Any DIY roof racks here?
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Any DIY roof racks here?

Cole Barth

Cole Barth

Well-known member
I have access to a pipe bender, and metal shop. The gears are turning and I'm going to roll the dice and make my own roof rack. I have a few ideas, but was hoping to see what others might have done. The one part that I'm not 100% sure on, is how I will mount on top of the truck. I have '95 Land Cruiser.
 
You have two options.
1. Use the existing rack inserts. I would cut the holes in the plate large enough for the nut sert to sit up in the mount plate. This way the plate sits on the roof and not the nut sert. I would also add a thin rubber sheet or maybe a thin teflon sheet between the roof and the mount.

2. Mount off of the pinch welds. This is how mine is and is the stronger way.

Look at how Prinsu mounts theirs. Look carefully at the clamping design. I can take a picture of mine if you need. If you wanted to actually walk on it, I would use the existing rack mounts and the pinch rail.
If you don't already know, the factory roof rack nut serts leak horribly. When I did my rack, I installed some stainless button screws with sealant on the thread to fill the holes.
 
Excellent! Thank you so much. Yeah any photos you might be able to share would be great. I'm just in the starting phase of this and trying to figure out what I'm looking at with this project. Now did you use steel or aluminum?
 
I was going to blatantly copy the Prinsu. I wanted a flat low profile. With the T-Slot, I can add and remove mounts and tie downs as needed. I drew it all up then found one for sale for less then it was going to cost to build. I didn't end up building it for my 80. I have however built several "basket" type racks for my other vehicles over the years.

What you need to do is, look at what's out there and figure out what you need. My basket racks worked well but now that I have a flat rack that's modular, I will only use that type now. Using tubing, you can accomplish the same. Just add in mounting points.
I just got back from a trip, I'll grab some pictures while im cleaning up.
 
Here's a picture of my clamp.

rack mount.jpg

As you can see, it's a simple clamp. Tighten the bolt and it pulls up the clamp. The jamb nut locks when its done. Almost all my hardware is stainless. If you do that don't forget to anti seize everything.

I would prefer a draw latch but never found one that I could fit. I added a molding to the mount plate where it sits on the pinch weld. Over time it would have ground through the paint and rusted. Not sure why no one adds those in.

Here is one of the brackets I added in to hold my awning. I have a few more pieces of angle I can add in to mount or tie down.
Prinsu used a single piece along the edge. Its a bit over kill. You could use separate risers if you wanted. I would use five or six if you went past the sunroof. The only thing I mount past my sunroof are my antennas.

rack braket .jpg
 
I would get the mounting hardware from one of the rooftop manufactures, and build the rest. Leave that headache to others.
 
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