[tassie jeeper]

so i needed a roof rack to put my tent on my vitara and only had 2 days to make it, this is what i came up with.

the steel i had laying around at home already and it is 25x50x2mm "RHS" valued at about $50.00.
the feet were made from scrap bits of angle iron which i bent over square in the vice. (u could probably get off-cuts from ur local welders).
the latches are stainless steel and quite expensive at $18.00 each, which had to be welded to the stainless angle for me (so it does not rust) another $60.00.
after that it was just a matter of assembling it.

(WARNING) the front rack is about 1" wider than the rear so dont just measure 1 and make 2 off (it wont work).

i plan to tie the 2 racks in together and make it into a basket but i will do this at a later date, only thing i'd change is perhaps making the feet wider to spread the load and help to resist the urge for the racks to roll forward and back (not an issue when the racks are joined together) but for tho's thinking of making something similar but just want the separate racks its something to think about.

id estimate the total cos at about $200.00
i was in a rush to get it finished ready for the long weekend so i didn't make the cage. i tested it loaded for 200kms without fault and when unloaded have very little wind noise.

here are some basic pics, i can take more detailed pics of the finished product at request.

here is a shot of the legs/feet:


and here are the door frame fasteners:


they probably don't need the stainless steel screws but i thought it would stop them jumping out when on corrugated roads:


here's how they look with the door closed without the rack fitted, not overly intrusive:


here is a view of 1 rack from the rear:


a view of the fit over the rubber runner on the roof:


a view of the latches i used to clamp the rack down. i put the padlocks on for 2 reasons: 1stly to prevent the latches from coming undone and 2ndly to stop some idiot running off with them:


a side view of the racks unloaded:


and another side view with the "OZ-tent" loaded on top:

[henno]

tassie jeeper wrote:

Is that deforming the panel just slightly in that picture?

[tassie jeeper]

henno wrote:

Is that deforming the panel just slightly in that picture?

quite possibly as i have not tied the 2 into 2 o have the latches done up quite tightly to prevent them rolling once i finish it i will be able to do the latches up much looser

[atari4x4]

haha, non invasive... you serious? you have screw holes going into visible panel work!!!

personally i would rather have track mounts riveted to the roof rather than some bunnings tek screws in the door jambs & you can't pick up the rola track mount racks from the wreckers for less than what you spent on latches.

any reason you've made them so they're 1.25kms above the roof line?

[tassie jeeper]

atari4x4 wrote:

haha, non invasive... you serious? you have screw holes going into visible panel work!!!
personally i would rather have track mounts riveted to the roof rather than some bunnings tek screws in the door jambs & you can't pick up the rola track mount racks from the wreckers for less than what you spent on latches.
any reason you've made them so they're 1.25kms above the roof line?

lol at least i can take mine off and not have holes in the roof.

as for the height i wanted it to be easy to get my hands underneath it to tie things on etc. and even the height they are my tent still touched the roof between them

[atari4x4]

you do know if you positioned the racks correctly that the tent wouldn't have been a problem.

yeah but when you remove your racks you've still got that ugly as sin bracket screwed to the body work... what happens when remove that bracket? oh that's right you've got holes, the track mounts are designed to be left there don't think i've ever heard of anyone removing a set of roof rails when selling a car.

whats stopping the lot from folding over, looks like there is a heap of leverage on the pissy little latch. wouldn't take much of a knock from a tree branch etc on the extended uprights to send the lot folding over.

[tassie jeeper]

yer i put the front rack too far forward.
id rather have 2 little 2mm holes in the door frame than tho's ugly as sin rails stuck on my roof.
tho's pissy little latches are stainless steel and plenty strong enough and i did bash down trees with it with no issues at all, when i fab it into a cage then it will be impossible for it to "fold over" and its not that high i have 2" clearance at the highest point of my roof.

this set up is not for everyone but i just hated the available aftermarket so much!! and made one that suited me much better.

[atari4x4]

i like how you call the track mount roof rails ugly as sin, but proceed to build that monstrosity... it's like the old farm gate front bars but yours is a fence for your roof.

when you position the roof rails correctly they're virtually impossible to see, they blend into the rubber edging a fair bit + if you lift it high enough you wont see shit, then there is the fact they don't look like tight arse ghetto fab.

[Chop]

Yeah I reckon the roof rails are the go, theyre hardly noticable.

[atari4x4]

nah, they're ugly as sin & you can't get a complete set of roof racks & rails for less than $33 for the local u-pullit wreckers.

