DIY cargo basket

[tongagrnlr3]

i am toying with the idea of building my own aluminum safari basket

i expect to make it from 1-1/2" angle and 1-1/2" flat bar. all 1/8" thick.

basic design would be as follows:

2 - 48" angles running longitudinaly down the roof rails. two bolts each side each with a 1" spacer to lift rack off the top glass (the bottom rails)

using 4" pieces of flat bar riveted to the bottom rails vertically to support the top rails, made 1-1/2 flat bar. thisshould give 1" gap between the top and bottlm rails

i have 2 48" lengths of sch 40 al pipe (super burly) i plan to use as cross bars attached to the top rails and running across the top of the truck. one in front one in back

total materal cost from home depot would be about $85-$90 and ii havent worked out the floor yet but ...

what ya think? is it gonna look REALLY stupid? is the alum gonna hold 200 lbs? is it waste of money and i should jsut sack up and but the 800-$1000 one from xyz expidition supply type place??

 

[Trynian]

I guess it all depends on your frabrication skills. Do it right and I think it could look ok.

 

[StevenJ_AK]

I say its very possible, the only thing I have seen that will be tough is that the rood has a very slight arch to it. Its so small you'd almost not even see it but its there! I have an Urban Offroad rack that I'm getting ready to cut up and redesign it myself. I say go for it and good luck

 

[pdxpoppadaddy]

There is a reason roof racks are welded... the force incurred of weight from your gear, plus vibration and movement during driving will beat rivets and screws to heck. I would not recommend your proposed assembly method.

 

[pvangura]

I 100% agree with the above post...weld everything. I actually fabbed my own roof rack for the LR3 about 5 years ago when I got my first one, because there just weren't many options on the market. I still have it on the roof of my newer LR3, though I don't love it. I wish I would have made it much more low profile and had more time to refine the fab work, but as it is, I have carried just about anything you can think of up there. My rack is more of the "3/4" style, in that it does not step down over the moonroof area - it just about covers the entire rear roof glass. Here's (roughly) how its constructed:

- 2 Yakima 48" crossbars and 4 of the "feet" for attaching them to the roof rails. I had these already for my ski racks, and figured the most economical and efficient thing to do was design the basket to mount to these crossbars. The rack mounts to these bars using some simple "u-bolt" type fasteners.

- the frame of the rack is constructed of 1" square aluminum tubing. This includes a rectangular base, 4 "uprights" (the front 2 are actually angled to match the rake of the windscreen) and the rectangular upper section of the rack.

- supports are made of 1/2" solid aluminum round bar stock. There are lots of uprights linking the upper and lower sections of the rack, as well as a few crossbars on the floor of the rack.

- the floor slats (laid on top of the lower aluminum crossbars) run lengthwise, and are make of 3" wide, 1/4" think aluminum bar stock.

I'd say the build/material choices may have been a little overkill, but the rack is damn sturdy.

I'm at my office, so I don't have any pictures handy, but I can send you some if you are interested at all. I'd say that the rack probably weighs about 60-70 lbs by itself. I can lift it over my head and put it on the truck by myself. It easily supports 2 full sized humans standing on it (I'm probably pushing 200 lbs). I have no idea what the material cost was for it, as I built it at a cousin's shop and he didn't charge me for anything, but I'm sure it was considerably more than $100 as you've noted for your materials.

Paul

 

[tongagrnlr3]

I'm at my office, so I don't have any pictures handy, but I can send you some if you are interested at all. I'd say that the rack probably weighs about 60-70 lbs by itself. I can lift it over my head and put it on the truck by myself. It easily supports 2 full sized humans standing on it (I'm probably pushing 200 lbs). I have no idea what the material cost was for it, as I built it at a cousin's shop and he didn't charge me for anything, but I'm sure it was considerably more than $100 as you've noted for your materials.

Paul

yes pictures please! it sounds like just the thing!

 

[ralph]

Roof rack

Here are some photos of the rack I had a friend fab for my LR3. I did not want the rack to high and he welded a flat steel section across the front so I could mount bikes. Great rack, no problems 21/2 years on top. Can carry three bikes and gear.

 

[tongagrnlr3]

Here are some photos of the rack I had a friend fab for my LR3. I did not want the rack to high and he welded a flat steel section across the front so I could mount bikes. Great rack, no problems 21/2 years on top. Can carry three bikes and gear.

ya i dont think mine will come out any where near that nice!!! that is a great rack! exactly what i would like. for now i think my light weight / light load deal will work. all i plan on putting up there is sleeping bags, pilows, a tent and my jerry cans. no more then 75 pounds of bulky low-density stuff. but when i get the need for bikes, kayaks, and all that ill have to upgrade.