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Thread: Hybrid Roof Rack (sorry 4x4mike)

  1. #11
    I have maybe $40 into my rack and at least half of that is paint.

    I lucked out with using the nails. In my mind I was envisioning something that looked like that and didn't like what was available to purchase. Cruising HD I saw them and bought a handful. I need to buy more as I put them on my trailer in the places I always need tie downs.

  2. #12
    I am also a fan of Stuart's design, mentioned in the first page of this thread. If you leave the sliding nuts in the roof tracks, taking his load bars on and off is pretty quick and easy. Those load bars are useful for Home Depot trips. Then his modular basket that bolts to the load bars is nice because you it's not too heavy to put on only when you need it. I think his setup is pretty quiet too. My Yakima setup was so noisy I couldn't take it anymore.

  3. #13
    Quote Originally Posted by paddlenbike View Post
    I am also a fan of Stuart's design, mentioned in the first page of this thread. If you leave the sliding nuts in the roof tracks, taking his load bars on and off is pretty quick and easy. Those load bars are useful for Home Depot trips. Then his modular basket that bolts to the load bars is nice because you it's not too heavy to put on only when you need it. I think his setup is pretty quiet too. My Yakima setup was so noisy I couldn't take it anymore.
    If you had the round bar setup I agree with you 100%. My parents had those when I was a kid. You could tell how fast we were going by the whistle. My dad gave me a set of the aero bars off his old windstar to me and they are very quiet.

    I also like Stuarts design and a little rack would work great till the fat rocket box covered up 75% of it.

    One of my friends had an interesting idea for the rack. Put solar panels under it so that when you have it unloaded it would collect energy. Not sure if it would work or not but it made me think a little.

    Good news in another area! It looks like I'm getting my extension so I will be in the usmc till Dec 2015. It at least gives me a shot at promotion which is what I want. If I get passed over I will more than likely be heading back to kentucky to finish engineering and try and get an internship/job with toyota. Maybe it's a pipe dream but we can all dream right?
    98 3rz 4x4 5spd- Monstalined, 99 Talls, 4.30 E-locker, Extra Lights
    In Progress:
    Tundra/Rear Disc Brakes w/parking brake
    Roof Rack/Rear Ladder
    Sliders
    1st Gen Rollbar Shelf

  4. #14
    Quote Originally Posted by 4x4mike View Post
    I have maybe $40 into my rack and at least half of that is paint.

    I lucked out with using the nails. In my mind I was envisioning something that looked like that and didn't like what was available to purchase. Cruising HD I saw them and bought a handful. I need to buy more as I put them on my trailer in the places I always need tie downs.
    I will see what I can do for budget but I highly highly doubt I will do as well as you did. I am estimating under 150 all said and done. The top rack will very likely be the last thing I do for a good while though. I have to get out and use the truck now. I will have a locker, a place to put extra fuel, extra light, and that's all I need to start getting out and about on some of these group trips. The only other thing I might get beyond what I have talked about is some bolt on recovery points as I only have the stock hook.
    98 3rz 4x4 5spd- Monstalined, 99 Talls, 4.30 E-locker, Extra Lights
    In Progress:
    Tundra/Rear Disc Brakes w/parking brake
    Roof Rack/Rear Ladder
    Sliders
    1st Gen Rollbar Shelf

  5. #15
    So I've torn apart the design lots of times and came back with the same problem of being able to keep the rack completely under the yakima bars and the stock rails. Randomly while I was searching for extruded aluminum it just about hit me like a freight train but I could use the securing system out of a moving truck which is L-track or E-track. E-track I don't have awesome experiences with and it wouldn't work for the yakima racks but the L-track will. I might have to attach different feet to the yaks but they will work with that and then on top of that I have a great system to make tie downs with that are flexible and lightweight.

    While this idea may or may not happen I think I have a better solution and still stay within the 60lbs range. Here are the models I have developed. Not sure about all the lights but I definitely like the frame better. It's a little more complex but the weight distribution keeps the weight bearing along the stock rails and supports the expanded metal better. The rack support also reflects where the weight will be placed on the rack. What I like best is that the rack frame is only 2" higher than the stock roof rails so very little height is added to the rocketbox mount to keep a low profile and keep some mpg where I can.

