DIY Aluminum Roof Rack for LWB Safari Roof (no welding)

[amcordo]

I've read some threads on here about people who, for whatever reason, have made their own roof racks. I would love to have one on my truck, but do not want to spend a lot and would only have it for that safari look. So I've designed one that's lightweight, strong, inexpensive, and modular. This rack will require no welding and the materials cost less than $300.00. Note: you construct and use this at your own risk. I'm not an engineer and am only documenting what I plan on doing for your own reference. Read on!

I designed it to use 6061 aluminum. It's a strong alloy while still being lightweight, and is corrosion resistant. While most roof-racks are made of steel, aluminum should be more than strong enough to handle the maximum load you would safely carry on your roof anyway. The weight of this rack unloaded will be under 50lbs.

The design is modular - nothing is welded so swapping out damaged bars or changing sizes is just a matter of unscrewing parts.

When constructing this take care to isolate the steel fasteners from the aluminum fram to avoid galvanic corrosion.

Finally, the only items that are not on the shopping list are the eight clamps you will need to secure the legs to the safari roof. There are many different types of clamps out there, and also many L shaped pieces of metal - many of which will work for this application. Take a look around your local DIY store when you're attaching it to the roof.



You will need:
Metal needed:
4 - Aluminum Angle > 6061T6 > 0.75" x 0.75" x 0.125" x 111"
4 - Aluminum Angle > 6061T6 > 0.75" x 0.75" x 0.125" x 56.25"
5 - Aluminum Tube Square > 6061T6 > 0.75" x 0.75" x 0.125" x 56.25"
3 - Aluminum Flat > 6061T6 > 0.125" x 0.75" x 111"
8 - Aluminum Tube Square > 6061T6 > 0.75" x 0.75" x 0.125" x 14"
4 - Aluminum Tube Square > 6061T6 > 0.75" x 0.75" x 0.125" x 4"
4 - Aluminum Tube Square > 6061T6 > 0.75" x 0.75" x 0.125" x 3.5"
This place will give you a discount the first time you order and can cut the metal for you: http://www.metalsupermarkets.com/catalog/ALUMINUM

Fasteners needed:
57 - 1.25", 1/8" or 1/4" diameter Stainless Steel Screw (Phillips head, or hex head)
114 - Matching Nylon/Plastic/Rubber Washers to isolate steel bolts and nuts from aluminum frame
57 - Matching Locking Nuts
8 - 1", 1/8" or 1/4" diameter Stainless Steel Screw (Phillips head, or hex head)
8 - Matching Nylon/Plastic/Rubber Washers to isolate steel bolts and nuts from aluminum frame
8 - Matching Locking Nuts

Miscellaneous parts:
You will need to go to Lowes, Home Depot, Ace, etc. to construct a clamp to attach the rack to the roof. There are no instructions for this.

[jac04]

When constructing this take care to isolate the steel fasteners from the aluminum fram to avoid galvanic corrosion.

Nice write-up. With the ratio of stainless steel fasteners to aluminum, isolating the fasteners really isn't a priority - galvanic corrosion will be very limited.

[lrdukdog]

This looks good! We will need photos of course. I really like the fact that one can add pieces to the bottom to make that area easier to stow smaller items. Yes, this is a damn good non-weld roof rack.
Jim Wolf

[amcordo]

That was my thinking - the angle pieces and flats on the bottom would make it easy to place aluminum grating or diamond plate in sections so that you could hold tiny items.


This looks good! We will need photos of course. I really like the fact that one can add pieces to the bottom to make that area easier to stow smaller items. Yes, this is a damn good non-weld roof rack.
Jim Wolf

[Walker]

Like the look and was thinking of trying something similar. Have you thought of setting it on a set of crossbars that attach to the roof?

Art