Roof rack basket design

[slides]

So i have decided that i want a basket but i dont want to spend a lot of money....and i like building objects, you get a piece of pride out of something you design and build.

I have a couple questions for people who have roof baskets.
1- do you have a mesh floor, is so do you like it why and why not? (im stuck between having one and not)
2- for a full length rack, are you mouting it to the roof somehow when its past the factory mounting points, or designing it so its ridgid enough to not flex?
3- What are you using to mount the rack to the factory rails?
4- What size tubing is the most common and what should i keep the weight of the rack around?

Im thinking of a low profile rack, no taller than 4" with room in the front for a fairing in my design. Ill throw up some pictures tomorrow if i get around to the CAD side of the design.

 

[Kryptoroxx]

Just finished this. Less than an inch above roofline with about .25" deflection.
I reinforced the entire roof as well with several 3/16" flat bar.

 

[Diesel_Dog]

I have similar questions. The expanded metal seems like overkill, but might be handy for strapping odd shaped items up there. I'm really digging this one: full length roof rack build

 

[slides]

The reason i like the idea of expanded metal is you can throw anything up there and it wont touch the roof but then to tie it down you will have to run a tie down across the width of the rack, not that big of a deal.

I like how low your rack is [MENTION=83502]Kryptoroxx[/MENTION] im worried about getting under it though is there enough room to stick your hand under to grab a rope or a line. Also not looking to reinforce the roof, just want a simple bolt on rack i wont ever thrown anything heavy up there.

 

[tS_kStin]

My build was linked by [MENTION=97632]Diesel_Dog[/MENTION] so look at it there. I wont double link it. I dont remember how much information I covered in my build thread so I can answer questions you may have. But I used 1" 16 gauge steel tubing for most of it, 14 or 16 gauge .75" square under the expanded metal and the thickest FLAT expanded metal that the place I get the material from had. It came out to be ~58 lbs all said and done. Just used the sliding nuts in the stock side rails with some sticky pads on the front to keep it from bouncing up and down.

 

[Bandit Runner]

Here's my full length low profile roof rack build. I don't have a mesh floor, but you might find it helpful.

http://www.toyota-4runner.org/3rd-gen-t4rs/125705-bandit-runners-roof-rack-build.html

Good luck and I'm looking forward to seeing your CAD design!

 

[UnderFire]

I've been wondering about building a full length rack with 1" EMT Electrical conduit and a hand bender, seems to me that it's more than strong enough with proper mounting to hold up the weight you'd want to put on the roof, and it can be welded together pretty easily, or done with connectors if you didn't want to weld it..

 

[ajonesnv]

Here is what I have going...











(Truck is getting painted next week so ignore the oxidation :madgrin

And I do plan on adding front supports...I am also going to lower the risers from the truck, so it sits a tad bit lower.

 

[Kryptoroxx]

The reason i like the idea of expanded metal is you can throw anything up there and it wont touch the roof but then to tie it down you will have to run a tie down across the width of the rack, not that big of a deal.

I like how low your rack is [MENTION=83502]Kryptoroxx[/MENTION] im worried about getting under it though is there enough room to stick your hand under to grab a rope or a line. Also not looking to reinforce the roof, just want a simple bolt on rack i wont ever thrown anything heavy up there.

The tie downs are the nails on the side. It's not designed to have it wrapping around the frame. Here's the build thread on it beginning to end.

http://www.ultimateyota.com/showthread.php?t=10700

Hybrid Roof Rack (sorry 4x4mike)