[tassie jeeper]

good for u atari what ever helps u sleep at night there is no need to be such a dick just because u don't like it, i don't like the rail racks but don't go on people's build threads and bash on it.
i put this up for others like minded whom don't like the rail style rack. there is no need for u to get all butt hurt and go on a power trip

[atari4x4]

but this isn't a build thread

i apologise for thinking your average design/poorly executed roof rack looks like arse, would you rather me just flat out lie to you & say it's awesome, fully hektic & you should start mass producing them just to stroke your ego.

when growing up, i was told honesty was the best policy?

[tassie jeeper]

no i just think u could keep your criticism to yourself and maybe just say u think the rail rack is better instead of being such a dick u treat everyone on here like shit if they're not doing something the way u would do it then they're doing it wrong its this fucking supremacist ideology that i cant stand there's heaps of shit u do i don't like and think is dodgy as fuck but i keep it to myself i have no respect for u

[atari4x4]

tassie jeeper wrote:

no i just think u could keep your criticism to yourself and maybe just say u think the rail rack is better instead of being such a dick u treat everyone on here like shit if they're not doing something the way u would do it then they're doing it wrong its this fucking supremacist ideology that i cant stand there's heaps of shit u do i don't like and think is dodgy as fuck but i keep it to myself i have no respect for u

please, show me what i've done that is dodgy as fuck... there are 31189 post of mine to go through, i'm looking forward to this. :popcorn:






EDIT: :subscribed:

[Gwagensteve]

:subscribed:

Keen to see the dodgy. It can't be all that easy to spot.

Steve

[russgt]

Sorry mate but that is dodgy as all hell. You should have just welded them straight to the roof skin... At least there would be less holes.

[tanshi]

maybe that looks cool in Tassie?

[droverdave]

Not too bad of an effort if you dont mind drilling holes in the body and potentially denting it a bit. Pretty damn heavy duty though!

I personally would have tied the two frames together along the length of the car to stop them from falling over.

[tassie jeeper]

droverdave wrote:

Not too bad of an effort if you dont mind drilling holes in the body and potentially denting it a bit. Pretty damn heavy duty though!

I personally would have tied the two frames together along the length of the car to stop them from falling over.

as far as the drilling of holes id rather have 2mm holes in my door frame which i could cover with silicone or similar then have holes in my roof for rail racks.
also i took the rack off yesterday as its not needed atm and the panels are not dented, they distorted slightly under the load ov having the latches done up (very tight) this was to prevent the racks rolling over forward or back this will be redundant when i have tied the two together and made it into a cage (it will then be powder-coated)

[atari4x4]

Have you considered increasing the surface area of the "feet" to help spread the load? As almost all roof racks have a pretty large surface area & less leverage.

Still waiting for the dodgy work of mine to load. Or was it that time of the month for you?

[droverdave]

I like the idea of making the "Feet" longer.

You could also line the feet with either rubber or foam to protect the body work a bit.

[madmacca]

those SS over center clamps that you have used look a bit small imho and the eyes where it clamps don't look like they are welded ,it will spread there over time and corrugations.

may look a little better once it is painted (Pink would be a nice colour)

be careful you dont overload your roof they are not that strong

[Gwagensteve]

Tassie,

There really are substantial problems with this design. Given time, it's going to give you trouble and damage the vehicle.

Good on you for having a go, but the criticisms that are being levelled at this design are well founded. Those rubber roof rails are quite soft. I've peeled them off before, and I wouldn't use them to support a load. My guess is given time, the rubber will deform and the rack will loosen, which will load up the sheet metal screws you've used and shear or loosen them . The reduced tension will cause the angled brackets to chafe on the body.

I've pulled roof rails off of really rusty vitaras (as in rust holes in the roof) and there was no rust under the rails, so I don't see them as a problem as far as corrosion goes, and you certainly couldn't see them from eye level, but each to their own.

Maybe as a temporary quick solution they're fine, but for the money you spent, I reckon you could have gone very close to buying a commercial rack that wouldn't damage your car.

Take this any way you like - you can get all shitty if you like, honey badger don't care, but post something here and the least you can expect is some feedback.

And you still owe us an explanation of all the dodgy stuff on Atari's car.

Steve.

[stockman]

Despite the padlocks I reakon I could knock those off in a couple of seconds.

Whilst it might not be every ones cup of tea well done for having a crack at you're own fab.

[atari4x4]

the million dollar question would be... who would want to steal them anyway?

