sosueme-Gobi Roof Rack

[XtremeAdventurer]

After a 250 mile trip to Glacier NP loaded with camping gear for 5 of us and a 800 mile trip to the Tahoe Area with just my wife and 2 year old, I decided it was time to get a roof rack. Couldn't justify $1600 for a Gobi and wanted something more substantial than a Curt w/ extensions.

So, here is my sub-$300 full length roof rack. Inspiration was pulled from:
https://www.toyota-4runner.org/3rd-gen-t4rs/224557-inexpensive-full-length-roof-rack-curt-rack.html
Whitson Metalworks
Gobi
and a few others...

Without further ado

(This image will be updated as progress is made)

My helper...

Test fitting

First Day of Fab Work

Not the first mistake, but probably the biggest one... Bent the top tube too short and had to add in 5 inches.

Extending the factory rails

After the 2nd day of fab work. Still have to put in a few more feet per side and vertical bracing on the front and back.

 

[XtremeAdventurer]

Place holder for second part

 

[XtremeAdventurer]

Placeholder for technical info (if anyone is interested)

 

[T4topher]

Looks good man! Probably going to end up going the same route, no way I can drop 1600 on a roof rack either.. Couple questions: what did you use to bend the tubing? What size/thickness tubing did you use?

 

[Wedgy]

Always funner and more satisfying to do it yourself, nice work !
Did you do the rivnuts on the front section of the factory rails ? They come close to the sunroof but line up out of the way so you don't hit the drip pan. Make sure to seal them when you're done.

 

[XtremeAdventurer]

Looks good man! Probably going to end up going the same route, no way I can drop 1600 on a roof rack either.. Couple questions: what did you use to bend the tubing? What size/thickness tubing did you use?

I used 3/4 round tube with 0.065 wall from a local metal supply company. You could use the 1/2 EMT conduit from a big box store, but welding galvanized metal is bad for you. Plus, 1/2 EMT only has a wall thickness of 0.042.

I used a 3/4" conduit bender from HomeDepot.

Marked the tube and did all the bending on my lawn. Nice soft area. Took each bend slow and steady. It took a bit of tweaking on a level rack to get it square and flat.

 

[MStudt]

Looks good. Plus I always like it when people don't buy from Gobi (RIP WMW).

Mike