PrInSu Design Studio Roof Racks BS Thread

Thanks! Does anyone know the bolt size for connecting the crossbars to the side rails?

 

Thanks for the replies guys. I am working on reworking the OP to have answers to FAQ and general info. Thanks for the patience with me.

 

I took my truck to pick up a batch of product from my powder coater today & had the owner check out the rack on the truck. He's going to coat it out for me gratis.

Will post pics once complete.

 

Nice! Looking forward to seeing it done.

 

Sub'd! Christmas is around the corner.

 

That makes two of us.

Love the new sig pic btw.

 

Really? from what I saw earlier, these are metric railings, therefore they would be properly sized to be tapped with M6.

 

My light bar came in! now i just need a rack to mount it to

 

Did you order one from Zach? I'm getting mine wrapped up this coming week for the VA meet.

 

I plan on ordering from him but haven't made the order yet. Still want to go over design with him. There's gona be slight mod made to the stock design for my light bar.

 

Git er done!

 

All of the extrusion profiles I have been using are in imperial units (1.5" x .75" and 1" x 2") I haven't even specified the tap size I just let the manufacturer do the tap they have specified for that specific profile.

 

I tapped 10 cross bars with 4 holes each by hand.

 

This is correct they are 5/16 - 18

 

I have done a few by hand to see if it was worth trying to save money. For me it wasn't. Talk about slow going.

 

I did a few each night over a couple weeks timespan - still very tedious but I honestly enjoyed building the rack to my own desired specs.

Thanks again for providing the side rails and mounting hardware Zach! I love your full rack kits too but for me building one with my own spin on it was very satisfying.

 

I was able to find black zinc plated bolts for about $0.26 each and black nylon washers for just a few cents. The all-black fasteners (still advertised on the Prinsu Wix page) was part of the appeal, so I was disappointed to see all shiny zinc when my racks were delivered, but I'd be more bothered by rust a few months from now.

The idea of painting over a hundred 1" machine screws stinks, but the cardboard approach certainly makes that a little better, and I can probably find a former student willing to paint them for $10 per hour and come out cheaper. The box and the three of the fasteners bags were ripped during shipping and I have to figure out what's missing anyway, so I'll combine those tasks into a stimulating project.

Any strong opinions about using nylon washers?

 

Nylon washer I'm considering:

Nylon 6/6 Flat Washer, Plain Finish, Black, 5/16" Hole Size, 0.34" ID, 0.88" OD, 0.06" Nominal Thickness (Pack of 100)

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B009OLNPQW/



The bolt/machine screw options aren't so obvious.

Black phosphate frame bolt ($1 each): http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00HQRBEI2/


Black zinc machine screw ($0.26 each but in huge bulk):

$564 (1250pcs) 5/16-18X1 Machine Screws Pan Phillips Drive Steel, Black Zinc

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00HG0ORYW/


But it sounds like there's not uniformity in the the bolt size from order to order (used different rack manufacturers?), so I won't be doing anything until I can confirm the size. I see only a tiny "4" (I think) on the shiny zinc hardware that came in the box. That's why I'm thinking of just painting it all with Rustoleum before I assemble it all.

I'm also questioning why I thought it was so important to do this anti-chrome, anti-shiny approach! I feel like I'm putting more effort into making the truck NOT look pretty!


Build page: http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/2nd-gen-builds/330980-jims-2014-pyrite-mica-dclb-project.html

 

Im not a fan of chrome or shine either and at one time after derping all the badges had black wheels but it was to much darkness imo. I upgraded my wheels to bronze and it really brightened up the build. So as it stands now every accessories will be black from here on out to keep the anti-shine theme. As I said before I def want black racks with black hardware.

 

Zinc coating wears off and phosphate will rust too, the only way to have rust free hardware is to add a top coat of clear coat to them IMO. I am on my third hardware attempt, spray paint chipped just mounting them and rust showed up inside the head within a week, zinc wore off in about a month and surface corrosion started so this time I am getting them clear powder coated. I poked a bunch of holes in cardboard, inserted all of my bolt and then wired them all together to save prep charges. I am using 5/16 hex head bolts to match my bead lock wheel hardware.

BTW- I think your " after" shot looks awesome don't change a thing !