[tassie jeeper]

atari4x4 wrote:

Have you considered increasing the surface area of the "feet" to help spread the load? As almost all roof racks have a pretty large surface area & less leverage.
Still waiting for the dodgy work of mine to load. Or was it that time of the month for you?

droverdave wrote:

I like the idea of making the "Feet" longer.
You could also line the feet with either rubber or foam to protect the body work a bit.

yes i plan on re-doing the feet wider as to spread the load more however im not planning on running anything much on it bar my tent.
also there is rubber under the parts that touch the body pannels.

madmacca wrote:

those SS over center clamps that you have used look a bit small imho and the eyes where it clamps don't look like they are welded ,it will spread there over time and corrugations.
be careful you dont overload your roof they are not that strong

the clamps are stainless steel and plenty strong enough for its intended use (minimal use with light objects) they are spot welded through the screw holes (which will hold allot more than most give credit i think from memory a 1" long 6mm weld will hold 1TON

Gwagensteve wrote:

Tassie,
There really are substantial problems with this design. Given time, it's going to give you trouble and damage the vehicle.
Good on you for having a go, but the criticisms that are being levelled at this design are well founded. Those rubber roof rails are quite soft. I've peeled them off before, and I wouldn't use them to support a load. My guess is given time, the rubber will deform and the rack will loosen, which will load up the sheet metal screws you've used and shear or loosen them . The reduced tension will cause the angled brackets to chafe on the body.
I've pulled roof rails off of really rusty vitaras (as in rust holes in the roof) and there was no rust under the rails, so I don't see them as a problem as far as corrosion goes, and you certainly couldn't see them from eye level, but each to their own.
Maybe as a temporary quick solution they're fine, but for the money you spent, I reckon you could have gone very close to buying a commercial rack that wouldn't damage your car.
Take this any way you like - you can get all shitty if you like, honey badger don't care, but post something here and the least you can expect is some feedback.
And you still owe us an explanation of all the dodgy stuff on Atari's car.
Steve.

thanks for the words of advice steve (believe it or not i appreciate constructive criticism like u have given me) however i believe atari's posts were not overly constructive and leaned more towards spiteful and i have no time for that.

stockman wrote:

Despite the padlocks I reakon I could knock those off in a couple of seconds.
Whilst it might not be every ones cup of tea well done for having a crack at you're own fab.

atari4x4 wrote:

the million dollar question would be... who would want to steal them anyway?

yes even with the padlocks they are still quite easy to steal and as atari stated who'd want to but im not so much worried about people stealing them for their own use but more concerned with kids pinching anything not bolted down just for the fun of it (also the locks stop the latches accidentally coming undone)









sorry i ranted before i know my racks are not ideal and need lots of improving (V2.0 comming soon) however there is a difference between constructive criticism like i am getting now and then there is the bashing i was getting before which i did not appreciate however i probably could have handled it better.

[madmacca]

tassie jeeper wrote:

madmacca wrote:

those SS over center clamps that you have used look a bit small imho and the eyes where it clamps don't look like they are welded ,it will spread there over time and corrugations.
be careful you dont overload your roof they are not that strong

the clamps are stainless steel and plenty strong enough for its intended use (minimal use with light objects) they are spot welded through the screw holes (which will hold allot more than most give credit i think from memory a 1" long 6mm weld will hold 1TON

.

yeah you are sort of correct in regards to weld strength however that is not where i see an issue

your clamps do not seem to have a welded loop (where it contacts the keeper) the clamp will spread here , then loosen and fall off .

[tassie jeeper]

madmacca wrote:

your clamps do not seem to have a welded loop (where it contacts the keeper) the clamp will spread here , then loosen and fall off .

i see i misunderstood your previous post, i agree it is something to watch i had thought of squeezing them tighter to help with this but atm im just going to keep a close eye on this.
i only plan to use the rack probably a dozen times a year so i should be right so long as i watch it and fix it if i see a change

[DarkHorse]

Do the tie downs on the door frames let water in where they stop the seals from contacting the body?

[Polar_Bear]

Sorry mate but i'm with the AZ mob, i reckon they're a crap idea. Underneath that rubber mould is a spot welded seam, any weight you put on the racks is just going to push the rubber down onto that sharp edge, especially with the small footprint of the legs, which will just increase the pressure on the rubber, and cut through it even quicker. Not to mention they are(look) too high, increasing the leverage if you were to hit a branch or something.

Just go to ya local u-pull-it wreckers and pick up a cheap set of roof rails and call it done