Want to build my own Roof Rack

[m_lars]

I love it!!! So cool that u made that yourself. Have you dont other such projects in your Landy?

Thanks, I appreciate that. I also installed a harbor freight winch plate hidden in the front bumper. I stole that idea from an LR4 owner who had a pretty good write up on it. Use your favorite search engine to find “lr4 harbor freight winch mount” and you should find it pretty easy. Here’s a pic I took of the front after a trip back to MN. I hate the bugs in the Midwest... I’m buying parts for a dual arm spare tire carrier. I also have some plate steel left over from a work project that I’d like to make a center skid plate, but I haven’t made it very far on that one. I think the thickness of the plate is a little overkill.

 

[Socialseb83]

Do the LR3 and LR4 have the same dimensions as far as roofs go? Could i get roof parts from an LR3 and fit them on my LR4 without sizing/dimensions issues?

 

[James ZIGGA]

I just spent money on tires, not to me tion i only recently purchased my 2012, so i’m not able to cough up $850+ for a brand name roof rack.

a welder buddy told me that if i design it to correct specs, and buy the material, he will build it for me.

so now i turn to you.

Thoughts? Concerns? Tips based on experience doing this yourself?

do you know where i can get the recommended dimensions for the roof rack?

basically any info of value that you can provided to help move this project toward a successful outcome is welcome!

I built my own roof rack about 3 years ago. It was pretty easy, did it in a weekend. Spent about 200 on metal, paint, and a small lightbar. Sorry about the pictures its what i had on my phone. I can take more pictures later if you want me too.

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[Socialseb83]

I built my own roof rack about 3 years ago. It was pretty easy, did it in a weekend. Spent about 200 on metal, paint, and a small lightbar. Sorry about the pictures its what i had on my phone. I can take more pictures later if you want me too.

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Love the pics. Would love to see close-ups when you get the chance. Mind sharing any tips from the experience of this diy project?

 

[iSurfvilano]

Simply not true. I’ve done it, maybe cost me a couple hundred bucks. It has thousands of miles with lots of gear (33” spare, 3 Plano boxes, tepui RRT) on top and it’s held up just fine. Should everybody do it? No, but let’s not make blanket statements that aren’t true.

It's only not true depending on what value you place on your time.

 

[m_lars]

Save your money and buy a proper one. Someone else has already spent the money on seeing what works and what doesn't. I guarantee that you will spend more time and money (time = money) making your own than buying one.

It's only not true depending on what value you place on your time.

Well, I didn’t get billed for my time, so it was free!

I get what you’re saying and if you had said something like usually “instead” of “guarantee” I probably would have left it alone.

I my case, even if I account for my time, it was still cheaper. Was it worth it to not have a name brand rack? For me, yes. Im guessing not you. I enjoy the fabrication and DIY aspect of it. I guess you could say it’s a hobby to make cool stuff out of cheap/free crap. I’m not all that impressed by all the swanky fully kitted Toyota’s that are in my area. Why? All they did was pick stuff out of a catalog and fire up a credit card. Not much skill in that.

Here’s one of my other “not worth it” projects. Counting the RTT I’ve got about $1200 bucks in parts. What would this cost me if I bought one made? $10k? I don’t have that many hours in it. Plus it’s fun to see people’s reaction when I say I made it out of bathroom stalls!

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[jwest]

Simply not true. I’ve done it, maybe cost me a couple hundred bucks. It has thousands of miles with lots of gear (33” spare, 3 Plano boxes, tepui RRT) on top and it’s held up just fine. Should everybody do it? No, but let’s not make blanket statements that aren’t true.

Agree w you. A person could of course come up with something totally crap but they could also come up w something totally fine like yours. It also depends a lot on what the rack's use will be.

After having the Safety Devices highly sought after Safari rack start to rust as anything mild steel will do, I vowed to never ever put another steel thing on the roof. The weight is another aspect. While the solid axle steel sprung rovers went fine w the weight by increasing spring strength, the air struts do not compensate for that weight the same way and they're tendency to sway like a lakebound cabin cruiser only becomes worse.

 

[iSurfvilano]

Well, I didn’t get billed for my time, so it was free!

I get what you’re saying and if you had said something like usually “instead” of “guarantee” I probably would have left it alone.

I my case, even if I account for my time, it was still cheaper. Was it worth it to not have a name brand rack? For me, yes. Im guessing not you. I enjoy the fabrication and DIY aspect of it. I guess you could say it’s a hobby to make cool stuff out of cheap/free crap. I’m not all that impressed by all the swanky fully kitted Toyota’s that are in my area. Why? All they did was pick stuff out of a catalog and fire up a credit card. Not much skill in that.

Here’s one of my other “not worth it” projects. Counting the RTT I’ve got about $1200 bucks in parts. What would this cost me if I bought one made? $10k? I don’t have that many hours in it. Plus it’s fun to see people’s reaction when I say I made it out of bathroom stalls!

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Bathroom stalls? Hahaha, that's awesome. That's a good looking hauler

 

[jwest]

Do the LR3 and LR4 have the same dimensions as far as roofs go? Could i get roof parts from an LR3 and fit them on my LR4 without sizing/dimensions issues?

Yes, the body in general (metal panels) and roof are identical. The LR4 is different in it's looks as a "refresh" approach typical of car manufacturing where only the plastic stuff is changed. Of course the LR4 front left fender has a new vent hole but but people have gone through the trouble to put lr4 rear lamps, bumpers, grills, etc on an lr3 to get the same look.

Be aware of the roof tracks though. There are 3 versions of roof you can have:
bare/no tracks
long track
short track.

My 07 was made before there were any long tracks but later I installed the long ones. You want to be very patient and careful as other people have damaged glass, holes, lost parts, etc.

Short track is quieter in that there is no tower up front beside the glass to hear its wind turbulence. Long tracks however allow for a lot more versatile use of the roof down the road.

 

[jwest]

No “rack” needed. Until it is useful