want to build a roof rack

[SafeAirOne]

I have built one out of 3/4" square tubing (mild steel), some 2"x2"x.125" welded wire screen, and some 1" square steel tubing for the mount clamp.

Not the greatest photos, but they're all I have on hand:

These photos didn't show up on the first attempt:

This rack is 56" or so wide and 48" long and you can put hundreds of pounds of stuff up there without worry about the rack. With full diesel and water in the cans, there's probably 260lbs alone, plus the other stuff I occasionally put up there on the longer trips. The 3 evenly spaced supports on each side are more than adequate. Of course I don't recommend travelling with hundreds of pounds of stuff up there--it's not safe, there's the high CG and the rollover potential, yada yada yada....

[Rineheitzgabot]

Mine is actually resting on the "ribs" that are stamped into the top, for rigidity. The pinch-mounts tug downward, slightly, on the top to prevent noise from vibration.

The gutters and the "ribs" together, support the load of the rack and whatever is on it.

The pinch-mount concept is more important to me, because when I take my top off, I hang it from the ceiling in my garage using the rack, which is key in making certain that it doesn't fall. So the gutters must be able to accomodate a pretty serious load, but only in reverse; that is, in the upward direction, rather than downward. They do fine as long as my children don't hang on it.

-Gary