funny to see the dumb-ass haters who probably have less skills and shittier taste hate on this. Use it well!

 

Auskip actually gave me the best thumbs up here by showing his jealousy. Can't ask for more then that !!! Thanks for the kind comments from everyone else. It is greatly appreciated for sure.

 

Now for my transmission cooler set up that was cheap too ---