    In regards to mpg I might make a fairing that extends all the way to the roofline but I'm not sure how much that will help. The overall drag would primarily come from the yakima racks and rocketbox anyway. 2" wouldn't turn the 4rnr into a school bus would it?
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    Last edited by Kryptoroxx; 09-20-2014 at 07:08 AM.
    98 3rz 4x4 5spd- Monstalined, 99 Talls, 4.30 E-locker, Extra Lights
    In Progress:
    Tundra/Rear Disc Brakes w/parking brake
    Roof Rack/Rear Ladder
    Sliders
    1st Gen Rollbar Shelf

  6. #16
    Any reason why you want to use your yakima racks? Is it for the basket? If so why not just make your own cross bars that work off of the E/L Track and call it a day? Having the low profile rack is really great! Liking your design a lot!
    Lance
    TLCA Member

    2003 4Runner SR5 4x4 Chaos Edition
    2000 Toyota Landcruiser
    19xx M416 Trailer

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  7. #17
    Quote Originally Posted by Good Times View Post
    Any reason why you want to use your yakima racks? Is it for the basket? If so why not just make your own cross bars that work off of the E/L Track and call it a day? Having the low profile rack is really great! Liking your design a lot!
    Main reason for using the yakima racks is the quietness of the bars even when sitting up so high. Second is weight. They are made from aluminum and might weigh 2 lbs apiece. I doubt I could do any better in the noise or weight dept plus they lock which gives a small deterrent to thievery.

    As a small update I went through all 39? pages of the homemade roof racks on expedition portal (whew my eyes were tired) and I think my frame design is overkill to say the least. As I went through though I thought about the possibility of bending the crossbars to match the roof among other ideas. Anyone who wants to design their own roof rack needs to read that thread. I am still fighting with the feet design up front as well as width of the rack itself.

    In short I have something to do for the weekend besides work out and run.
    98 3rz 4x4 5spd- Monstalined, 99 Talls, 4.30 E-locker, Extra Lights
    In Progress:
    Tundra/Rear Disc Brakes w/parking brake
    Roof Rack/Rear Ladder
    Sliders
    1st Gen Rollbar Shelf

  8. #18
    I finally found what I was looking for in the way of the track but I didn't expect it to be so freakin expensive. I'm still shopping around for that kind of thing but I completed the frame rebuild and I decided to attempt a rough estimate on weight and expense. So far it looks like I'm not doing badly at all but I will definitely get extra as any steel supply is pretty far for me...actually what the hell am I thinking....Walmart is far for me.

    Anyhoo here is the list so far with approximate weight and cost.

    Main Sub Frame and Forward Feet:
    Size and length: 8.2' of 1.5x.75x.125" Hot Rolled Channel
    Weight: 1.17 per ft = 9.59lbs
    Cost: $17

    Outer Frame:
    35' of 1x.5x.060" Carbon Rect. Tube
    .557 per ft = 19.5lbs
    Cost: $30.38

    Main Cross Brace:
    3.2' of 1x1x.120" Carbon Square Tube
    1.43 per ft = 4.57lbs
    Cost: $10.78

    Auxillary Cross Bracing:
    6.1' of 1.5x.5x.060" Carbon Rect Tube
    .763 per ft = 4.65lbs
    Cost: $12.68

    Expanded metal:
    48x96" weighs 25lbs
    I have no idea so far. It's not pricy though

    Light Mounts
    2x2 Aluminum Angle
    .557lbs per ft = 3.34lbs
    Cost: $10

    Cost of other stuff involved in the design:
    100" of L-Track $65 bucks was the best price I could find
    The tie-downs are 4 bucks a pop

    LED lighting= pure wallet searing pain (around $250)

    So with that being said I end up being right around where I want to be with weight @ just over 66lbs and for cost of the rack itself I am sitting pretty with around $110 for metal. I figure the expanded metal with be about 30 bucks. Add in the 65 bucks for track and 40 bucks for tie downs and it's at $215 bucks roughly before tax. There is a LOT of extra metal already in the budget. I got an extra 6' of everything as I am sure not everything will be up to par immediately.

