September 15, 200421 yr Finally got around to building a roof rack for the wagon. 60.00 worth of steel and 6 hours later I'm sporting it on the car. Haven't gotten around to building the gutter rail clamps yet and need to get the correct length bolts for the hold downs. Next time I will use a thinner walled square tubing and clean it up a bit more before painting. I'm going to incorporate a place in the front for foglights and a spare tire mount on the next one too. Eh, not to bad for a first try I think. Comments, good or bad, are welcome. Regards, Jay Going to be building front brushguards and swingout spare tire carriers when I get into my new garage.
September 15, 200421 yr Nice job! I would never have guessed that was your first attempt. That looks like something you'd buy from a manufacturer.
September 15, 200421 yr wow truely does look professional... nice one man. How much did it cost in materials?
September 15, 200421 yr thats pretty sharp! i have one small critique though. if youre going to add a light bar to it, i would move the front mounting bar closer to the front of the rack, to safeguard against vibration throwing your lightbeam all over creation.
September 15, 200421 yr Author Thanks for the compliments. Cost was 60.00. The next one won't be as expensive as I have leftover steel from this go and I'm going with thinner walled tubing. Someone has made these before. Who was it? I'd like to copy the half surround for the spare tire but want to give credit for the idea. Next rack will have a 'Yakima like' flat angled front with notches for the lights so they don't protrude over the top of the rack. Jay
September 15, 200421 yr Yeah Man! Hey when you get that Rear Spare tire rack hammered out, drop me a line. I want the best but lack the skills:lol: . But all in all for a first attempt and doing all the fab work by yourself. Only one word to describe it...DAMN! Shaun...DaGodfada:brow:
September 15, 200421 yr Thanks for the compliments. Cost was 60.00. The next one won't be as expensive as I have leftover steel from this go and I'm going with thinner walled tubing. Someone has made these before. Who was it? I'd like to copy the half surround for the spare tire but want to give credit for the idea. Jay soobme -mike
September 15, 200421 yr Hey Jay...looks awesome!! I think it will really come together once you get some lights up there also I just put yakimas up on top and built custom mounts for lights that mount to the yakimas. Then I used the ski/snow board holders for my fly rods while fishing.
September 15, 200421 yr Looks good, nice work. One of these days I've got to get around to learning how to weld.
September 15, 200421 yr Author Right now it's bolted to the outermost roof rails. Not the best way but I wanted to get it home and out of the shop. I have designs on gutter rail holddowns but have yet to get the free time to build them. I wouldn't trust the current mounting for much weight but it's attached. Probably hold whatever the factory rails are rated, weight wise. I have a jig set up to duplicate this rack without too much problem and wouldn't mind building these for a bit of a profit, but shipping them would be the big deal killer. Jay
September 15, 200421 yr Best looking rack I've seen in a long time:brow: It's inspirational! Nice Work!!! Glenn 82 SubaruHummer---custom rack 01 Forester---factory rack
September 16, 200421 yr you could move west to accomodate your clients which would cut down on shipping.
September 16, 200421 yr That rack looks real good, and very sturdy. It looks pretty short, and you may not want to attatch lights directly to it. You might want to fabricate a light bar that you can adjust, that way your lights aren't restricted to the rack. Definatly a job well done! -Brian
September 16, 200421 yr Nice work! anybody have any suggestions for a rack that would hold a 12' two person sea kayak for my girlfriends legacy sedan ? Dont own the kayak yet as she doesnt think the soobi could haul it...I say otherwise. I think this may be a ploy to upgrade to a s/w or worse - some kind of pick-up.
September 16, 200421 yr Author Nks, I just reread your post and understand what your saying now, I agree. Brian, Wondering if the lights set that far back on the roof and that low would illuminate the road well? Sure would light up the top of the car. My thought was to put them on the lower crossbar of the next one I build. I really don't want them to stick up above the top of the rack, more integrated. thinking the next rack will be a -+foot longer to position the front of the rack about center of the front door. I like your idea of a light bar addition. I could wire it up to be removable too. Thanks for the compliments. Regards, Jay **Looking at the lift kits that are being built. It just doesn't seem that hard to do. The info on them seems to be quite proprietary, so I'll end up making mistakes that could be avoided if it was shared. Then again I haven't really asked anyone for advice either. Maybe I should. Hmm.
September 16, 200421 yr If/when you do the removable light bar. Think about little deflectors so that the lights dont illuminate your windshield as well. Mike
September 16, 200421 yr Author Don't think I've seen the light deflectors. Do you have a picture for reference? J
September 16, 200421 yr It is more a less a plate for under the light just to keep it off the windshield. its a bigger prob. with Brats T-tops. It could give you a mounting point if you wanted to use a couple 1/4" round bar to deflect stubborn branches and whatnot. just a thought.
September 22, 200421 yr Right now it's bolted to the outermost roof rails. Not the best way but I wanted to get it home and out of the shop. I have designs on gutter rail holddowns but have yet to get the free time to build them. I wouldn't trust the current mounting for much weight but it's attached. Probably hold whatever the factory rails are rated, weight wise. I have a jig set up to duplicate this rack without too much problem and wouldn't mind building these for a bit of a profit, but shipping them would be the big deal killer. Jay Id like to bolt something on like this..(more of a light bar). How/Where would you determine the best spot to bolt this to the roof of the car. Are there rails that are under the actual roof that I can blot right too? and how did you find them?
September 22, 200421 yr Shiping is not as bad as U would think. (I ship 1-3 of them a week) But it can't be all 1 pice like that to ship it. Has to have some way of breaking down. I don't want to give away ALL of my trade secrets, but if U have ever seen 1 of mine U will see how to make it just as strong, but still break down. That's very similar to what I sell, but I don't recomend using the stock rail mounts any more. They like to start pulling out of the roof when U get a load on the rack, and they will not suport as much weight as the rain gutters will. And that is a NICE RACK Just had to get that in there
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