ERMB's D-I-Y Rack System Build

Love this!!! Great work! Thx for the write up.

 

ok, thanks.... I was thinking of trying to use something like a quick release on a bike - where you hand tighten like 80% strength, and then flip the lever for the final 20%. not sure if I can find the right size though. i'll look.

 

Thanks Nick that's a huge compliment coming from you! Your narratives are some of the best on TW. Much appreciated

 

unrelated, I wanted to point out (if not obvious) one of the brilliance of using the unistruts... the integrated 1/2" holes can be used as natural hook points (bungees, strap hooks). The Prinsu racks have the O hook rings, which serve same purpose, but stick out and are kinda obtrusive.

nice job, man.

 

You're welcome! Thx. I like everything about it, especially that there is interior utility which is a major bonus.

 

Thanks, that just happened to be the added bonus when I stumbled upon this product. What really sold me was the coating that is on it called Galvagold, I think. Its a zink coated galvanized product.
I've had a piece sitting out on my fence raw for the last 4 months and looks great.

It may take me awhile but I definitely have more planned for both interior and exterior... Stay tuned

 

I know someone who went straight from work yesterday to Lowes, Home Depot, and the local hardware store and now has all the materials to build this rack. You had me at

and

 

Haha, love it!!!! Please post up what you do in here. I'd love to see everyone's variation of this concept because its such an easy to work with material, I think many people will customize this to their liking and many will take it in a different direction.
I look forward to seeing what you come up with!

 

Will do! Thanks again

 

Can't tell from the pictures, are these measurements for a short bed or long bed? I think I talked my wife into it and I'm headed to the depot after work.

 

Mine is for a short bed. So the only optional thing is whether or not you want more crossmembers or not.

 

Hm... I'll definitely have to look into this. I was thinking of making something similar out of 80-20 extruded aluminum, but this seems a lot cheaper.

 

Seeing this is making me rethink about selling my cap. Nice write up man.

 

There are a couple of companies that sell extruded aluminum in I think 10ft lengths, but I thought the prices were a bit high for what I wanted to do too. Plus that was only part of the project, I still had to figure out how to attach it to the cap. I spent weeks looking for brackets and hangers strong enough to support weight/load etc...I even made a bracket out of steel plate on my own, but decided it wouldn't be strong enough. When I saw the fully boxed Unistrut or the larger version I instantly knew how I could use it.

 

The unistrut works perfect for this purpose especially with your double sided setup. I'm definitely going to have to figure that out. My problem is that I have a raised cap, need to figure that out....

 

So I read this earlier and have been thinking about it for a bit. They make a 90* bracket that might work for this. You could just run a short piece vertically then tie into the higher back section by having it span both areas . you could then have a fairing on front and panels on the sided to cover the voids similar to the shape front of a prinsu.
Its late and it might not make sense by explanation, but I could draw it up tomorrow to show what I mean.

 

Subbed. Might have to do this to my shell. Any plans for building one for the cab?

 

Totally makes sense, I have a machine shop I can make parts with I just haven't had time and the height (I'm short) to get up there and figure it out. I know putting a rack on the truck will definitely make it impossible for me to get into any parking garages in Boston... I will definitely make a fairing though, that was key on my old roof rack setup.

 

Hmmm, a machine shop...very interestingLooking forward to seeing what you come up with when you get moving on it!!!

 

When did you get a cap?