    So why the aluminum for the light mounts? Eh well lets be honest. If I told the wife that I was going to drop 600+ on a roof rack that I had to build and half of it was lights I think my future would be limited to just having 2 kids. It also saves a smidgen of weight and it keeps it as a bolt on affair which means I can add them later with a drill and some grade 8 hardware.

    The 3d model isn't quite ready yet as I really scaled it down a lot. I sucked the edges in quite a bit so that the overhang over the stock rail location is only 1" instead of 3" as well as adjusting the sizes of steel tubing so that it wasn't quite as robust as before. I am still quite certain with the .120 wall cross member being notched in the center will hold well over 250lbs and the front portion should hold in the neighborhood of 150 with a little flex. I won't ever put that up there but overbuilding within reason is just fine.

    I am debating whether to keep the fairing or not. I kinda like the idea of being able to increase my 3rz's hp by 100 just by picking 10 stickers but on the other hand I'm not sure how much good it will really do.
    Last edited by Kryptoroxx; 09-25-2014 at 09:20 PM.
    98 3rz 4x4 5spd- Monstalined, 99 Talls, 4.30 E-locker, Extra Lights
    In Progress:
    Tundra/Rear Disc Brakes w/parking brake
    Roof Rack/Rear Ladder
    Sliders
    1st Gen Rollbar Shelf

  9. #19
    Well I haven't updated in a while on this build but I have been working on the design slowly and making sure this is what I want and need. I have been giving the component idea serious thought and after tearing the www apart I was not able to come up with a 1x1" OD clamp like I found with the 1st gen roll bar. Also the shelf has been giving me food for thought as well with the amount of strength that was found in the racks I am making my shelf out of. All of the tubing was 1/2" but yet it took tons of abuse so I scaled my roof rack accordingly or at least I tried to. Here's the new frame design hot off the press and a little bit of pic goodness with my shelf.

    One specific question. I did find 1" round tubing OD clamps ($30 apiece...) but assuming all things are equal that will fit in the square tubing as well correct? I know I'd have to fill some material in but my mind is arguing with itself on whether that's crazy enough to work or not.

    My other idea for a connector is sleeving it. square tubing comes in a variety of sizes and I should be able to pull that off (and for less than $60 bucks plus shipping).



    Still slicing away but planning on how I will end up fitting it all together. I am considering trying to make it adjustable but I am not quite sure how I would pull that off. I am going to be capping the ends with plate steel that should provide a little lateral control for cargo not to fly out the window and also to provide vertical support with a triangle brace on each side. I very much doubt I would put any serious weight on top of the rack considering people's heads will be directly in front of the rack.




    The shelf is a total of 30" which is all the way to the tailgate. Plenty of space up top and below to spread out the gear.
    Last edited by Kryptoroxx; 11-16-2014 at 07:51 PM.
    98 3rz 4x4 5spd- Monstalined, 99 Talls, 4.30 E-locker, Extra Lights
    In Progress:
    Tundra/Rear Disc Brakes w/parking brake
    Roof Rack/Rear Ladder
    Sliders
    1st Gen Rollbar Shelf

  10. #20
    Quote Originally Posted by Kryptoroxx View Post

    One specific question. I did find 1" round tubing OD clamps ($30 apiece...) but assuming all things are equal that will fit in the square tubing as well correct? I know I'd have to fill some material in but my mind is arguing with itself on whether that's crazy enough to work or not.

    My other idea for a connector is sleeving it. square tubing comes in a variety of sizes and I should be able to pull that off (and for less than $60 bucks plus shipping).
    Where are you needing to use this clamp or sleeved section? Why do you need this junction? For removal, storage?

    I like your new design. Are you set on using the Yakima bars for the box? The reason I ask is that the bars, feet and track all add height to you rack which is already up from sheet metal. If it were me I'd mount the box to the rack. You might need to make or use some sort of block to raise the box from the rack but it's doable. I used to work for a company that sold Yakima and Thule and came up with all kinds of custom mounting options. Sometimes people were all about the looks. If the box was high and loud they didn't care how it looked as long as it could be made quiet.

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