DIY: Ultra Low Profile Custom Rack / Crossbars for OEM TE Roof Rails

[smike95]

I picked up some steel today, I plan to make some crossbars out of unistrut tomorrow. Will post up some pics.


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[smike95]

This is how the unistrut cross bars turned out. I’m pretty happy, they seem really stout. I did a cad design of the side brackets so if anyone wants the template I can send a .pdf that you can print out and trace.

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[catchx46]

Thanks for the inspiration! I made one these myself over the weekend. I made the mistake of ordering the hardware for the plates when i knew i was going to get the m6 screws *face palm*.

Anyways, I have the 1030 3x1's and an L bracket for an 8ft awning. Can i safely mount the L bracket onto the extrusion? Which/what size nuts/screws/etc. would i need to make this work?

 

[itr1275]

This is how the unistrut cross bars turned out. I’m pretty happy, they seem really stout. I did a cad design of the side brackets so if anyone wants the template I can send a .pdf that you can print out and trace.

Wow, that looks great!

If you want them out there as public domain, you can put the CAD designs on github.com. Once on Github others can download them and create revisions.There are some other Toyota projects on there.

It's a pretty cool platform to share projects.

 

[Ezekiel2222]

Yes, that occurred to me; if you're using the Series 15 rails (1.5"), that is no problem. There is about 1 mm of clearance between the top of the side rail and the bottom of the crossbar using all the fasteners I mentioned, so you could use Series 15 inside corner brackets (pointing inward) instead of the 4-hole plate and have the crossbars extend out as far as you need.

However, if you're planning on using Series 10 rails, that is going to be a bit of a squeeze. The fastener gap in the factory siderails is 10mm, and from the top of the gap to the top of the siderail is another 13mm. Using normal 4- or 6-hole Series 10 plates, the bottom of the rail would be below the top of the siderail. If you use a slotted inside corner bracket like this (CBS-010-E) 4 Hole Slotted Inside Corner Bracket | TNUTZ AND you use a plain-faced (not stepped) Tnut that lets the bolt touch the top edge of the gap, that might just be enough to clear the top (this would not work with the stepped leaf Tnuts I used in the siderails because they center the bolt in the 10 mm slot). YMMV.

p.s. The best way to get dimensions of these brackets (if they aren't among the illustrations on Tnutz.com) is to go to 8020.net and search for the 80/20 part number equivalent listed on the Tnutz part description; there is always a dimensioned drawing for the part there...

It's been a few years since I posted on here, but I had to share my take on AdventureMan's crossbar design. Just like IASTATE01, I was interested in having longer crossbars. I'll say up front, my sole purpose for this rack is to be able to easily and safely haul lumber, specifically full sheets of plywood. It's purely a utility item, and when it's not in use the crossbars come off. My biggest gripe with the stock crossbars is they aren't flat, and they sit below the level of the antenna, and there also aren't any good places to attach ratchet straps. These DYI crossbars solve all three problems.

I went with the same Series 15 extrusion, but I ordered it 48.5 inches long, to allow for a little space to get a full sheet of plywood up there, and changed out some of the other parts. The 8-hole joining plates on the ends keep the load moving from side to side, so I only need 2 straps going from front to back to hold everything in place. Full parts list for the two bars, all ordered from TNUTZ.com are below. Photos show the bars holding 6 full 3/4 inch sheets of plywood, plus a piece of foam and some 2x4s. I had to use some cross straps this time because it ended up being so tall, but in the future, just putting a couple sheets of plywood up there will be a breeze. Pics are a bit misleading, because I had already removed the 2 front/back straps, so all you see are the cross straps.

Some things I learned that I would have maybe done different:
1. I tend to over-build things, so I ordered the normal (full-weight) extrusion. Turns out it's quite heavy, and probably overkill, when I'm sure there are other parts in the system that are weaker (like the total roof carrying capacity). They make a lightweight version of the same extrusion that would probably more than suffice, and save you some money as well.
2. While the DT-045 tnuts do indeed fit in the stock rails, because their "shoulder" is so small they can easily end up getting rotated when you tighten a screw into them. They still work when this happens, and may even be stronger when rotated, but it's still a little annoying. Unfortunately, given how thin the stock rails are, I don't think there are any better options.
3. I really like the high torque t-nuts I got for everything else. They have a super deep shoulder that completely fills the slot in the extrusion, and just feel really solid. Again, probably overkill, and I'm sure some more standard t-nuts would work fine.
4. Keeping with the overkill trend, I got the gusseted corner brackets. In hindsight, the standard corner brackets would have been plenty strong, and they would have been much easier to install and remove. Since I remove the crossbars when not in use, I like to keep them fully assembled and just remove the 4 screws connecting them to the stock rails. Having the gussets in the way makes this much harder.
5. Given I designed this for utility and not looks, I went with the bare aluminum parts and the standard black screws. I discovered just how fast those untreated screws can rust, because after I brought all that wood home my garage was full for a few days, and I left the crossbars on the truck in case I needed to get some more. Of course it rained one day, and all the black screws have surface rust now. I'm not sure if there are concerns with using stainless steel with aluminum (that whole dissimilar metals thing), but if you plan to leave the bars on permanently it's probably a good idea.

Happy to answer any questions or take more pictures if needed.

 

[JC_Offroad]

Thank you, very helpful post, I just ordered the Tnuts you used for the factory rail, I have been looking all over for the right size to mount an antenna bracket on the factory rail.