Homemade Roof Rack

[revamp]

I am building a roof rack today with EMT pipe. I will document the project and post accordingly. I am excited about this and excited to share.

Stay tuned!

 

[HARDTRAILZ]

Best of Luck with the build.

 

[GCTB1289]

good luck and i'm interested to see how it turns out. thinking with the amount of travel i do i might be trying to do the same.

 

[revamp]

I got a great start on it yesterday. Had some small design changes, mostly dimensions, from my drawings. I will be providing a list of parts needed once I am completed and know exactly what I used. I will also provide exact lengths of the pieces I cut. I only have the vertical supports to complete and attach the upper bars to the lower frame, then mount it to the truck. I will paint it later... for now, I have a camping trip this weekend to break it in on.


10' Pipe and Unistrut in TB. Didn't think I could fit it!
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Smaller Supplies
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I removed the factory roof rack stuff. I took a piece of 10' Unistrut, cut it in half and used one piece for each side. I reused the screws, they were in good shape, just added some washers. There are 5 holes up there per side, and I only used 4 because the 2nd from the front is not in line with the others... they are not exactly in line anyway, but the rest are close enough to use. The Unistrut flexed with the curvature of the truck roof. I intended on using some kind of weatherized rubber in between the unistrut and the truck but I forgot in my Home Depot trip. I may add later when I paint it all.
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I started cutting the 1" EMT pipe to length and attaching the 90-degree corners and couplers (not tightened yet... just to make sure it all fit together)
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I completed the 2 sides of the first frame...
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Then the short ends added...
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And completed both frames... (starting to think I knew what I was doing)
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Now a quick test fit to make sure I am on track - so far so good!
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Now time to start cutting the cross bars, and using my new rivet gun! I decided on a balance of reasonable distance and amount of work required to figure spacing on these bars.
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And keep on adding!
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Until you get this!
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... This is where I am this morning. If I had a table saw this would be a really quick project, but I don't, and between hand cutting the EMT pipe and crimping the ends of the pipe with a clamp, is a bit exhausting. I lost track on my time put into this, but my wife figures about 5 hours so far, which includes a second trip to Home Depot and a coffee break.

REMAINING:
- Cut and mount vertical supports
- Mount rack to truck
- Clean garage.

After the weekend I will be cleaning off the ends of the bars and painting it.

Detail for this project still due here:
- Steps to finished product
- Materials list
- Dimensions (including weight if I remember before I mount it)


Stay tuned!

PS: Anyone in the DFW area with the ability to grind down and help clean up pipe ends let me know. Cheers!

 

[dvdman]

Looks good!

 

[MrDJ]

That looks good! Keep us updated on the project cost. I live over in Midlothian and I would love some help building one of these if you're up to helping, depending on what it costs.

 

[HARDTRAILZ]

Looking good.

How does it att to the unistrut?

 

[bore_pig]

Looking good, but I would like to offer a suggestion. Drill all the way through the set screw couplings install 1/4-20 bolts. The set screws will loosen in a short amount of time. I only know this because I have built a few duck blinds with emt and ran into this problem.

 

[Hypnotoad]

I was thinking the same thing. They make couplings with double set screws too I was thinking would work better.

 

[ZOOMDWEEBEE]

I too am interested in this build.. not sure if i would use one quite so long.. i like to use my sunroof.. but im sure i could shorten it up to be behind that.. also have a set of offroad lights that i can put on easy enough and like being able to still use them.. but it's a cool project .. good job on creativity.

 

[revamp]

Here is the rest of the story...

The next morning I got up to finish the project, married to the design I was committed to complete this using the techniques and tools I had. Along the way I have come up with some other ways to go about some of the attachments and making this easier.


Here are the side braces I cut and now have to crimp. If you go this route, I recommend an electric saw, which I did not have access to... I got my workout. The other design suggestion I had found was to use 1-1/2" x 1/4" Aluminum strip, but I couldn't find any that was sturdy enough. Plus, I had plenty of extra tubing to measure out and use.
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This is one of the site bars riveted. I also riveted the couplers for extra strength at those points.
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After some time, Here is the semi-finished product! I will be adding a couple more side bars, but this is sturdy enough for my needs. I will be having the points welded once I get the additional side bars on, then will be painting it.
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Below is how I attached the basket to the unistrut. I used Spring nuts, for use with unistrut, 3/8" x 2" bolts, and a 2-hole straight bracket, and some fender washers. This also makes it easy to remove if necessary.
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Now how it looks on the truck:

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And now with camping stuff in it.

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Final dimensions are: 80" x 49" x 11"

Total cost in parts about $150 at Home Depot

Major parts were:

• 8x 10 foot 1" EMT pipe
• 8x 90-deg 1" EMT pieces
• 16x 1" EMT couplers
• 1x 10 foot unistrut
• 8x 3/8" x 2" bolts
• 8x 3/8" Spring nuts

- I used Rivets, but I have seen some use set screws, and through bolts.

Unfortunately, I had all hand tools except for the drill. This took me a day and a half to do. If I had power tools I could have had it done in half a day.

As I mentioned above, I will be adding a couple more side bars per side, welding it, then painting it all. I will also be looking at adding some kind of spacer to get the unistrut about 1/2" off the roof, which in turn will raise the basket slightly.If not, then I will at least add some kind of padding between the unistrut and the roof of the truck.

I will be adding lights now, just have to decide on what and how much I want to spend.

Noise: When driving at about 40mph and above there is a nice howl. - but only when empty. When it was full of gear it was not noisy at all. As for MPG effect, surprisingly, when I went on my camping trip immediately after finishing it, my MPG was the same (only slightly better because I had just gotten a new fuel filter and oil change).

After seeing this if you have any suggestions, post them. I am set with my roof rack and my plan, but others may find the suggestions valuable for their projects.

I am glad I can share this and look forward to discussing these things more!

Cheers!

revamp

 

[Hypnotoad]

It turned out pretty nice!

 

[deekster_caddy]

Looks good! I would be a little concerned about the rivets over time. Remember that the roof rack may get wind and motion vibrations above and beyond what you feel inside, plus added stress from whatever you put in it. But if you are just weekending with it, you'll notice if anything is loosening up.

Are you going to paint it or otherwise protect it from the elements?

 

[revamp]

Looks good! I would be a little concerned about the rivets over time. Remember that the roof rack may get wind and motion vibrations above and beyond what you feel inside, plus added stress from whatever you put in it. But if you are just weekending with it, you'll notice if anything is loosening up.

Are you going to paint it or otherwise protect it from the elements?

My intentions, as mentioned above us to weld the point for a more long term secure build and paint it. I will post puctures once it's fully completed.

Glad you all like it.

 

[eutechnyx]

Thats pretty cool,kudos for doing something different!

 

[deekster_caddy]

My intentions, as mentioned above us to weld the point for a more long term secure build and paint it. I will post puctures once it's fully completed.

Glad you all like it.

Ooh sorry, looks like I missed the end of that post. Nice job!

 

[filthyfingers]

Nice design, simple, elegant. I especially like the Unistrut base.

 

[meerschm]

be careful welding. the EMT has a galvanized coating which is going to emit toxic fumes when you heat it, and will interfere with a good weld. make sure you have some breathing protection, fan, and an open area. you may end up drilling out the rivets, disassemble, heat the ends and clean to remove coating, and then reassemble to weld.

good luck. looks like a fun project.

 

[revamp]

be careful welding. the EMT has a galvanized coating which is going to emit toxic fumes when you heat it, and will interfere with a good weld. make sure you have some breathing protection, fan, and an open area. you may end up drilling out the rivets, disassemble, heat the ends and clean to remove coating, and then reassemble to weld.

good luck. looks like a fun project.

This is an interesting tidbit. I didn't know. I won't be doing the welding myself, but I will make sure I bring this up to the folks where I go. Thanks for the heads up.

...Yeah, I don't need to be the cause of a new mutant race due to toxic fumes...

 

[AV8ER]

Looks awesome!

 

[IHZ05VOY]

Paint to match your truck? It will look HOT.

 

[revamp]

Paint to match your truck? It will look HOT.

That's an idea! I may stick to the expected black... It will get well used.

 

[revamp]

That looks good! Keep us updated on the project cost. I live over in Midlothian and I would love some help building one of these if you're up to helping, depending on what it costs.

Cost at the end of the day was about $150 for materials. I had to buy some tools too, which increased my costs.

If I can't help out directly I will gladly help out over the phone and email. Let me know when you get ready to start this for yourself. I am in Mansfield, so I may be able to swing by on a Saturday morning. Cheers!

 

[Default User]

Looks awesome!
I love a reading up on a good DIY Project - so inspiring LOL

 

[Ghost]

RevAmp very nice build,bro :thumbup:

 

[mcsteven]

OK - it's been 3 years. It seems it's been a few months since you've been online. Wondering how the rack has been holding up? Any additions to it other than welding and painting? An air foil?

 

[jsheahawk]

I'd also like to know. I'm itching to make a roof rack. I'll probably model it off of this guy's.